2018 Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon

This textbook vintage has given birth to an Abercrombie that will go down among the greats. Pinpoint blackcurrant and cassis are laid our on a backdrop of classy French oak (60 percent new) defining a fine-grained tannin profile that beckons a long life in the cellar. World class cabernet.

Fruit from the Leston vineyard in Margaret River, and the Abercrombie vineyard in Mount Barker. The 2018 vintage produced wines of untold ripeness and balance and elevated the flavour concentration in almost every variety. This is concentrated and dense. There is a herbal bay/sage component to this wine that creates elegance and interest, the length of flavour very good. Classical cabernet. Minty/menthol.

It’s an exquisite wine. Medium bodied, delicate with a lightness of touch. I won’t bother you with lengthy descriptors but blackcurrant, mint, cigar notes come immediately to mind. What is so remarkable about Abercrombie… is the balance of fruit character and nuanced complexity straight out of the bottle.

Highly awarded winemaker Janice McDonald has made a wine that is satisfying and intriguing right now with no need to cellar but will handle 2 decades in a dark place for those who love aged Cabernet character.

Remarkable wine. A great antidote to lockdown. Get some!

Deep colour still with a trace of purple, while the bouquet is reserved and shows some crushed leafy high notes over earthy cassis, blackcurrant aromas. The palate is full-bodied, concentrated and deep, with abundant grip and a trace of astringency. Long carry. A wine that will reward further cellaring. Massive potential here.

It’s an ultra-pure expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. You put it near your nose, and you take a sip, and you’re home. All those dusty bay leaf and gravel notes launching off blackcurrant, redcurrant and olive. It’s aromatic, it’s flavoursome and it’s tannic; it does all the basics at a high level. The concentration of flavour here is noteworthy but not excessive; its charm remains intact. The sexiness is not overt but is inherent. This is really good, it just is, and it can be cellared with absolute confidence.

Howard Park’s Abercrombie is a one of a kind and is a highly individual expression of Western Australian Cabernet. It started out life in Mount Barker before becoming a blend with fruit from Margaret River, which is now up to 78%. But Mount Barker still remains vital and the not-so-secret ingredient which helps this to be among the state’s top wines, with the 2018 vintage going down as one of the best in recent memory.

It’s deeply coloured, almost opaque. and bright to look at. The aromas are of pure cool climate Cabernet Sauvignon with Wilyabrup providing the power and Mount Barker the detail. Deep set ripe cassis and mulberry fruit with distinctive leafy and cedar are backed up to the hilt by high quality new French oak – it’s a little strong right now but that will come back in time. The palate is then dry and intense with precision and balance in spades. It’s wound up nice and tight with youthful vitality and energy plus bright acidity and al dente tannins that drive a long and composed finished. It’s a classic Cabernet Sauvignon, built for the long haul.

The 2018 vintage is without question one of the best and most classically styled vintages ever recorded in Margaret River and across greater Western Australia. It delivers tautly composed, powerful and refined structure in whites and reds. Both will be long-lived wines. The cabernet sauvignons are likely to peak in more than 20 years. But this is not to say the 2018 wines aren’t destined to deliver much pleasure in the interim. On the contrary, they will unfurl in layers over time and they are complex in their youth, to the point of being cryptic.

This is really fine with such polished and manicured fruit and tannins that deliver a thoroughly refined and beautiful palate with sweet dark fruit, from currants to blackberries. Long, long finish. Hard not to drink now. But one for the cellar. Try after 2025.

Deep colour. Very expressive blackcurrant, mulberry, vanilla aromas with graphite herb garden notes. Beautifully concentrated wine with pure blackcurrant pastille, blackberry fruits, fine grainy hint brambly textures and integrated vanilla/ roasted chestnut notes. Gathers power across the palate finishing cedar firm with plentiful sweet glacé fruits and mineral length. Very well-balanced wine with lovely presence, suppleness and vinosity.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Abercrombie is a benchmark. It is made with a blend of fruit from Margaret River and Mount Barker in the Great Southern. This is a wine that exudes class from every pore with exceptional precision, focus and balance while retaining its charm. Perfumed cassis and violet aromas are joined by sweeter mulberry fruits with a subtle leafiness all wrapped in a cloak of fine French Oak. Firm, pliable tannins sit waiting to unfold under tightly wound small dark berry fruits before a long and seamless finish.

Fruit for this wonderful illustration of how good 2018 was in WA, comes from the Leston Vineyard in Margaret River and the Abercrombie Vineyard in Mount Barker. As with all the great 18s, the balance, poise and fruit concentration is exceptional, but then there is the elegance and balance. Fine grainy tannins, integrated oak, and dark rich fruit. It all comes together so perfectly.

This is a multi-regional blend of two extraordinary sites: Leston in Margaret River and Abercrombie in Mount Barker. Don’t let the power of the young fruit confuse you. While this is a highly concentrated juice, it is a profoundly well-crafted seamless wine with a frame and elegance that will continue to grow with time. Tannins are polished and vibrant. Flavours include blueberry essence, clove, cedar, blackcurrant and bay leaf.

Aroma and flavor: dark berry fruit, chocolate, mint, tobacco leaf, seaweed and earthy spice. Toasty oak is present, too. The tannins are powerful with a lovely talc-like texture, but the juicy fruit remains in the spotlight. Drinking well now but with potential to age gracefully for several decades.