The History and Evolution of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon: 1998 Vintage #26 and the Introduction of Bird Nests

We arrive at 1998, year number 25 and vintage number 26.  After the trauma of 1996/97, we were relieved to enjoy a far more normal spring in 1997/98.  Benign conditions prevailed and the vineyard made steady progress until 9th March, when a tropical cyclone remnant deposited 50mm of rain on us. No problem, we thought, it’s early March and we’ve got plenty of time, so we’ll wait for the vines to catch up.

As always, Mother Nature had other ideas. On 20th March, she repeated the dose, this time delivering 70mm of rain. It was still early enough in the season that we could count on more fine weather, but waiting was introducing a new threat – bird damage.

Throughout this 25-year period, losses to bird damage had been substantial, but by 1998, we’d begun using bird nets to keep the silver eyes and parrots at bay. This ensured a crucial quality step for the ’98 vintage and allowed us to make a better wine than the ’92, despite being very similar years. 

For the former, we had enough nets to cover nearly all the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, and any vines left uncovered were picked on 30th March, at a ripeness of 13.0° Baume. Over the next 3 weeks, we picked each parcel as it ripened, all around 13.8° Baume.

The resulting wine had pleasing weight and richness and surpassed any we had made in wet years.  At the same time, it seemed to possess a dual personality because the less ripe portion contributed 20% of the finished wine, just enough to influence the style, bringing some cedar and leafy notes.