G'day
I hosted a vertical tasting of Ashbrook Estate Chardonnays in 2020. This was the note at the time on the 2016 (which, incidentally, was voted wine of the night from 10 vintages):
Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2016: Pale yellow. The oak was slightly lighter on the nose than previous wines, and there was lots of soft white peaches, some lime pie (including the pastry element) and grapefruit. The palate was more intense – citrus (especially grapefruit), stone fruits (yellow peach particularly) – well supported by freshening acid. This shows more structure than the 2017, and may well live longer, but for now it was described as honeyed and seductive. Excellent wine.
Four years on, and the wine has (not surprisingly) developed considerably. Colour is now yellow / gold. Oak is now more to the fore on the nose, with cedar, buttered toast and pastry alongside light peaches and just hints of citrus. The palate remains fruit forward, however, with lots of peaches / stone fruits, some citrus (but not especially tangy) and the oak playing a supporting role. Acid is keeping the wine juicy and refreshing, and there's no hint of the 'cordial' character that you can get with age and development (nor the honeyed character noted 4 years ago).
Possibly at its peak, certainly most enjoyable. A couple of bottles remain. Time to look at older vintages again as well.
Cheers
Allan
TN: Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2016
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TN: Ashbrook Estate Chardonnay 2016
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Wine, women and song. Ideally, you can experience all three at once.