Australia · Adelaide Hills

Amadio Vineyard Kersbrook

Third-generation Italian-Australian Cabernet estate at Kersbrook in the Adelaide Hills; their Sebastien's Reserve 2021 took the Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon at AWC Vienna, beating entries from more than 40 countries.

The producer

Giovanni Amadio arrived in Australia in 1927 and took work as a market gardener at East Marden. He had been making wine for family and friends for years when he commercially registered a dry table wine in 1936. His son Gaetano planted the Kersbrook vineyard in 1985, choosing a pocket of the Adelaide Hills that ran warmer and drier than the cooler sub-regions to the south. His grandson Danniel took over the cellar in 2005 and directed the estate toward international competition.

Kersbrook's combination of warm days, cool nights, and low vine vigour concentrates Cabernet Sauvignon fruit and sharpens natural acidity. The estate's three-tier range, anchored by the Sebastien's Reserve, carries that character: dark fruit, firm tannin, and an acid line high enough to support ageing. Over the prior decade, the estate accumulated more than 80 gold medals at international shows before the 2021 Reserve took the world's best Cabernet title at AWC Vienna in 2024.

Known for

Kersbrook single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from a warmer, drier Adelaide Hills pocket, with firm tannin and high natural acidity across a three-tier range.

Notable facts

The story

Best Cabernet in the World

In late 2024, the Amadio team submitted their Sebastien's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 to the AWC Vienna International Wine Challenge, where more than 12,000 wines from over 40 countries compete for category trophies. The panel awarded it the Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon. Within the same 30-day stretch, the estate collected 13 gold medals in total, including two double golds, and sommeliers at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair named the same wine their Top Red of the Competition. The run landed 88 years after Giovanni Amadio, then a market gardener making wine for family and friends at East Marden, first put his name on a bottle and registered a dry table wine commercially in 1936.

From the atlas

Amadio Vineyard Kersbrook

At A Glance

The Producer

Giovanni Amadio arrived in Australia in 1927 and took work as a market gardener in a fruit orchard at East Marden. He had been making wine for family and friends for years before 1936, when he commercially registered a dry table wine. His son Gaetano planted the Kersbrook vineyard in 1985. His grandson Danniel took over winemaking in 2005, drawing on the Italian heritage of the family and directing the estate toward international competition.

In late 2024, Sebastien's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 took the Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon at the AWC Vienna International Wine Challenge, the world's largest wine competition, beating entries from more than 40 countries. The same wine was named Sommeliers Top Red of the Competition at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair. Over the prior decade, the estate had accumulated more than 80 gold medals at international shows.

Place

Kersbrook sits in the eastern part of the Adelaide Hills appellation in South Australia, in a pocket that runs warmer and drier than the cooler, wetter sub-regions to the south and west. Lower rainfall and higher temperatures slow vine vigour, limiting the canopy and concentrating the fruit. Grapes ripen earlier than in surrounding parts of the Hills. On Cabernet Sauvignon, Kersbrook's conditions produce fruit with firm tannin and high natural acidity. That combination of concentration and acid line is why the estate's wines carry enough substance to age and enough freshness to compete at altitude internationally.

The vineyard holds accreditation for Sustainable Wine Growing Practices.

Soil And Site

The Kersbrook site occupies a single estate. The warmer, drier aspect within the Adelaide Hills creates low-vigour growing conditions that reduce yields and sharpen fruit character. Vine stress concentrates flavour in the berries without sacrificing acidity. The earlier ripening window on this part of the Hills gives Cabernet Sauvignon more tannin development than is typical in the cooler southern reaches of the appellation.

Story

Giovanni Amadio registered his wine commercially in 1936, but the family's relationship with wine had started a decade earlier, when he first made it in private for those around him. His son Gaetano carried a different kind of ambition. In 1985, Gaetano chose Kersbrook to plant the family's first purpose-built vineyard, selecting a corner of the Adelaide Hills warmer and drier than the districts that had made the region famous for cool-climate whites. The decision placed Cabernet Sauvignon at the centre of the estate.

When Danniel took over in 2005, he moved the top wines into international competition circuits. Over the following two decades the estate built a track record at global shows: more than 80 gold medals, largely from international competitions, with the 2024 Vienna trophy representing the highest point of that record. Three generations, 88 years from first commercial registration to world's best Cabernet.

Vineyards And Cellar

All fruit for the Amadio label comes from the Kersbrook estate. The warmer aspect within the Adelaide Hills drives earlier bud break and ripening, and low canopy vigour concentrates colour and flavour in the fruit. Cool nights in the Hills preserve acidity, moderating the heat of the days and keeping the wines fresh alongside their concentration.

In the cellar, French oak is the primary tool for developing texture. The Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 spent 26 months in a mix of new and seasoned French oak casks, a period long enough to integrate the oak into the mid-palate and broaden the wine's texture without erasing the variety's dark-fruit character. The Reserve sees the same 26-month oak programme, applied to fruit selected at higher natural acidity.

Wines

The Amadio estate range is built around three tiers of Cabernet Sauvignon, each drawing from the same Kersbrook vineyard but differentiated by selection, oak exposure, and acidity at harvest.

Evanescence Cabernet Malbec 2024 is the approachable tier. Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with Malbec from the estate. Natural acidity sits at 6.21 g/L, preserved by cool Adelaide Hills nights. The wine is fresh and round, with enough concentration to cellar over the following decade, but accessible early.

Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 steps up in weight and length. All fruit from Kersbrook, matured 26 months in new and seasoned French oak. Acidity at 6.7 g/L. The oak contact widens the texture on the mid-palate and extends the finish, while dark-fruit varietal character stays intact.

Sebastien's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 carries the highest natural acidity in the range at 7.57 g/L. Also 26 months in French oak. This is the wine that beat entries from 40-plus countries at AWC Vienna in 2024. Dark-fruit concentration, firm but fine tannin, and a long graphite finish mark it as the estate's top expression.

Amadio Wines also produces several sub-brands, including Redshed, Fetch, Vino Di Famiglia, 8 Immortals, and Horse and Cart, serving separate market segments and distributed across ten countries including Canada, China, Hong Kong, and the United States.

In The Glass

Across the Amadio range, Kersbrook's warm days and cool nights leave a consistent signature: dark fruit at the centre, high acidity on the finish, and tannin firm enough to support ageing.

The Reserve opens with ripe mulberry, blackcurrant, and dark cherry. Secondary notes of mint, cedar, cocoa, and warm spice follow. On the palate, cassis, blackberry, and graphite arrive wrapped in velvety, finely worked tannin. The acid line at 7.57 g/L keeps the wine taut and long. Nothing softens prematurely.

The Single Vineyard is broader. The 26 months of French oak widens the mid-palate and rounds the edges without losing the dark-fruit spine. Acidity at 6.7 g/L anchors the finish. This is Kersbrook Cabernet with more plush and slightly less edge.

The Evanescence Cabernet Malbec is the most approachable. The Malbec contributes suppleness to the blend, the cool nights hold acidity at 6.21 g/L, and the wine moves from fresh dark fruit into a structured, rounded finish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Sebastien's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is the right first bottle. It is a single-vineyard Cabernet from Kersbrook, matured 26 months in French oak, and carrying the highest natural acidity in the estate's range at 7.57 g/L. On the nose, dark cherry, mulberry, and blackcurrant come first, followed by mint, cedar, and cocoa. On the palate, cassis and blackberry move into a long graphite finish across velvety, finely worked tannin. Start here to understand what a warm-pocketed Adelaide Hills site can do with Cabernet Sauvignon at full selection.

Anecdote

In late 2024, the Amadio team submitted their Sebastien's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 to the AWC Vienna International Wine Challenge, where more than 12,000 wines from over 40 countries compete for category trophies. The panel awarded it the Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon. Within the same 30-day stretch, the estate collected 13 gold medals in total, including two double golds, and Sommeliers at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair named the same wine their Top Red of the Competition. The run landed 88 years after Giovanni Amadio, then a market gardener making wine for family and friends in East Marden, first put his name on a bottle and registered a dry table wine commercially.

Final Word

Amadio Vineyard Kersbrook is a third-generation Italian-Australian family estate built on a warm, dry corner of the Adelaide Hills that most producers in the region have passed over in favour of cooler ground. The Kersbrook site concentrates Cabernet Sauvignon into wines with firm tannin, high natural acidity, and dark-fruit depth. Sebastien's Reserve 2021 won the Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon at AWC Vienna, beating more than 40 countries, which is the clearest measure of how far the estate has carried that choice.

Sources

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