97 Points - Jeni Port
Ansted & Osicka is an impressive new venture by experienced Heathcote winemakers and friends; Tobias Ansted and Simon Osicka. Ansted spent a time as winemaker at Balgownie Estate and now makes wine at Tellurian. Simon Osicka also has strong association with the region; taking over at the Heathcote winery his father Paul Osicka started in 1955.
Accessing grapes from Balgownie’s famed 1970 Block of Cabernet Sauvignon, the newly released 2024 Ansted & Osicka Balgownie 1970 Block Cabernet Sauvignon is a brilliant follow-up to the enormously popular 2022 vintage, which drew widespread acclaim.
"97 Points. Sadly now destined for development, the original Balgownie vineyard planted by Stuart Anderson in '70 made another stunning wine in '24 in the hands of Heathcote winemakers Tobias Ansted, former Balgownie winemaker, and Simon Osicka. Gives Bendigo cabernet some TLC which sets it soaring. Revels in the kind of complexity that old vines bring with deep, concentrated black fruits with a full spectrum of cabernet characters: cassis, blackberry, loganberry, dark olive, tilled earth, leaf, clove and herbs balanced perfectly in fine tannins laid out against a gentle cedary oak background. Gets the pulse racing, it's that good. A wine for posterity. Drink: 2025 - 2040. 13.7% alc. $60"- Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion.
