Cooks Lot are a small producer from the higher altitude Orange region in Australia, sourcing grapes from single vineyard parcels. Their current release red wines are reviewed below. While it is uncommon outside of Australia to find these three grape varieties adapted to a single region, the Orange region is adept at producing classical expressions of the traditional varieties with good site selection.
Cooks Lot Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
The cabernet sauvignon has typical cool region aromas or tobacco, leaves and dusty fruit. The palate is savoury, with bright spicy blackcurrant flavours. This is a dusty cabernet sauvignon in the traditional Australian style, and reminds of a Coonawarra. This is very good value wine for $25. Drink it over the next 5 to 7 years. Review Rating: Good to Very Good (★★★☆, 88 points).
Cooks Lot Shiraz 2023
This is a spicy, peppery expression of shiraz that remarkably reminds more of a Hawkes Bay syrah or Saint Joseph from the northern Rhône Valley in France than a typical Australian shiraz. It is my pick of this even group. The palate is medium bodied and peppery. Drink this lovely wine over the next 5 or so years. Review Rating: Good to Very Good (★★★☆, 89 points).
Cooks Lot Pinot Noir 2025
The youngest of these three wines, this wine is sourced from a higher altitude vineyard compared with the shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has correct pinot noir aromas of savoury cherry. The palate has bright red fruits through its core with a little spice. The style is somewhere between Tasmania and Central Otago. Drink this wine over the next 3 to 5 years. Review Rating: Good to Very Good (★★★☆, 88 points).
Website: Cooks Lot Wines. Source: Sample. Tasted: February and March 2026. Like: Subscribe.
