2022 Ashbrook Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River

This is a highly structured and purposeful cabernet that comes from vines planted more than 40 years ago. Fermentation took place in small batches and it was aged in oak for about 12 months. While it's largely cabernet, smaller components of petit verdot, cabernet franc and merlot have added to the aromatics and to the palate completeness. Fruit is bright and highly energised with blackcurrant and leafy notes merging with a little black olive edginess. It's seamlessly integrated and precisely focused. Drink to 2036.

93 points Ray Jordan's WA Wine Review 2026

Bright rich ruby with hints of purple at the rim. Mulberry, bouquet garni and floral aromas. Medium to full bodied with a bright mixed berry core showing graphite and floral lift. Youthful, with tannins providing ample tension and a long, drying finish. Drink 2027 to 2038.

92 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, January 2026

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 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is again a Bordeaux-inspired blend, as it has been since 1984. The namesake contributes to 85% of the wine, with the balance split across the three supporting varieties: Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. The Old Cab block on the estate dates to 1976 and was planted, like most of Margaret River, with the highly regarded Houghton clones.

Grapes were hand-picked, cold soaked and fermented with select yeasts in open temperature controlled stainless-steel fermenters with frequent plunging. After malolactic, the wine was refined in mostly seasoned French oak barriques for 22 months.

Shows blackcurrant, mulberry and bouquet garni on the nose with a leafy, black olive edge and a graphite and floral lift. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a bright, energised fruit core, seamlessly integrated oak and tannins that are firm and tensioned without being aggressive. A precise wine that is already showing well and will continue to open up over the next decade.

This needs food with some weight behind it: a slow-roasted lamb rack with herbs and a red wine jus, or a Milanese-style osso buco with gremolata and saffron risotto.

Drink now through 2038.