Wine Overview
‘Abercrombie’ is the definitive cabernet sauvignon of Howard Park Wines. Since the first release in 1986, a multi-region five-vineyard Western Australian blend, this wine has been a true reflection of the best fruit chosen from a selection of the oldest vineyards in Western Australia’s Margaret River region and cool climate Mount Barker and Porongurup sub-regions of the Great Southern. Produced from the top 1% of available cabernet sauvignon grapes and then only in the years when grapes of extraordinarily high quality are available.
Named after Jeff Burch’s Great-Grandfather Walter Abercrombie, this Howard Park flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is noted for its outstanding structural complexity and exceptional elegance. It combines the austere dusty earth and blackcurrant aromas from Mount Barker, with the classic rich fruit and chocolaty palette of Margaret River. Together they produce an elegantly balanced cabernet sauvignon with mature ripe tannins backed up by quality French oak. Careful long term cellaring will realize this wine’s full potential.
The ‘Abercrombie’ Cabernet Sauvignon is listed with Wine Ark in the Top 30 of Australia’s most collected wines for trophy and the ‘Grande Medialle d’Or’ (Great Gold Medal) at Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, a Gold Medal at the Internationhe last three years. Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine rates the Abercrombie as ‘Excellent’ denoting ‘high performing wines of exquisite quality’. The wine has also received many top ratings from wine writers including James Halliday and Robert Parker. Over the last ten years it has been internationally recognized with multiple awards including the Best Red Wine Tal Wine Challenge, twice commended as Best in Class at the International Wine & Spirits Competition and two Blue Gold Medals at the Sydney International Wine Competition
| Composition: |
100% Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Region: |
Mount Barker, The Great Southern and Williabrup, Margaret River |
| Technical Notes: |
The 2008 growing season started with the dry winter of 2007 leaving many dams at below adequate levels for comfort for the forthcoming growing season. Fortunately, the spring was wet and cool which preserved soil moisture. However, the flip-side was that berry set was compromised in Cabernet Sauvignon. The later spring and early summer was even and warm without the heat spikes experienced in the eastern states. Shoot growth was even and there was excellent ripening potential in the canopies for the moderate yields.
We experienced mixed flowering conditions leading to the lower crop levels in the reds as mentioned. Benign and mild weather for most of the ripening season was punctuated by well timed rain events which aided ripening by maintaining leaf freshness and avoiding stress, not least for the viticulturist.
The 2008 season will be regarded as a classic Western Australian vintage; every variety ripened to perfection without racing, colours were opaque and deep and tannins ripe and supple. The reds will be long lived examples of their styles.
The fruit was hand picked, sorted and fermented in a mix of small static fermenters and open stainless steel vats. The wines were hand-plunged and pumped over as required to balance the extraction of colour, tannin and flavour development. The structure of both the Margaret River and Great Southern
|
| Tasting Notes: |
The 2008 Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon is opaque red with a purple rim. The nose is filled with blackberry, cedar, tomato leaf, dusty bitumen road and chocolate representing each distinctive component of the harmonious Great Southern and Margaret River blend. On the palate, the Great Southern fruit parcels provide the structural backbone and line of the wine while the Margaret River component lifts the aromatics adding flesh and complexity. The palate starts with a rush of plush red berry fruit and reaches its zenith with damp earth and forest floor complexity balanced by ultrafine powdery and layered tannins. The finish displays the class of the selected vineyards with long fruit and structural elements balanced by supporting mocha oak.
|
| Cellaring Notes: |
Will mature into one of the outstanding vintages of this lineage after more than ten years aging under ideal cellaring conditions.
|
|
|
"Howard Park has been making top-notch Cabernet Sauvignon for over twenty years but it's pulled out a ripper from the 2008 vintage. This is what cabernet is all about..." - Campbell Mattinson and Gary Walsh, The Big Red Wine Book 2010/11
"Beautifully poised bouquet, with unmistakable varietalleafiness and bucket loads of enticing cassis fruit; the bouquet moves intoflorals, with oak playing a minor role to the pristine and ample fruit; thepalate displays an impeccable balance of fruit, acid and silky fine-grained tannins,revealing a long complex and wonderfully satisfying experience; while it willage gracefully, many simply won't wait, and they will not be disappointed.” - James Halliday, 2011 Australian Wine Companion
Read More Reviews for this wine
The Howard Park ‘Abercrombie’ Cabernet Sauvignon was named after Walter Thomas Abercrombie. Owner of Howard Park Wines Jeff Burch’s Great Grandfather. Walter Abercrombie was born in Liverpool, and migrated to South Australia with his wife and daughter where he was the Mayor of Port Adelaide and worked as a carpenter building several influential buildings in Adelaide including South Australia’s Parliament house and several Church’s.
Walter Abercrombie was very close to Jeff when he was growing up and used to read him the encyclopaedia and ask questions about what they had just read. Walter also made a seat at the front of his motorbike and took Jeff on rides around the countryside visiting vineyards around the regions as a small boy.
|
|