Ashmead Cabernet Sauvignon (2000)

About this wine

The Ashmead single vineyard Cabernet from Elderton shows deep black fruit aromas of cassis and blackberry with cedar and graphite notes on the nose. The palate is rich and mouth filling with ripe plum and dark cherry flavors balanced by savory olive and mint accents. Tannins are fine grained and structured, giving a firm backbone and a long finish where vanilla and spicy oak linger. The wine is made from a single Ashmead block planted mid century, fruit is traditionally open fermented and the wine is matured in new French oak hogsheads for around 18 months. Bottlings of this wine are commonly around 14.5 percent alcohol and critics have noted its concentration and ability to age, reflecting Elderton’s Barossa site and low yielding old vines.

About the grape

Cabernet Sauvignon in this Elderton Ashmead comes from a single old vine block on the Nuriootpa estate, planted circa 1944 on deep alluvial silt over red and brown earths with limestone near the North Para River, which encourages deep rooting and means the vines need minimal irrigation. These very low yielding, old vines are prone to Dead Arm disease caused by Eutypa lata, a condition that over time has reduced vigour and helped concentrate fruit on the remaining arms, making the block prized for small parcel premium bottlings. For this wine the fruit is hand picked from the single Ashmead block, fermented in open fermenters with gentle cap management and then matured in new and seasoned French oak hogsheads, practices chosen to preserve the varietal structure and the character of the old vine Cabernet.

Quick facts

• 🌳 The Ashmead Cabernet comes from a single old vine block planted in 1944, so some vines in your bottle are over seven decades old.
• 🦾 Those old vines often carry Dead Arm disease which kills one arm of the vine, this reduces yields and concentrates flavors in the remaining fruit.
• 👪 Ashmead is the Ashmead family name, the wine is a family tribute that showcases the estate Cabernet the Ashmeads saved and championed.
• 🏆 The 2000 vintage was made during a milestone year for Elderton, when the winery was gaining international recognition, making bottles from that year feel a bit historic.
• 🫙 Fermentation for Ashmead has been done in open top concrete fermenters with hand pump overs, then finished in new French oak hogsheads, a hands on process that adds character.

Palate profile

Producer

Elderton Wines was established by Neil and Lorraine Ashmead in 1979 when they purchased an estate vineyard in the Barossa Valley that was originally planted in 1894. The family restored the old vines and produced their first commercial vintage in the early 1980s, developing a reputation for robust Barossa Shiraz and classic red blends. The winery won major awards including the Jimmy Watson Trophy in 1993 and international recognition for its Command Shiraz, and the second generation of the Ashmead family now manage the business. In 2017 the family restored the original 1918 bungalow as a new cellar door and visitor centre to showcase their historic vineyards and hospitality.