Description
“This estate is one of the quietest and highest achievers in Australia, maintaining excellent viticulture and fastidious winemaking.” James Halliday AM
Ashbrook Estate is one of the oldest established wineries in the Margaret River region located in the heart of Wilyabrup. Truly family owned and operated since 1975, all wines are handpicked and crafted from only Estate grown fruit. All processing, winemaking, bottling and packaging are done on site using the Estate’s own private facilities. 2017 sees Ashbrook Estate complete its 39th Vintage, one of only 5 Margaret River wineries to do so! James Halliday says: “This estate is one of the quietest and highest achievers in Australia, maintaining excellent viticulture and fastidious winemaking.”
Notes from the winemaker about this vintage: “For vignerons who have been in the district a while, 2018/19 will be remembered as a quintessential, mild Margaret River growing season. Temperatures were slightly cooler than the 10-year regional average from budburst all the way through to the end of ripening. Although no frost damage occurred, we estimate around 10% of our Chardonnay vines experienced a short delay in ripening due to a rare cold snap in mid-September. A timely rain event in January served to recharge the vines during the long ripening. Unlike the previous vintage, Red Gum blossom was scarce and the application of nets from January onwards was imperative to keep the silvereye birds at bay. As a result of the long, mild ripening, vintage started in late February, two weeks later than recent vintages, and there was no break in harvest between the whites and reds. The 2019 vintage saw good yields across all varieties, slowly ripened fruit with retained natural acidity, perfumed aromas and elegant flavour profiles, reminiscent of the 2017 vintage.
Composition: Cabernet Sauvignon 85.0% Petit Verdot 6.7% Cabernet Franc 4.8% Merlot 3.5%
“Our “Old Cab” block Houghton clone cuttings were collected from the Agricultural Department Source Block in the Swan Valley and planted (1976) on the gravelly uplands of Wilyabrup’s Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge. In 1981, small plots of Cabernet Franc and Merlot (Swan Valley cuttings) were also planted to create our Bordeaux-style blend. Originally all dry-grown on a VSP trellis, 90% of the Old Cab block and all the Cabernet Franc and Merlot were converted to a cane-pruned, lyre trellis in 1998 with immediate and brilliant results. Due to its ultimate suitability to the region and increased demand, the “Young Cab” block was planted (1998) using cuttings from the original vines which were also trained up to a cane-pruned, lyre trellis. Small plots of Petit Verdot (cuttings from Lenton Brae and Clairault) and Merlot (cuttings from original vines) were planted in the middle of this block for added protection. Coupled with the application of composted mulch over several years, the vineyard shows remarkable health and balance producing super premium fruit year in year out.
“The fruit used for our Reserve Cabernet is hand-harvested over several days in the cool of dawn. The bunches are destemmed and the berries put across our vibrating sorting table before cold soaking overnight. Four tonne parcels of pure berries then undergo temperature-controlled fermentation in open vats, plunged gently many times a day. Post-fermentation the wine is matured in 100% premium French oak barriques for 22 months before blending. The Reserve Cabernet is crafted from barrels (35% new) exhibiting exceptional mature Wilyabrup Cabernet characters. Once bottled, the wine is aged in our underground cellar until release (May 2025). Ashbrook Estate has produced this Reserve wine since 2010
“Deep purple in colour with a vibrant crimson hue. Red and black currants, cherry plum, violet, cigar box and sweet spice on the nose. The palate is silky, with juicy fruits gliding over the tongue supported by chalky, fine-grained tannins. The wine is medium- to full-bodied with a long finish. A beautifully balanced, powerful expression of Wilyabrup Cabernet that will age gracefully.”
94 points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion “Ashbrook Estate’s cabernet sauvignon is clocking up nearly 50 years, and it’s at the heart of the Reserve, bolstered by decent glugs of petit verdot, cabernet franc and merlot. It’s a stately wine, rich, intensely flavoured and more savoury than fruit driven, although there are cassis and blackberry nuances. Dry spices, some raspberry leaf and mint, roasted tomatoes plus savoury, nutty and cedary oak. Fuller bodied, yet not too wieldy, there’s a plushness, even if the tannins are firm and plentiful. This has a lot of appeal, buoyed by fresh acidity.
RRP $66 Our Special Price $52.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
