Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Planted in 1969, Moss Wood is an important, founding estate of the Margaret River wine region, located in the northern sub–region of Wilyabrup, Western Australia. Clare & Keith Mugford, as winemakers, viticulturalists & proprietors, have been making wine & tending the vineyard at Moss Wood since 1984 & 1979, respectively. Their exacting viticulture ensures the production of grapes of excellent quality & they have created a stable of fine wines distinguished by their consistency over each vintage & their ability to age superbly.
The Moss Wood & Mugford names are synonymous with uncompromising quality.

The Moss Wood and Ribbon Vale Vineyards are located in the Wilyabrup sub-region, the heart of the Margaret River wine region. Approximately three hours drive south of Perth, Western Australia’s capital city, Margaret River is recognised as one of the world’s great wine producing regions.

The fruit for each variety was hand-picked and delivered to the winery where it was destemmed, sorted and then Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec were placed in small open fermenters. Merlot was placed into closed fermenters and allowed to cold soak for 2 days. Each batch was seeded for primary fermentation with multiple yeast strains and temperatures were controlled to a maximum of 32°C. Extraction of colour and flavour was by hand plunging 3 time per day in open tanks and by pump over 3 times per day in the closed tanks. Time on skins varied from 13 days for Cabernet Franc to 18 days for Merlot. After pressing, each batch underwent malolactic fermentation in stainless steel tank and once this was completed, were racked to barrel. All barrels were 228 litre French oak barriques and for both the Ribbon Vale 2020 Merlot and the Ribbon Vale 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% were new. In November 2021, the two wines were racked and blended for the first time and the now-finished wines were returned to barrel for the second year of aging. They stayed in oak until July 2022, so 26 months in total.

Deep brick red hue; bright condition. The nose is a smoldering combination of red currant, blueberry, violets, rum and raisin chocolate and tar, with a touch of white pepper. There are toasty oak notes and plenty of Cabernet cedar and tarriness. On the palate the wine commences with bright sweet fruits of red currant and mulberry, almost fairyfloss-like, that run the full length of the palate. Even with this fruit sweetness, underneath there is good balance of acidity and tannin, so the wine is concentrated and relatively smooth, especially pleasing in this type of year. On the finish there are toasty oak notes and classical Cabernet Sauvignon tarriness.

Red and black fruit, dark mint chocolate, coffee bean and tar. Medium to full-bodied, rum and raisin chocolate, dried herbs and cedar, firm grainy tannin, fresh small red berry acidity, something of an ironstone character too, with a savoury dried cherry chocolate finish of excellent length. - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, 93 Points.

The Finer Details
Style - Red Wine
Varietal - Cabernet Sauvignon 91%, Merlot 5%, Cabernet Franc 2%, Malbec 2%
Country - Australia
Region - Margaret River, Western Australia
Vintage - 2020
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 14%