Elderton Ashmead Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

The Ashmead is Elderton's flagship single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from a tiny parcel of vines planted in 1944 on deep alluvial silt soils near the North Para River in Nuriootpa — a block that was nearly pulled out in 1997 before the family elected to preserve it as the estate's most treasured site. The 2021 vintage benefited from a long, mild and almost pressure-free growing season with no rain interruption, allowing full and even ripeness across both Barossa Valley and Eden Valley fruit. Fermented in open and closed top fermenters with careful cap management to develop tannin profile while retaining leafy red-fruit aromatics, then matured in a mix of new French oak hogsheads from eight different coopers for approximately 18 months. The 2021 opens with inky cassis, chinotto and espresso with floral lift and cedar. The palate is beautifully proportioned — strong blackcurrant and dark chocolate wrapped in fine, grainy, mouth-coating tannins with underlying savoury notes, vibrant acid balance and a long, firm, mineral finish. Scored 95 points by both Angus Hughson and Andrew Caillard MW. Needs time to fully blossom — one of the Barossa's benchmark single-vineyard Cabernets.