2018 Ashbrook Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River

40th consecutive vintage in 2018. With petit verdot, cabernet franc and merlot, from a single vineyard of 40yo vines in Wilyabrup. The nose here is reticent to open at this early stage in its life, although it does sing a song of pure cassis and blackberry, the oak resting in there as well. The palate has mellifluous density and very good length of flavour. This is medium-bodied elegance, and a perfect example of how 2018 produced wines of ripeness and clarity. Drink to 2035.

95 points Erin Larkin for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2021

Deep, bright red/purple colour, with notes of coconut and red fruits on the nose and the slightest hint of desiccated fruits. In the mouth, it's elegant yet intense, full-bodied but with an effortless flow across the palate. The wine responds to extended aeration, revealing elegant red fruit aromas intertwined with savoury oak notes, the palate full-bodied but suavely-framed and finely-textured. (Made from dry-grown vines over 40 years old. Includes small quantities of petit verdot, cabernet franc and merlot). Drink to 2038.

94 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, November 2020

Ashbrook Estate has been quietly making some of Margaret River's most consistent wines since the Devitt family planted their first vines in Wilyabrup in 1975. The third generation continues to produce wines from estate vineyards that are managed with a long-term view of soil health rather than short-term yield.

The Reserve has been produced since 2010. It is Ashbrook's most selective expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from the 1976 dry-grown Old Cab block in Wilyabrup, with a small portion of supporting varieties completing the blend. It was refined for 22 months in French oak of which a third were new. Once bottled, the wine rested in Ashbrook's underground cellar until its recent release. Only 100 cases made.

The 2018 was one of Margaret River's finest growing seasons, with steady ripening, cool nights and no extreme heat events. Seven years on from vintage it has opened considerably from the reticent but clearly impressive wine the early reviews described. Pure cassis, blackberry, violet and cigar box on the nose with sweet spice and a savoury oak thread fully integrated. The palate is silky and medium to full-bodied with chalky, fine-grained tannins and a long, elegant finish.

Effortless rather than showy, it is a wine that calls for a simple but good dinner: a rack of lamb with a herb crust and red wine reduction, or a generous piece of aged hard cheese.

Drink now through 2038.