Howard Park Abercrombie Cabernet Margaret River & Mount Barker

Abercrombie Cabernet fruit is sourced in from the Abercrombie vineyard, one of the first to be planted with Cabernet Sauvignon in the Great Southern. It was established in 1975, in Mount Barker, identified as a terroir suitable for high quality Cabernet. Subsequently the vineyard was purchased by the Burch Family of Howard Park in 2004. Defined by a propitious northerly aspect accented with gravelly alluvial soils, the vineyard is planted to 10 hectares of vines and is minuscule in a regional context. An established component of the original Howard Park Cabernet, the name is now used for an icon expression that draws on the original Mount Barker source, while blending it with fruit from the Leston Vineyard, in the Margaret River hearth. Think black currant, mulch, Kari bush and a cool undercarriage of graphite-infused mineral. The aura has a coolness about it. The tannins, alloyed, detail and finely ground, meshed with an alluvial authority and a whiff of saline freshness. A wine built to age.

Leston Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: the Leston property was Howard Park’s very first vineyard, but also the spiritual home of all winemaking operations and the cellar door. It is named after Howard Park’s owner, Jeff Burch’s father. Planted in 1995, it represents the recognition of the Margaret River’s propensity for classic Bordeaux varieties, as much as an aesthetic that dwells on the bucolic Wilyabrup landscape. The site is 138 hectares in total, 75 of which are under vine. The aromas are a tattoo of regional classicism, defined by cigar box, dried nori and blackcurrant. The finish, a long plume of tannins, a whiff of menthol and a looser knit feel, suggesting mid-term cellaring capacity.