This wine expresses the distinct regional profile of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon and the site characters it takes from the Vasse Felix vineyards, with a focus on Wilyabrup. It was the first red wine produced in Margaret River and has been made every year since 1972. Cabernet is a robust variety ideally suited to Margaret River's climate and deep, well drained soils.
VINTAGE DESCRIPTION
Another text-book vintage in Margaret River with consistent, almost rhythmic temperature patterns throughout the ripening season, resulting in excellent balance and physiological ripeness of fruit. Reasonable yields were obtained despite a handful of blocks being exposed to heavy storms in spring reducing their cropping potential, but overall quality is excellent.
Wine To Cellar
Vasse Felix celebrated their 50th anniversary this year by releasing a sensational new 2013 cabernet malbec petit verdot blend made from the original vines and called Tom Cullity, after the vineyard's founder, fittingly priced at A$160 a bottle. It makes the standard estate cabernet look like a snip at a mere A$45: this is a stunning, fragrant, supremely age-worthy red wine with essence of mulberry fruit framed by bright, lively tannins and a long, deep, botanical finish.
90 points
You know when you take rosemary, herbs, cracked pepper, salt, and olive oil and make a paste and slather it all over a leg of lamb and roast it, and when it's done, there's that charred bit of lamb-herb crust in the bottom of the pan sitting in warm meat juices, and you pick it up with your fingers and eat it? That's a perfect savory moment. And it reminds me of the savory deliciousness of this wine. The Margaret River in far western Australia is famous for sleek cabernets with a dark cocoa and foresty character. Vasse Felix makes one of the best. And it tastes like it costs more than it does.
95 points
This is so floral and fragrant with currant and blackberry character. Full to medium body, linear and edgy with a energy running through it. Firm and silky. Fine grain texture. Zingy finish. Dense. Wound ball of silk. Screw cap. Love now but will improve for decades.
97 points
Margaret River. Aged for 18 months in 40% new French oak. Traditional regional nuances this wine has always adorned are catapulted into a new stratosphere here... thanks to Willcock's moonwalking dedication to wild exploration through Vasse's thriving vineyards.