Limestone Coast, South Australia

Many people don’t know that Coonawarra is part of the Limestone Coast wine region, which has several sub-regions located in the southern-most corner of South Australia, just by the Victorian border.  Cabernet is a wonderful thing, and Coonawarra Cabernet is a classic but it’s no longer just Cabernet or Coonawarra creating conversation, for whilst Coonawarra might be the most famous sub-region in the region, dare I say it, it might be the least exciting now.  I chatted to Lauren Hansen whose own story symbolises perfectly the changing tide of this far-flung region, where tradition and innovation jostle at each other’s side.

So, let’s introduce Lauren.  Besides being a lovely human, she has also sampled some of the world’s best wines as a Len Evans Tutorial scholar (and dux of her class), she crafts award-winning Cabernet for Coonawarra’s contemporary Penley Estate and she has recently launched her own Limestone Coast brand, Bloomfield, which spotlights alternative varieties from lesser-known sub-regions.  To top it off, she was just nominated as Young Gun’s Best New Act for 2025.  Oozing with talent, she has perspective on the Limestone Coast’s role in Australia and Australia’s role in the world.

So, we start where most people start with the region.  Coonawarra Cabernet.  It’s an iconic combination.  It’s revered globally for its history, pedigree and provenance.  But today sentiment is changing and the classic style that made the region so famous is out of favour, misunderstood and often overlooked as old school; rightly or wrongly depending which producer you look at.  Quality is not the issue.  When I asked Lauren how the Aussie wines she tried in the Len Evans Tutorial measured up to the Old World greats, she assured me they’re up there.  No doubt about it.  But Coonawarra is at a crossroads where the community is asking itself where to next?  Keep going with Cabernet or diversify?  Some producers have already answered that question, staying true to Cabernet but evolving their wine styles and labels to signpost the modern twist in the bottle.  Penley is a great example of this.  Patrick of Coonawarra has opted for some modern metallic trim, then there’s Ottelia and Bellwether who both do Coonawarra Cabernet, but they venture outside the revered strip of red dirt (terra rossa) to showcase other varieties and sub-regions.

Which is a great segway to why we’re here.  Why I’m sat chatting to Lauren on a brisk autumnal Saturday morning in Penola.  For whilst the old guard ponders their future, the new guard are seizing the silence and answering in their own distinctive way.  What do Mt Gambier and Mt Etna have in common?  Nothing many might answer.  Volcanic soils others shout gleefully.  Volcanic soils, just usher it and sommeliers start to salivate, loins tingle.  Mt Gambier, recognised as its own Geographical Indication (GI), is one of the coolest regions in South Australia thanks to its temperate maritime climate (the Southern Ocean laps at its shores).  With high rainfall and underground water, the region’s future is more assured than many others in a warming climate.  Chardonnay is the one to watch I’m told.  Good Intentions Wine Co and Slow Lane Wines are two producers homing in on local Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Bridget Mac of Werkstatt is spotlighting Riesling in the Austrian and Alsace styles.  Cuvée-Co crafts top quality blanc de blanc from local Chardonnay too.

The benchmark varieties are important for credibility, but we can’t talk new guard without talking alternatives.  Whether you call them alternative or emerging, the breadth of varieties Anita Goode works with out of Wangolina in Mt Benson is something to behold; carmenere, dolcetto, gruner veltliner, lagrein, malvasia, montepulciano, lagrein and blends of varieties unknown to me and too hard to spell.  She’s the queen of them and the source of fruit for one of Lauren’s Bloomfield wines.  Lauren also sourced petit Verdot to make a bright and crunchy chillable red from Wrattonbully, a more inland sub-region which sits alongside Padthaway.  The large, flat factory feel vineyards which line the highway to Adelaide might seem uninspiring, but they hide amongst them pioneers like Mérite who shunned Cabernet to obsess over Merlot, despite the ‘anything but Merlot’ philosophy still being alive and well.  But there’s interesting vineyards growing outside the official sub-regions too, in the bad lands some in Adelaide joke.  Lauren sourced some cracking Mencía (faring from Galicia in Northern Spain) from a vineyard near Bordertown and it’s a great drink.  Opportunity abounds for those open minded enough to look where others don’t.

That goes for winemakers as much as it goes for you.  As ever I put pen to paper to encourage you to look where others don’t and go the other way.  Coonawarra’s uniformity of soil, grape and style is being challenged by the Limestone Coast’s variety, dynamism and energy.  Seek out their wines.

And go visit.  It’s not just the wine scene which offers variety, the natural landscapes are stunning, there’s outdoor activities aplenty and the hospitality scene is still as authentic as the country can offer.  You can fly with Rex to Mt Gambier from Adelaide and Melbourne.  They’re still flying propeller planes which is a hoot in itself.