The History and Evolution of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon: 2001 One of Our Best

Now we are at the mighty 2001, a truly majestic year.  The 2000/01 growing season was excellent, with no inclement conditions, so yields were good and moderate to warm temperatures promoted steady and consistent ripening.

We knew the actual temperatures because our weather station was operating and downloading every 15 minutes, which it does to this day.  In the background we’ve built a better understanding of how the seasonal temperature variations drive the small changes in our wine styles.  The key features of 2001 are well noted and used as a benchmark.

If we have a year such as this, when conditions are so much in our favour, the quality of the final wine is almost assured.  We just had to turn up and get it safely through the season, into the winery and then into a bottle.  All the magic is the result of Mother Nature’s good work and we are largely spectators.

There is little more to add, except to say the wine is now 26 years old and maturing exactly as we’d hoped.  It is developing some bottle bouquet but retains the primary aromas of blueberries and violets.  Using the older siblings as a guide, our expectation is that it will continue to age beautifully for at least another 25 years.