Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay and Reserve Chardonnay vertical

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

I last hosted a vertical tasting of Ashbrook Estate’s Chardonay in 2020 https://forum.auswine.club/viewtopic.php?p=1 ... cal#p16343. Five years on, it seemed a good idea to do it again. This time, we also looked at a run of Ashbrook’s Reserve Chardonnay as well.

I’ve been a fan (and a buyer) of Ashbrook Estate’s chardonnay for 30 years now, and actively cellaring it for over 20. Ashbrook Estate (like many other wineries) offer a Cellar Club membership with associated discounts, and this is one of only two Margaret River producers that I have maintained membership with.

In total, we looked at 15 wines – Estate Chardonnay from 2023 – 2016, and the Reserve Chardonnay from 2023-2017. All wines were from my cellar, with some of the Reserves purchased for the event from Cath at Ashbrook. I am grateful to Cath for filling the gaps in my Reserve Chardonnay collection, as well as providing the technical notes for all of the wines in this tasting.

As usual, the wines were tasted from youngest to older; however, on this occasion, we looked at the Estate Chardonnay first, and then onto the Reserve Chardonnays. The notes are a combination of the group’s comments and are not solely mine.

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay

This from Ashbrook Estate’s website: As is our tradition, half the Chardonnay underwent primary fermentation in brand new premium French oak barriques and the remaining half in stainless steel. Both portions were matured on undisturbed lees for eight months. MLF and battonage were avoided to retain the primary fruit flavours and freshness crucial to our style of Chardonnay.

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2023: (Note, this was accidentally omitted from the tasting, and the notes here are from a bottle opened the following night). The nose shows lots of ripe peaches and nectarines, along with vanilla, cashew, tinned pineapple, and just a hint of citrus. The palate is juicy and full of ripe tropical and stone fruits, with the oak playing a supporting role, and again just a touch of citrus. Just the right amount of everything in this wine, and it would have rated highly had I remembered to include it in the tasting.

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2022: From a warm year. Stone fruits dominate the nose, with peach and nectarine along with some lemon pith, vanilla, and yoghurt (indicating some time on lees). The palate reflected the nose, with ripe peaches and some lemon zest, tinned pineapple and mango. This has quite a round mouthfeel, and has supportive acid. Medium finish.

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2021: From a cooler vintage, this showed more citrus than stone fruits, with lemon and a little mandarin and grapefruit. There’s also some vanilla and yoghurt. The palate is leaner than the 2022, with similar levels of acid, and a medium finish..

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2020: This sits somewhere between the 2021 and the 2022 in terms of palate weight and intensity. There’s a blend of stone fruits and citrus, with vanilla and yoghurt on the nose. The palate shows more white peach, green pineapple and citrus, with zingy acid, and a slight toasty note (indicating the start of development). Medium length.

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Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2019: A cooler year, and wouldn’t you know it, the balance between citrus and stone fruits has swung back in favour of citrus. There’s lemon, grapefruit and nectarine, and a touch of almond. There’s a little oyster shell on the palate, with lemon zest, grapefruit and zingy acid. Although this was a common feature to many of the wines, this one showed a little more phenolic grip on the back palate than some others. Medium length.

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2018: Possibly the best year of the previous decade. This is richer on the nose than previous wines, with ripe peaches and nectarines. There’s vanilla and cashew, toasty oak, and some cheese or buttermilk (time on lees), and a little struck math on the nose. The palate is also full and rich, with ripe peaches and nectarine, green melon, and just a hint of oyster shell. A slightly creamy texture and a medium to long finish. A complete wine.

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2017: A cooler year, but this wine seemed to be fuller despite this. The nose showed citrus, grapefruit, and yoghurt with some smokiness, and less vanilla than previous wines. Acid was noticeable on the palate, with preserved lemon and a little salinity. Less phenolic grip and texture than earlier wines, and this sat well with some of the group.

Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2016: This was the wine of the night in the 2020 tasting. Definitely showing signs of development – not surprising at 9 years of age – with peach pie, nectarine and lemon zest. Acid was prominent as the fruit is diminishing, with preserved lemon and savoury, tertiary characters. Declining but still an interesting wine.

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Chardonnay of the night was Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2018

Reserve Chardonnay

This from Ashbrook Estate’s website: Once a robust fermentation was underway, the wine was racked to an assortment of premium Bordeaux and Burgundian oak barriques with a combination of toasting levels and methods. Only brand-new French oak is used to balance and enhance the powerful fruit flavours our Chardonnay consistently achieves. Upon completion of primary fermentation the 100% brand new French oaked wine is allowed to mature on undisturbed lees for 8 months prior to bottling. Malolactic fermentation and battonage were avoided to retain the primary fruit qualities and freshness crucial to our style of Chardonnay.

Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2023: A step up in intensity from the ‘standard’ chardonnays, with ripe peaches and stone fruits. Vanila and clove on the nose, and one taster identified musk. The palate is substantial, with all of the factors evident on the nose, plus a little dried apricot and ginger. There’s a creamy texture, and the wine is balanced, with depth and intensity. Full bodied, and I am looking forward to seeing how it develops over time.

Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2022: The nose shows a balance between citrus and stone fruits on the nose, along with vanilla and cashew nut. The peach is more prominent on the palate, along with a little oyster shell, and the wine shows supporting acid and a creamy texture.

Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2021: Leaner than the previous two wines, with citrus (lemon, grapefruit) dominating the nose, alongside a little nectarine and vanilla. The palate is also citrus dominant, with lemon and grapefruit, and some nectarine in the minority. Acid is linear, and the creamy texture is in balance with the fruits. Slight nutty character and medium length.

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Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2020: This shows some vanilla, citrus and stone fruits on the nose, although the primary fruits are less in intensity and there’s signs of development. The palate shows some dough, salted lemon, apricot kernel and peaches, with good supporting acid. One taster noted lemon-lime meringue. Good length.

Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2019: More signs of development on the nose, with less primary fruit than the 2020. A hint of reduction also, with vanilla and the citrus dominates. The palate shows dough or pastry (like the 2020), oyster shell, and a creamy mouthfeel. Medium length, and the fruit fades on the back palate.

Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2018: Fuller and richer than previous wines, with cedary oak, ripe peaches, struck match and toasted grains on the nose. The palate shows lots of stone fruits and a little citrus, vanilla, cashew nuts and just the right amount of phenolic grip on the back palate. Excellent length.

Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2017: Despite the cooler year, this shows some fruit intensity on the nose (more citrus than stone fruit), with some nougat. There’s ruby grapefruit on the palate, preserved lemon, and the acid runs a long line to the back palate. There’s phenolic grip and good length. Developing, but by no means declining.

Reserve Chardonnay of the night was the Ashbrook Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2018

Readers may have observed that the different years gave a different balance in primary fruits. Cooler years favoured citrus flavours over stone fruits, whereas the warmer years favoured the stone fruits. This was fairly consistent through the wines we tasted.

There’s also consistency, or house style, for these wines, while allowing for (and amply demonstrating) vintage variation. I think this is the right approach.

My sincere thanks to Cath at Ashbrook Estate, Mark, Jodie and Brad at Lulu’s Little Bistro, and the group of tasters who bravely volunteered their opinions and comments.

Cheers
Allan

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[Michael McNally]

I'm going to have to move to WA...

Thanks Allan!

Cheers

Michael