Moss Wood 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon

CAB SAUV 95

Wine Facts

Harvested: 13/3/1995
Bottled: 28/1/1997
Released: 4/7/1997
Yield: 9.75 t/ha
Baume: 13.60
Alcohol: 14.00%
Vintage Rating: 10/10

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Cassandra Charlick, Decanter

Still a baby of a wine, tightly bundled, but goodness: the presence is there. Toasty oak wraps the fruit, yet it’s well matched to the power of 2022. Red fruit laced with aniseed, a graphite through line and warm spice – just a pinch of vanilla. The palate is like lifting the gate to a…

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Angus Hughson, Wine Pilot

Exceptional purity to the 2022 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon as it radiates with blackcurrant, warm slate, gravel and earthy aromas.  It is a fuller-flavoured vintage but retains the estate signature of finesse with powerful, sweet cassis and red earth flavours with a not unwelcome touch of mint. Mid weight and stylish while pliable tannins hold…

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Andrew Caillard, The Vintage Journal

Medium deep crimson. Attractive cassis, truffle, vanilla aromas with hints of mocha/ cedar. Inky deep with fresh blackcurrant vanilla, espresso flavours, fine grainy tannins and well-integrated vanilla/ marzipan notes. Finishes chalky and long with chinotto and aniseed notes. A classic Moss Wood vintage with lovely richness, definition and mineral length. Should last the distance. A…

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ken Gargett, The Wine Pilot

This stunning Margaret River Cabernet has 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot included. The team talk of some of the difficulties encountered by Margaret River wineries during this year, but everything is relative and a difficult vintage here seems to be the dream of many other regions. It was a year that finished extremely…

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ray Jordan Wine

This was a very good vintage in Margaret River after the slightly more challenging ’21. This has the refined elegance and prettiness that is the Moss Wood DNA. The colour is quite pale compared to some previous vintages, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is some shrinking violet. Violets, yes, but plenty more in…

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Fergal Gleeson, Great Wine Blog

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is one of Australia’s most respected, desired and resaleable wines! The 2022 marks Moss Wood Cabernet’s 50th vintage. Another winery might make a brouhaha about that. But if you’ve spoken to Keith and Clare Mugford you’d know they don’t do that sort of thing! They just do what they’ve been doing…

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – The Cellar Post

Beautiful definition and purity on the nose that shows fresh cassis, blackberries, and black plum, with cedar, pencil shavings, subtle vanilla and mocha nuances. Medium-full, superb freshness and concentration on the palate, dark fruit with a vibrant streak of purple, excellent oak spice, clove and tobacco, firm tannins and vibrant acidity. Structurally this is excellent.…

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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Gary Walsh, Wine Front

94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot. Here we have a classic Moss Wood Cabernet, and maybe, though don’t mind me, it puts me in mind of the 2001 for richness and presence. It’s a powerhouse Cabernet and classic Moss Wood in terms of intensity and regal carriage. Black fruit, dried cranberry, cedar,…

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Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Matthew Jukes

I love the 2021 vintage of this Margaret River standard bearer Cab. Made from 95% Cabernet Sauvignon (all Houghton Clone), 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot from 52-year-old vines, this is as pure, deep and ripe-fruited as any Moss Wood in years gone by and with only 16% new oak involved, the fruit enjoys…

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Moss Wood 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon – Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon leads with spiced maple and star anise, pomegranate molasses and blood plum. It is inky without being dense or heavy and uncoils out through a long and undulating finish. There are notes of red toffee apple and coffee beans, raspberry pip and nori, bay leaf and saltbush. A wonderful wine, it’s…

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Tasting Notes

The colour is medium to dark red with brick red hues; the nose is intensely fruity, showing a lifted fragrance of mulberries, raspberries, violets, redcurrants and some merlot, malbec earthiness. It has been aged in 51% new oak (225 litres Allier medium-toasted barrels) and this gives a spicy oakiness which remains a background feature because of the wine's generosity of the fruit. The palate has generous red and dark fruit flavours, good acidity, (quite lifted for a Moss Wood Cabernet) and soft spicy oak, with delightful, integrated tannins and a silky texture.

The 1995 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon appears remarkably approachable at present with perfumed aromas of red berries while the palate shows lively spice, red cherry, mulberry and cedary oak flavours. The wine is rich and concentrated with a texture that is soft and silky. It has great depth and length, impressive intensity and powerful yet fine tannins on a long, lingering finish. It has all the hallmarks of a great Moss Wood Cabernet.

We have always been haunted by the similarity of the 1995 Cabernet to the 1975. We are worried because we don't much like the idea of a twenty year cycle. However, unquestionably there has not been a wine with the same intense fruit flavours and silky tannins since the 1975 and this is the reason that the 1995 wine has a rating of 10. We believe that it may, in the long term, supplant the 1991 at the head of the queue of Moss Wood Cabernets.

Vintage Notes

The 1995 vintage at Moss Wood was basically a simple one for the vigneron and the team: especially, on reflection, after the tumultuous season experienced in the lead up to the 1997 harvest. In 1995, there were no interruptions from rain or extreme heat and so it was a case of just sitting back and waiting for the grapes to ripen. Certainly, February had some hot days but this did not cause any problems. Rather, with the good warm, ripening conditions that prevailed, the mid-February heat merely hastened the ripening of the early varieties. The March conditions were almost blissful with autumnal, warm, sunny days and no pressure to pick from either birds or rain. As often happens, just as the vines ripen one gets the impression that the season might change at any moment. But there were no hiccups.

Production Notes

he fruit showed terrific, intense flavour in the grapes and in fermentation tanks. The fermentation of cabernet went absolutely according to Moss Wood tradition: the open tanks, which experienced warm temperatures up to 30C, were hand plunged four times a day with one pump over towards the end to ensure that no hydrogen sulphide remained. Skin contact time averaged eight days before the wine was drained and pressed. As usual at Moss Wood, all pressings were included, the malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel and the wine was put into barrels in July 1995 where it stayed until January, 15th 1997. It was then racked, lightly egg white fined, (one egg white per 4000 litres), lightly filtered and bottled.

Cellaring Notes

There is no question about this red's ageing potential and we vigorously recommend a minimum of ten years cellaring in good conditions and would encourage fifteen to twenty years for those who wish to see the wine at its best.