Reviews Archives - Moss Wood

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2022 Merlot – Jane Faulkner – James Halliday, The Wine Companion

Merlot with decent glugs of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon; aged 26 months in French oak barriques, 21% new. It comes across as detailed, structured and fuller bodied but not weighty. While its core is all dark fruits with baking spices and licorice, it’s savoury with tobacco, peat and roasted red peppers. And yes, the oak is impacting in youth – as in it has cedary and woodsy spices – but nothing is out of place. The textural tannins are nicely drying and the finish long. Smart now but even better with cellar time.

August, 2025

95 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood 2023 Pinot Noir – Jane Faulkner – James Halliday, The Wine Companion

This outsider, as in pinot noir in Margaret River, has been part of Moss Wood’s landscape since the ’70s, so it has its own DNA. Lots of strawberry conserve and macerated cherries, all sprinkled with dried mint. Angostura bitters, loads of spices and some nutty, nice oak. It’s refreshing, with lively acidity and supple tannins. Best in the short-term.

March 2026

90 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood 2024 Amy’s – Jane Faulkner – James Halliday, The Wine Companion

The combo of varieties turns out at 72/11/8/9% cabernet/merlot/malbec/petit verdot, and as is the Amy’s way, this is meant to be enjoyed with youth on its side. However, an extra year or so in bottle will see this come together better. Now it’s all upfront cassis and blackberries, pepperberry and juniper, bay leaves and spearmint. Full bodied, with tannins a little raspy and firm, sweet oak and some green walnut bitterness on the finish. Decant it and serve with hearty fare.

May 2026

91 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood 2024 Autrement Pinot Noir – Jane Faulkner – James Halliday, The Wine Companion

A new wine with fruit off an established site in cool Karridale, and given Moss Wood has been an early adopter of the variety, with its estate plantings beginning in ’73, it made sense to craft this. More savoury and tannic than the estate, with wafts of brown spices, warm earth and spicy oak. Some ripe to overripe fruit flavours coming through, with grippy, sandy tannins, and its freshness tempering the otherwise dry finish.

June 2026

90 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood 2024 Chardonnay – Jane Faulkner – James Halliday, The Wine Companion

So intensely flavoured, I had to sit down to take it all in. Starting out all toasty and richly fruited with grapefruit and yellow peaches, buttered toast, lime curd and glacé citrus. As usual, a full-bodied, powerful wine with lashings of oak, yet lots to enjoy and consider, with the acidity keeping this buoyant.

March 2026

93 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2025 Chardonnay – The Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin

The 2025 Ribbon Vale Chardonnay opens with white flowers and nuts, pineapple, white peach and brine. In the mouth, the wine is powerful, saline and nutty, with a creamy middle palate and bright acidity. The divide between malolactic fermentation characters and acidity feels balanced and harmonious, while the fruit is both powerful and glossy, framed by toasty oak. This is very good indeed. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink date: 2026 – 2035

June 2026

95 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood 2024 Amy’s – Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate

The 2024 Amy’s is supple, succulent and ultra-attractive. The season was hot, but those who managed it diligently have had good results, as this shows. The wines may not have the longevity of great vintages like 2023 or 2018, but they offer tremendous pleasure early. There are notes of raspberry seed, pink peppercorn, blood plum, tapenade and brine. This is very good. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink date: 2026 – 2034

June 2026

93 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2023 Merlot – Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2023 Merlot Creative Image

The 2023 Ribbon Vale Merlot is gorgeous. It is silky, red-fruited and spicy, with chalky tannins and freshness through the finish. It is light and herbal, without any mintiness or green edges, and the length is laden with paprika dolce and redcurrants. There is also a note of sweet pouch tobacco—dry but sweet. I love the tannins here; they are profuse, but they have a chalky endurance about them that extends alongside the fruit through the finish. This gets a big yes from me. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink date: 2026 – 2039

June 2026

96 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood 2024 Botrytis Semillon – The Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin

Moss Wood 2024 Botrytis Semillon Creative Pouring image

The 2024 Botrytis Semillon leads with honey and lemon curd, honeycomb, pineapple, cut grass and brine-laced acidity that weaves its way in and out of the folds of sweetness. This is very pretty and quite sweet—no surprise, but here I refer to the balance of fruit and acid rather than just the presence of sugar. And it is light through the finish. It would pair well with a charred pineapple dish for dessert. 12% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink date: 2026 – 2036

June 2026

92 Points

Rating: Stars

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2025 Elsa – The Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin

The 2025 Elsa is verdant and grassy on the nose, with a framing of toasty, vanilla-bean oak. In the mouth, the wine is rich, powerful and weighty on the palate, with a warming lift of alcohol through the finish that sinks hand-in-glove into the fruit. The acidity feels racy and enlivening within the fruit, and the palate has a creaminess that further emphasizes the wine’s stylistic origins. This is an intriguing wine, one of fennel, white chocolate, phenolics and star anise. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink date: 2026 – 2035

June 2026

94 Points

Rating: Stars