Heytesbury is a barrel selection from the finest parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend includes portions of Malbec and Petit Verdot, which are distinctly perfumed, flavoured and structured. Both complement the restrained power of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Vintage Description
An exceptionally dry Spring resulted in small balanced canopies and early development stages. A very warm Summer with timely rainfall around veraison was followed by rapid ripening to an early vintage. Whites were harvested in a very short time frame though retained good acid. Reds were early but slowed a little with milder conditions in March, resulting in excellent quality reds.
93+ Points
Flagship Vasse Felix blend of cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot and malbec. Once upon a time the word flagship almost always = heavy-handed oak but nowadays Heytesbury Cabernet is a more balanced affair. This release is much like the 2011 "standard" Vasse Felix cabernet with a little extra fruit-and-tannin grunt. There's more than a passing resemblance between the two. Medium-weight boysenberry, mulberry and blackcurrant flavours with leather, bay leaf and tobacco notes making for a complex impression. Everything's lined up and in order; time is all that is now required. As a wine it doesn't come at you; you have to slow down and meet it in the middle somewhere.
Most Respected
"Vasse Felix is one of the most respected wineries in Western Australia and this blend is an intriguing modern Southern Hemisphere take on the very traditional historic Bordeaux theme. Unconventional, but successfully tasty, it is full bodied, has pronounced smooth grainy tannins and massive depth of mid palate weight - in other words, it drinks beautifully now (if decanted) but definitely needs another decade or two before it reaches its full potential."
97 Points
"No one can doubt the quality or the longevity of this iconic wine."
96 Points
A superb example of how Margaret River cabernet blends can rival Bordeaux reds for a fraction of the price. Blackcurrant, briar, dried florals, Asian herbs, tar and leathery aromas have a balanced background of cedary French oak. Intense, super-long, complex and tightly structured, it's a wine of fantastic presence which will live for many more years.