Tasting notes

This wine shows inky, deep red color, with a nose of black cherry, briary fruit and dark chocolate. The palate is medium to full bodied, with ripe, black cherry and cassis fruit, subtle integrated vanillin oak with mocha richness. The fine grained, talcy soft tannins support a lingering finish.

Rating

Wine Enthusiast 90 points (Sep 2010) Representing a good value in top-flight Cabernet, Jim Barry’s 2008 The Cover Drive (a cricketing term) features subtle hints of cinnamon, coffee and vanilla layered over blueberry and plum fruit. It’s on the full-bodied side, with plush, velvety tannins balanced by crisp acids. Drink now–2018. J.C.  Robert Parker 90 points (Oct 2010) The fruit for Jim Barry’s 2008 Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon comes from 50% Clare Valley and 50% Coonawarra. Deep garnet-purple colored, it gives pronounced aromas of eucalyptus, warm blackberry and crushed blueberries with some cinnamon and cloves plus a whiff of cedar. Medium to high acid and a medium to high level of finely grained tannins support the ample flesh in the mid palate of this full bodied style. The finish is long and minty. Approachable now, it should be best 2011 to 2018.  Wine Spectator 89 points (Jun 15 2010) Bright, focused and generous, shooting a solid beam of cherry, sassafras and dried herb flavors through a long, vivid finish. Stylish and deftly balanced. Drink now through 2015. 4,000 cases imported. –HS

Wine maker notes

On the southern boundary of Coonawarra is the old Penola cricket ground, which first saw a ball bowled in anger and the flashing cover drives of the local champions in 1950. Sadly, the ground closed in 1996. Soon after Jim Barry purchased the 30 acre property and planted a Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. The original pavilion and pitch have been retained, thus preserving an important piece of Coonawarra sporting history. Fruit from this vineyard, along with selected parcels of fruit from our family owned Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards in the Clare Valley have been blended to produce a wine that is rich, soft and approachable.