2012 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml

Overview

Rated 10/10 by the winery, the 2012 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon ranks among the estate’s finest releases. This flagship Margaret River blend combines vibrant Cabernet fruit, complex savoury detail and firm yet balanced tannins, supported by 32 months in French oak and substantial cellaring potential.

Vintage

The 2012 growing season was excellent. Well-timed rainfall kept the estate’s dry-grown vines adequately supplied without disrupting flowering, while warm summer conditions promoted steady, even ripening. Cooler autumn weather allowed the Cabernet varieties to progress gradually towards full maturity.

Winemaking

All fruit was harvested by hand, destemmed and transferred to small open fermenters. Each parcel was fermented with a selected yeast culture, hand-plunged up to four times daily and retained on skins for approximately 12 to 15 days to achieve the desired tannin balance.

Following pressing and malolactic fermentation, the wine matured for 32 months in 225-litre French oak barrels, of which 20% were new. It was then lightly fined and bottled on 18 November 2014.

Producer Tasting Notes

The wine has an especially vibrant nose, with all sorts of lifted scents. There are violets, raspberries, mulberries and red currants fairly jumping out of the glass but underneath looms the classic complex notes of leather, earth, cedar and tar. Oak notes add further complexity.

Generous mulberry and red currant flavours fill the palate and they sit over quite a firm tannin structure giving the wine good weight and length. It carries the Moss Wood hallmark of youthful balance and drinkability.

Critic Reviews

95 Points – Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Tasted April 2016
Drinking Window: 2016–2027

95 Points – The Wine Front

17/20 – Vinum Wine Magazine
Tasted September 2017
Dieses Reifewunder duftet nach Cassis, Tabak, Eukalyptus und Orangenschale. Sehr lang und frisch im Finale. Grandiose Tanninstruktur.
Drinking Window: 2017–2032

Specifications

• Vintage: 2012
• Producer: Moss Wood
• Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc
• Region: Margaret River, Western Australia
• Country: Australia
• Winemakers: Clare and Keith Mugford
• Harvest Dates: Cabernet Franc – 9 March 2012; Cabernet Sauvignon – 22 March 2012; Petit Verdot – 24 March 2012
• Yield: Cabernet Sauvignon – 9.2 tonnes per hectare; Cabernet Franc – 6.74 tonnes per hectare; Petit Verdot – 7.17 tonnes per hectare
• Baumé: Cabernet Sauvignon – 13.8°; Cabernet Franc – 12.8°; Petit Verdot – 12.8°
• Maturation: 32 months in 225-litre French oak barrels, 20% new
• Alcohol: 14%
• Bottled: 18 November 2014
• Released: 1 May 2015
• Vintage Rating: 10/10
• Suggested Drinking Window: 2016–2032