Moss Wood 2015 Amy’s
Wine Facts
| Harvested: | Cabernet Sauvignon: 13th, 25th and 26th March, 2015 Malbec: 7th March, 2015 Petit Verdot: 24th March, 2015 Merlot: 24th March, 2015 |
| Bottled: | 11/10/2016 |
| Released: | 20/10/2016 |
| Baume: | Cabernet Sauvignon: 13.6⁰ Be Malbec: 13.7⁰ Be Petit Verdot: 14.1⁰ Be Merlot: 13.7⁰ Be |
| Alcohol: | 14.5% |
| Time in barrels: | 18 months Oak Type: French Barrel size: 225 litres |
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Tasting Notes
Colour and condition: deep brick red, in bright condition
Nose: lifted dark fruit aromas of mulberries and blackcurrants, backed by some spicy, white pepper notes from the Malbec and musk-like perfumes from the Petit Verdot; complex cedar and tarry notes in the background
Palate: As with the nose, dominated by dark fruit notes, with juicy blackberry and red currant flavours; the acidity and tannin are firm but not in any way aggressive and are well balanced.
Moss Wood 2015 Amy’s – Huon Hooke, huonhooke.com
Deep red/purple colour and a fumey aroma at first, hinting possibly slightly overripe, but the wine is convincing. Some violet and tomato bush notes. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with lush fruit flavour and smoothly supple tannins. It tastes on the high side of ripeness, but there is plenty…
Moss Wood 2015 Amy’s – Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak
015 was a very successful vintage in Margaret River, by all accounts, and this Bordeaux-style blend from Moss Wood is quite beautiful. It’s also relatively inexpensive for the quality. While you can drink it now, it should age really well. Moss Wood Amy’s 2015 Margaret River, Australia A blend of…
Moss Wood 2015 Amy’s – Rod Properjohn, On the vine Autumn 2017
There’s no wonder the Mona Lisa has this bottle carefully cosseted under her arm in this newsletter. It has the classical drying tannic grip of a great red, the inherent blackcurrant and gum leaf of a Margaret River cabernet blend, good length and the finish of a patient master painter….
Moss Wood 2015 Amy’s – Jenifer Jagielski, Sunday Telegraph Sydney
Four-variety Margaret River combo spearheaded by the region’s premier red grape, cabernet sauvignon. Yet another first-rate winemaking performance from Keith Mugford, with fruit balance perfectly struck, leading to velvety blackberry and red currant flavours. Ready to enjoy now but shortterm cellaring will pay dividends.
Moss Wood 2015 Amy’s – Bob Campbell, bobcampbell.nz
A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec and petit verdot. An approachable wine with appealing sweet plum, berry and spice flavours. Fine tannins give a drying finish, but the wine is still very accessible.
Moss Wood 2015 Amy’s – Fergal Gleeson, Masters of Margaret River – Moss Wood
Finally we come to Moss Wood Amy’s 2015 which is Moss Wood’s entry level Cabernet, blended with petit amounts of Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec. This has noticeably less tannin than Moss Wood’s bigger brothers. It is fruit driven with bright refreshing acid. Despite the fact that it is consciously made…
Vintage Notes
The 2015 vintage was really good for winemakers but something of a challenge for viticulturists. Spring rainfall was excellent but with it came conditions that weren’t ideal for flowering. Wet days and low temperatures cause the vines all sorts of problems and although we avoided disease, the fruit set was relatively poor and so crop levels were well down. Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, for down 40%. The yield losses were not just the product of the weather because the birds were hungry in 2015 as well. The Redgum blossom was poor and meant their natural food source was limited and they turned their attention to the grapes when they were still very unripe and only just changing colour. Fortunately the use of vine nets ensured the bird damage was minimal but nevertheless, frustrating. They always seem to be able to find their way under the nets and do some harm.
Despite these challenges, the growing conditions through the Summer were terrific, with consistent mild to warm temperatures and no extremes. The hottest day was 37.3⁰C and we had only 4 days when the temperature exceeded 35⁰C. These conditions are absolutely ideal for ripening Cabernet Sauvignon and its blending varieties and so, even though we made much less than we would have liked, what we did make was right at the top of the quality tree for our Amy’s wine.
Production Notes
As with all the Moss wood wines, the 2015 Amy’s was harvested by hand. At the winery all varieties were destemmed and pumped into static fermenters, where co-fermentation was carried out, using sequential inoculation of various selected yeasts. Extraction of colour and flavour was by pump-over 3 times per day and temperatures controlled to a maximum of 30⁰C. Time on skins varied a little for each variety – Cabernet Sauvignon 14 days; Malbec for 11 days; Merlot for 14 days and Petit Verdot for 16 days. After pressing, each variety underwent malolactic fermentation in stainless steel before being racked to wood where all barrels were French oak and all were 225 litre volume. In keeping with the emphasis of retaining maximum fruit depth, there were no new barrels used. Time in wood was 18 months. After barrel aging the wine was racked and blended in stainless steel and fining trials were carried out. In the end we felt the wine’s tannin balance was excellent and no fining was necessary and so it was sterile filtered and bottled on 13th October, 2016.
Cellaring Notes
This wine is made with an emphasis on fruit depth and it is our intention it be enjoyed when young, with a tannin structure that is well balanced and not too confronting. This of course means it can be drunk now but as with all Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Margaret River, it has the necessary attributes required for cellaring. For those with the patience and who enjoy softer and more complex older wines, we suggest a further 5 years aging.