Elderton Ashmead Cabernet Sauvignon 2024
- 95
- $125
- Drink by: 2026-2041
Share
The Estate’s flagship Cabernet comes from a small parcel which was planted back in 1944 in the Nuriootpa sub-region in the Barossa Valley. This is the 24th release of this wine, the 1993 release of which won the Jimmy Watson Trophy. Maturation is in new French oak hogsheads for a year and a half. A very dark maroon colour with a blood red rim, the nose offers aromas of blackcurrants, chocolate, dried herbs, soy, cloves, cigar boxes, aniseed and smoked meats. There is medium to good length here, but serious persistence. Excellent oak integration throughout, the wine is well balanced with a fine line of acidity adding the freshness. Intensity is maintained throughout and the wine finishes with gentle powdery tannins. A fifteen-year proposition. Would it be fair to suggest that recent vintages have seen the winemakers nudge this iconic Barossa Cabernet towards a slightly more refined and elegant style?
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
