Print this Wine         1996 Elderton Cabernet Sauvignon   NURIOOTPA, BAROSSA VALLEY                 January Release   Cabernet Sauvignon       This is a remarkably consistent wine, with all the generosity of fruit that the Barossa Valley is famous for. 1996 is exceptional too, and the team at Elderton have capitalised on their good fortune with the weather. Deep dark blood red with a purple hue, this is a wine with massive concentration. The sweet berry fruit flavours are quite obvious but so too are rich chocolate and cigar box characters, which take the wine into a dimension above and beyond mere fruit complexity. All of these characters are in evidence on the palate. Perhaps the rich chocolate of fully ripe, warm climate Cabernet Sauvignon are the most obvious and they fill the mid palate with a smooth coating of intense flavour. The oak is also very prominent, and its presence adds further texture and in turn more depth. Certainly the ripeness and generosity of fruit requires, almost demands, plenty of new oak. The wine has an abundance of tannin at the finish, both derived from extraction of skins and also from the new oak. This tannin sits in harmony with the rich, ripe fruit. As this balance is achieved the wine can either be enjoyed right now or will age for at least 8-10 years and will be a smoother and more integrated wine at that stage. If you are drinking the wine now it will be best suited to dishes that have spicy components which in turn will highlight the fruit intensity. Mild but rich Indian inspired curries or braised joints of meat, such as veal or lamb shanks cooked in their own juices and flavoured with a combination of spices would be superb with such a big mouth filling wine. Also aged cheddar style or crumbly, piquant Reggiano cheese would suit this wine.

Varietal All Varietals Bordeaux Blends Cabernet Sauvignon Chardonnay Colombard Dessert Wine Grenache Grenache Mourvedre Shiraz Grenache Rose Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre Italian Varietals Marsanne Viognier Merlot Mourvedre Mourvedre Mourvedre Shiraz Grenache Muscadelle Muscat Other Pinot Grigio Pinot Gris Pinot Noir Port Riesling Rose Saignee Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Shiraz Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache Shiraz Petit Sirah Shiraz Viognier Syrah Viognier Estate All Estates Aramis Vineyards Blackbilly Bowen Estate Clonakilla Coates Craiglee Elderton Fireblock Flinders Bay Frankland Estate Grosset Wines Heathcote II Hill of Content Mount Horrocks Primo Estate / Joseph Rocky Gully Rutherglen Estates Sir Paz Estate The Catcher Wines The Jumping Grape Wines The Old Faithful The Wishing Tree Tir na N'og Region All Regions Adelaide Hills Adelaide Plains Auburn Australian Capital Territory Barossa Ranges Barossa Valley Blewitt Springs Bowen Estate Canberra District Cardinia Hills Cardinia Ranges Central Victoria Clare Valley Clarendon Coonawarra Cowra Eden Valley Fleurieu Frankland Geelong Great Western Griffith Heathcote Hilltops Region Hunter Valley Kangarilla King Valley Langhorne Creek Lenswood Lower Hunter Valley Macedon Ranges Margaret River McLaren Vale Mornington Peninsula Mount Carmel Murrenbateman New South Wales Norton Summit Nuriootpa Old Garden Vineyard Padthaway Piccadilly Polish Hill River Riverina Rutherglen Sevenhills South Australia Sunbury Tanunda Upper Beaconsfield Victoria Watervale West Australia Western Australia Woodside Yarra Valley Keyword Include Museum Notes? Yes   No Show me more wines: of this vintage of this varietal by this estate from this region