Sealed with Finesse

Smart Investor Magazine – August 2004 By Timmy Tan

One Western Australian winery found in the Margaret River region that is well known for producing quality wines year after year is none other than Moss Wood. How is Moss Wood able to produce such quality wines with such consistency?

Wine connoisseurs are no strangers to Australia’s Margaret River. After all, it is said that this is the premier winemaking region. In fact, wine connoisseur and wine book author Tom Stevenson says that this is the place for wine lovers who seek class and finesse rather than weight and glory. Popular names from the region include Cape Mentelle, Cullens, Devil’s Lair, Leeuwin Estate, Vasse Felix, Willespie, Pierro and Moss Wood.

For Moss Wood, Mr Stevenson points out that this very winery was the first in the area to perfect pinot noir. The esteemed wine specialist and critic Robert Parker has even given the Moss Wood 1997 Pinot Noir an 88-point raiting, underscoring the fact that wines from Moss Wood are relatively good to drink. But it is the Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 that takes the cake, having been awarded a 93-plus point rating from Mr Parker and being mentioned as one that should “prove to be a great classic from Down Under”.

The Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship wine for Moss Wood and 2,500 cases of such wine are produced every year out of its total production of 11,000 cases. Moss Wood owner Keith Mugford hopes that this will be increased to 3,000 cases. Some 500 cases of pinot noir are produced yearly. The Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon does not come cheap, with a recommended retail price tag of around S$110 per bottle. Limited availability is one factor but it is quality that counts. “In the wine market, quality is a significant driver of price.” notes Keith Mugford owner of Moss Wood. “Our cabernet sauvignon is very consistent,” he adds.

So what makes a Moss Wood different from the rest? “From the business point of view, what we have are our Moss Wood vineyards. The flavours are unique to us. The characteristics and even textures of the wines are based on our own wine-making styles. These are our competitive advantages. To ensure repeat customers, we have to make wine as good as we possibly can. Our philosophy is about being distinctive and maximising quality every year. We aim to maximise the quality of the grapes with the right amount of crop with maximum exposure to the sun and the right trellis systems. We also employ fermentation techniques very carefully,” says Keith Mugford.

The original Moss Wood vineyard covers 10.61 hectares and is sited on a gentle, northeast-facing slope. The soil varies, from a sandly loan to a gravelly, red-brown loam over a clay subsoil. In early 2000, the Mugfords acquired the 7.5-hectare Ribbon Vale vineyard, just in time to make the 2000 vintage. Both vineyards are not irrigated. Grapes are also sourced from other vineyards such as Amy’s Vineyard (formerly known as Glenmore Vineyard), Lefroy Brook Vineyard in Pemberton and Green Valley Vineyard.

THE FLAVOURS OF MOSS WOOD

If getting your hands on the Moss Wood 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon is difficult, how about seeking out the 2001 vintage? The wines are matured in oak barrels for two years before being bottled. With the 2001, the bouquet will deliver dark plums, violets, red berry and subtle cigar box oak perfumes while the wine will have a silky texture displaying ripe and concentrated fruit flavours of mulberry, cherry, fleshy plums and gripping tannins. This elegant wine can age well but if even if enjoyed now the cabernet sauvignon will prove to be approachable and supple.

One striking characteristic of the Moss Wood Pinot Noir is the high alcohol content of more than 14%. Every vintage made since 1993 has an alcohol level above 14% and this can overcome the delicate fruit characters of this variety. It is said that this is acceptable if the wine is made in a climate where grape ripeness is barely adequate. However, this is not so for wines in Margaret River. According to production notes from Moss Wood, to produce the flavours at lower levels of ripeness, it has a programme to improve fruit exposure right through the season and has set yields to a maximum of 35 hectolitres per hectare, similar to the requirements of the great vineyards of Burgundy.

The wines are racked into barrels for malolatic fermentation and remain in French oak barriques for 22 months. The Moss Wood Pinot Noir 2001, for example, was fined, filtered and bottled in March 2003. The nose of the Moss Wood 2001 Pinot Noir, is quite floral, displaying dark cherry, plum and quince jelly, coupled with spicy and sappy complex notes. Interestingly, the tasting notes highlight that such a bouquet is “reminiscent of Thai herbs like coriander and match with linen and linseed characters”.

The wine has depth and balance as it provides the palate with dark fruits and apricots with medium weight and lively acid initially. Firm tannins on the mid and back palate provide structure, while there is soft oak and lingering ripe strawberry fruit on the finish. Drink now or cellar the wine? Well, pinot noir can age for at least 10 years. The Moss Wood Pinot Noir is expected to show its full potential at seven years from its vintage and provides peak performance between 10 and 15 years.

Other wine varities produced at Moss Wood that should be sampled include the Moss Wood ‘Ribbon Vale Vineyard’ Merlot and the ‘Ribbon Vale Vineyard’ Cabernet Merlot. Tannins play a major role on the impact of the merlot grape and it is understood that the team at Moss Wood aims to produce merlot with fine, ripe tannins rather than tannins which are too extractive and ‘grippy’. Both the Moss Wood Merlot and Cabernet Merlot have cellaring potential of seven to 10 years.

Wine enthusiasts should not forget the whites produced by Moss Wood such as the Semillon and the Chardonnay. The Moss Wood Semillon 2003 should prove interesting. Based on tasting notes, the wine has a fine to medium weight palate, is fresh and crisp with fruit characteristics of lemon, grapefruit and green apple combined with fig, and the complex notes are reminiscent of dough and yeast, thereby giving the impression that the wine was matured in oak when it was not.

While approachable when young and fresh, the Moss Wood Semillon can be aged for at least another 15 years. At up to three years of age, the Moss Wood Semillon has fresh, fruity and lively flavours. It then undergoes a sleepy, dull stage between three and five years. Between five and six years, it should pick up rich, honey and toasty characteristics and such traits will be at their peak between 10 and 15 years, remaining until the wine is at least 20 years old.

“Overall, the reds have better ageing quality as they are much more complex than the whites. The reds may be much more satisfying to some. Profit margins on the reds are also higher but so are the costs for making the reds,” says Mr Mugford. Pairing the wines with Chinese cooking is not difficult. At a specially organised dinner, both the white and red wines paired well with the delicious spread prepared by chefs at the Teochew Restaurant Huat Kee, a Chinese restaurant specialising in traditional Teochew dishes.

THE CORK AND THE SCREW

The Moss Wood Chardonnay 2003 falls short as compared to the 2001 and 2002 vintages but is said that it has more ‘minerality’ and clearly defined acidity than the 2002. The Chardonnay is expected to improve over short – to medium-term cellaring and it should age well with optimum drinking at around 2015. The Moss Wood Chardonnay 2003 was bottled in January 2004. What is noteworthy is that 70% of the production was bottled under screw caps and the remaining 30% under cork (which is mainly meant for the export markets).

Even the Moss Wood Merlot and Cabernet Merlot red wines are bottled under screw caps. Some 70% of the bottles of these reds are sealed with Stelvin screw caps. If the trend is in favour of screw caps, then it would appear that the corkscrew will soon be left on the wayside. “There is no scientific reason to use corks,” says Mr Mugford. “In 200 individual tastings with five different wines, the wines in cork-closed bottles did not taste better than those in Stelvin-closed bottles. Only one wine in a bottle closed with a cork tasted better than one closed with a Stelvin. Occasionally, the wines closed with cork nearly matched those closed with Stelvins but they were mostly lower in quality. Wines in Stelvin-closed bottles are very consistent with taste virtually identical.”.

Will the wines develop well when sealed and bottled with Stelvin screw caps? “Wines will still age well with the Stelvin. With the Stelvin screw-cap closures, there is more consistency of the wine in terms of ageing. For example, the Moss Wood Semillon when left undisturbed for one year still tasted fruity. When wines are in the barrels, oxygen is dissolved between 0.2 to 0.5 milligrammes per litre. In the bottle, it is two milligrammes per litre or 10 times more oxygen than in the barrel,” notes Mr Mugford. “There is a 5% failure rate when corks are used. Would you tolerate such failure in cans of beer or coca-cola? If not, why would you tolerate that with wine? The solution is to have the bottles sealed with Stelvin screw-caps. The failure rate of using Stelvin screw-caps is very slight unless the seals itself have been damaged. Consistency is assured. There seems to be very little downside in using Selvins.”

Only 30% of Moss Wood wines will now be sealed with corks and these are mainly for the more conservative export markets. All Moss Wood wines exported to Japan are sealed with Stelvin screw-caps. “Our Japanese agent said that he only wanted those bottled with Stelvin screw-caps,” explained Clare Mugford.

“When dining at a restaurant, ensure that the bottle is opened at the table. Anyway, the wine will still have to be poured for you,” says Mr Mugford. Will consumers get used to the fact that wines, especially from Moss Wood are no longer sealed with corks? “The only thing that some may miss is the ‘pop’ when the bottle is opened,” says Mr Mugford. But how many would insist on the romance of tradition associated with cork-closures? After all, isn’t the enjoyment of any wine in the drinking?