Bright yellow colour. Fascinating nose of white peach, nectarine and citrus, with grilled cashew nuts. The palate is delightful, with the fruit flavours reflected across the palate and slight drying tannins from the oak. Everything in balance - fruit purity and oak combine superbly.
One of my favourite Margaret River chardonnays year in, year out, and moderately age-worthy.
Ashbrook Chardonnay 2012
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Ashbrook Chardonnay 2012
Wine, women and song. Ideally, you can experience all three at once.
Re: Ashbrook Chardonnay 2012
I went to the Ashbrook Cellar Door last Sunday and tasted through the range including the 2012 Chardonnay. In general I would say that Ashbrook are one of the real quiet achievers in Margaret River and their entire range of varietal wines offer consistency, quality and great value.
A single vineyard estate with plantings back to 1975 and all processes completed onsite including their own static bottling line. Four unoaked whites (all from 2013), Riesling, Semillon, Verdelho and Sauvignon Blanc, all showing excellent varietal typicity, purity of fruit and balance - can be enjoyed now but will also age well.
Margaret River is by no means renowned for Riesling - for me the Ashbrook Riesling is by far the best MR example by some margin, clean, crisp but yielding acid and zesty citrus characters, not overly phenolic or "appley" a la my personal experiences with Leeuwin Estate.
The Chardonnay for me was not as bright yellow in colour as Alan describes above - although the light is pretty dim in the rustic Cellar Door. I found this wine to be particularly elegant and would echo Allan's sentiments in terms of the balance, purity of fruit and well judged use of oak. I can't think of many MR Chardonnays that offer better value than this at $32 ex CD.
The reds from 2009 were Shiraz and Cabernet Merlot - lots of juicy fruit flavour in the Shiraz, white pepper and subtle spice, drinking very well right now but plenty of time left. The Cab Merlot is 80 Cab/10 Merlot/5 Cab Franc/5 Petit Verdot - great flavour and structure, silky, persistent tannins, ageing potential clearly evident as per Allan's other note on the 2001 Cab Merlot. Both these reds are $29. Also tasted the new 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, inaugural vintage of this wine, which has received extended maturation in selected French oak and shows all the hallmarks of an MR Cabernet that will hold it's own in terms of quality and longevity when compared to the regularly recognised top producers, and therefore a good buy at $60.
Overall a very enjoyable tasting experience of a small but coherent range which points to a producer with an excellent understanding of their own mature vineyard and when to pick the fruit to achieve finished wines of character, complexity and longevity.
A single vineyard estate with plantings back to 1975 and all processes completed onsite including their own static bottling line. Four unoaked whites (all from 2013), Riesling, Semillon, Verdelho and Sauvignon Blanc, all showing excellent varietal typicity, purity of fruit and balance - can be enjoyed now but will also age well.
Margaret River is by no means renowned for Riesling - for me the Ashbrook Riesling is by far the best MR example by some margin, clean, crisp but yielding acid and zesty citrus characters, not overly phenolic or "appley" a la my personal experiences with Leeuwin Estate.
The Chardonnay for me was not as bright yellow in colour as Alan describes above - although the light is pretty dim in the rustic Cellar Door. I found this wine to be particularly elegant and would echo Allan's sentiments in terms of the balance, purity of fruit and well judged use of oak. I can't think of many MR Chardonnays that offer better value than this at $32 ex CD.
The reds from 2009 were Shiraz and Cabernet Merlot - lots of juicy fruit flavour in the Shiraz, white pepper and subtle spice, drinking very well right now but plenty of time left. The Cab Merlot is 80 Cab/10 Merlot/5 Cab Franc/5 Petit Verdot - great flavour and structure, silky, persistent tannins, ageing potential clearly evident as per Allan's other note on the 2001 Cab Merlot. Both these reds are $29. Also tasted the new 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, inaugural vintage of this wine, which has received extended maturation in selected French oak and shows all the hallmarks of an MR Cabernet that will hold it's own in terms of quality and longevity when compared to the regularly recognised top producers, and therefore a good buy at $60.
Overall a very enjoyable tasting experience of a small but coherent range which points to a producer with an excellent understanding of their own mature vineyard and when to pick the fruit to achieve finished wines of character, complexity and longevity.