Elderton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 (Barossa Valley)

The season leading in to the 2021 harvest presented with sufficient rain and calm conditions allowing for decent flowering and fruit set heading into the ripening season. The solid base for this wine comes from Elderton's Nuriootpa vineyard which delivers a stunning cassis-driven fruit depth coupled with long savoury tannins. The slightly higher elevation of their Craneford (Eden Valley) vineyard offers another layer of vibrancy and freshness coupled with a slatey cool finish.

Elderton have 3 new plantings of specific clones of Cabernet Sauvignon from which we also took our first fruit this year. We are pretty excited about the potential of these vines in further developing our Cabernet Sauvignon to ensure the best and most honest expression of the variety.

2021 was a vintage which really allowed the fruit to shine through. Healthy and happy vines allowed generous flavours to develop. The season was long and without rain interruption which meant we could achieve full ripeness in Elderton's Cabernet Sauvignon, both on the Barossa Valley floor and in Eden Valley. The fruit was fermented in a combination of open and closed fermenters. Elderton used a closed fermenter for the Craneford fruit, permitting more time on skins in a less oxidative space. This allowed development of the tannin profile whilst also ensuring we held on to the leafy and red fruited aromatics. The Cabernet was then pressed from fermenter to a combination of new and seasoned French oak for malolactic fermentation and further maturation for the following year. Elderton carefully blended the parcels from their two vineyards to achieve the best balance.