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
Read More

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
Read More

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
Read More

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

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was excited about tasting these Moss Wood 2023 releases today. The season in Margaret River was sensational—truly. It was mild and long, with rain at all the right times. There was a spot of rain about at the end of the season that, depending on the vineyard location, could have caused issues for some later-ripening red vineyards; however, it was mostly categorically excellent, as most of the resulting wines have tended to be. Here, the 2023 Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon is delicate, red-fruited and spicy, with long, wrapping tannins and savory spices that feather the edges. This is elegant and fresh, with raspberry, redcurrant, pomegranate, some tapenade and tobacco. It’s a gorgeous wine. I like the fact that the oak feels stable and in the background of the fruit; it arrives completely unimpeded and finishes in much the same way. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink date: 2026 – 2038

June 2026 

 

96 Points

Rating: Stars
Read More

Moss Wood 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon – The Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin

The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon is powerful and layered, with a long finish. The tannins are firm, abundant and tightly knit, and they wrap around a core of dark fruit. As the wine sits in the glass longer, the tannins begin to soften and gain suppleness, allowing the fruit and other elements to harmonize further. As this happens, the beauty of the vintage begins to shine through, revealing freshness, energy, balance and drive in equal measure. This is a superb wine, and given all the elements here, it will age wonderfully too. It isn’t dense or brooding like some of the other vintages have been; this has detail, life and energy. It is really excellent. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink date: 2026-2056.

June 2026

 

97 Points

Rating: Stars
Read More

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2025 Elsa – Gabrielle Poy, The Real Review

Sweet scents of honey and vanilla mix with lemon meringue pie and roasted fennel on the nose. A luxurious swirl of vanilla, nutmeg and lemon tart (with a dollop of cream) combine on the palate, with subtle savoury notes of leather and fennel joining in too. Its viscous texture tails off into pleasing quince-like tannins that add chew and bite to the finish. This oaked blend is all class. It’s drinking nicely now but will also age.
22 May 2026

 

95 Points

Rating: 5 Stars
Read More

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2023 Merlot – Huon Hooke, The Real Review

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2023 Merlot Creative Image

Deep, bright red-purple colour; cedary oak, briar and pencil-shavings aromas overlie tobacco varietal cues, while the palate is medium-full bodied and well-balanced, with harmonious supple tannins and lovely early drinking qualities and … ageing potential. Oak is quite evident but it’s a very smart merlot

 

 

 

93 Points

Rating: Stars
Read More

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2023 Merlot – Winsor Dobbin, Wine of the Week

Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2023 Merlot Creative Image

Many merlots in Australia are made in a soft and simple style; as easy quaffers. Not so his one from the cabernet masters at Moss Wood in Margaret River. It is full of verve and texturally complex, a nod to the great merlot-led wines of Bordeaux’s right bank. More structured than fleshy, this one is firm and impressively complex with some bright acidity allied to serious tannins, aided and abetted by time in French barriques.  We paired this with roast lamb en croute and were well rewarded.

Rating: Stars
Read More

Moss Wood 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon – Huon Hooke, The Real Review

Deep purple-red colour, smoky, broken-rock, pencil-shavings aromas and the palate is full-bodied and densely textured with deep flavour and length. Traces of smoked meats. A firm and upright cabernet with masses of chewy but supple tannins that endure long on the follow-through. A high-potential cabernet that has everything ahead of it. Cellaring recommended. 2027–2041

 

 

95 Points

Rating: Stars
Read More