Parker Estate
Coonawarra First Growth Cabernet Sauvignon
2006

The producer

Parker Coonawarra Estate is a family-owned winery located in the Coonawarra wine region of South Australia. The winery was founded in 1985 by Cathie and John Parker, who were inspired by the unique terroir and ideal growing conditions of the region.

Parker Estate specializes in producing high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz wines that are known for their elegance, complexity, and balance. The estate has several vineyards across the region, including the Terra Rossa First Growth Vineyard, which is one of the oldest and most respected vineyards in Coonawarra. The winery also has a state-of-the-art winery facility that incorporates traditional winemaking techniques with modern technology.

Parker Estate has received numerous awards and accolades for their wines, including being named Winery of the Year at the 2019 Melbourne International Wine Competition. Some of their most notable wines include the Terra Rossa Cabernet Sauvignon, the First Growth Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Coonawarra Estate Shiraz.

Overall, Parker Coonawarra Estate is a highly respected winery that produces exceptional wines that showcase the unique terroir of the Coonawarra region.

The wine

Parker Estate’s Abbey estate is located on Terra Rossa over limestone soils in southern Coonawarra and was planted, in 1985, to 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, with original cuttings from Bordeaux. Following fermentation, the wine sees extended maceration for enhanced tannin structure and increased ageing potential. The wine is then allowed to mature for 18 months in oak from Bordeaux cooperages. Only produced when vintage conditions are exceptional, Parker Estate’s First Growth is complex and bright fruited with multi-layered generous and velvety texture, fine tannins, and a long finish.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.