Bowen Estate have long been regarded as one of the best small producers in Coonawarra.
For over 40 vintages Doug and Joy Bowen, more recently with winemaker daughter Emma, have produced their ‘house style’ red wines with strong regional and varietal character.
Bowen Estate have a reputation for producing powerful yet elegant red wines, wines that drink well on release yet have the fruit and structure to reward cellaring for a decade or more. The focus is very much on Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, two well proven varieties for this cool climate region.
Langton’s Fine Wine Investment Guide 1999 referred to the Bowen Estate Shiraz as ‘arguably reflects the Coonawarra site better than any other in the region‘. Since then all Shiraz vines have been replanted with cuttings from the ‘Ampelon’ block, long considered the best of the Bowen Shiraz vineyards and the source of the Bowen’s one off ‘reserve’ wine – the Bowen Estate 1998 Ampelon Shiraz.
The Bowen’s commitment to quality starts in the vineyard with the same vineyard team hand pruning the vines each year [one acre per man per week].
Their vineyards are towards the southern end of the original Coonawarra strip on the famous ‘terra rossa’ soils.
Recent success includes the 2014 Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon [96 points] being judged the number one Cabernet Sauvignon in Coonawarra in the inaugural Halliday Cabernet Challenge.
Doug Bowen has been well rewarded for his decision to invest in Coonawarra straight out of Roseworthy College in the early 1970’s and well deserves his recognition as a ‘Patron of Coonawarra’
