Elderton Estate Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 (Australia)

Description

Blackberry, Chocolate, Oak

"This is splendidly fruited and varietally expressive, showing cassis, violet, thyme, game and assorted nut aromas on the nose. The palate delivers terrific weight and fleshy texture, wonderfully framed by finely infused tannins, finishing sturdy and robust" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Feb 2024

"The brightness and juicy energy of this Barossa vintage has been beautifully captured in this pure and expressive cabernet. Blackcurrant and swirling chocolate and juicy plum to open on the nose. Then the palate delivers its vibrant fruit load with a refreshing purity and energy. It’s succulent and juicy but with structure and poise. Love this style in the short term but it would handle some further time in the cellar" Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot, Feb 2024

Full bodied, rich, classy. Deep crimson. Chocolate, intense black forest fruits, savoury herbs. A rich and complex palate opening with black berry compote coupled with a dark chocolate note and hints of cedary oak to follow. The palate profile is long and powerful, with a seamless berry coated tannin profile to balance. The fruit intensity of this vintage delivers a vibrant freshness to finish. Drink now or cellar confidently for up to 10 years from vintage.

The Ashmead family purchased their first estate vineyard in the middle of Nuriootpa in the late 1970s and since making their first wine from the 1982 vintage, have developed a great reputation and an enviable history of success. The 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon won the prestigious Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 1993, showcasing Elderton’s ability to make great Cabernet.

Fruit from vintage 2022 has a wonderful and abundant freshness, which made it a pleasure to work with. The generosity of fruit meant that we could work the cap reasonably well during fermentation to build a bold tannin structure to match the fruit profile. As always, we try and maintain our ferments at relatively low temperature as this is our best regulator for rate of ferment. We ensure our batches of Cabernet Sauvignon ferment to dryness, whilst still on skins, and are then pressed off before racking to a combination of new and seasoned French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and maturation. Our final Cabernet Sauvignon blend is assembled closer to bottling, allowing us to ensure we get the balance right in our final blend.

The weather was kind to us in 2022, with fruit picked from our Nuriootpa and Craneford vineyards. We experienced a relatively cool growing season with only a few minor warm spikes allowing for a very gradual ripening pattern. As Cabernet is a later ripening variety, we are always hopeful the rain holds off until we can pick. Although we had a threat of rain as the season went on, we were able to hold the fruit on the vines to achieve the ripeness and flavour spectrum we look for. Craneford, in Eden Valley, at higher altitude is cooler and is always some of the latest fruit to come in. We also have new plantings of three clonal selections of Cabernet Sauvignon, at our Nuriootpa vineyard, which are just beginning to show their varietal characteristics which is very promising!