Moss Wood 1996 Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Facts
Harvested: | 13/3/1996 |
Bottled: | 30/6/1998 |
Released: | 30/6/1999 |
Yield: | 10.00 t/ha |
Baume: | 13.70 |
Alcohol: | 14.00% |
Vintage Rating: | 10/10 |
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Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ciao Magazine, Winsor Dobbin
If you have a special occasion to celebrate, or someone who deserves a treat then this excellent Bordeaux-style blend would be an excellent choice if you have cash to splash. From one of the best producers in Margaret River this is a complex and rewarding wine that would grace any…
Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – The Wine Advocate, Erin Larkin
I taste in batches of six, pouring each glass, gassing the bottles and working my way through the flight. Today, this 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon was poured in glass number five, and so it has had some time to breathe. Upon pouring, the nose was so abundantly, luxuriatingly steeped in graphite,…
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…
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…
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….
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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….
Tasting Notes
The 1996 Moss Wood Cabernet has ripe mulberry, redcurrant aromas with some violet overtones and hints of earthy, tarry, smoky characters. The palate is supple and fleshy with mulberry, redcurrant, chocolate, coffee bean and smoky oak flavours: it is rich and concentrated with a tight structure and strong, fine though firmish, tannins.
Vintage Notes
It's a pretty big call, when we say that this is the best wine we've made. Following a copybook growing season which featured plenty of spring rains and no extremes of heat during summer, we rank the vintage overall with 1990 and 1980 and better than 1985 and 1991. In terms of the wine's ripeness, it is better than the 1991 and on a par with 1995. Problems with birds meant that it was not a trouble free vintage. While all varieties were damaged, the cabernet sauvignon was particularly affected. Sorting was necessary to see that the quality of the wines was not diminished. Beautiful autumnal weather with clear sunny days during harvest gave the team at Moss Wood much to be happy about. As this was to be the first Moss Wood Cabernet made in the style of the reserve, the near perfect vintage was regarded as a most propitious sign.
Production Notes
The grapes were picked, crushed, destemmed and tipped into open tanks seeded with pure yeast culture. The juice remained on skins for an average of 8 days and for at least 24 hours after the wine had passed 0° baume. During this time, the tanks were plunged at least three times a day. Fermentation temperatures are relatively high (up to 30°C) and each batch is pumped over once towards the end of fermentation to improve colour and blow off any lingering hydrogen sulphide.
As Moss Wood now has the luxury of more fermentation space, we were able to keep the Cabernet on skins for 3 or 4 days after fermentation has finished. In doing this we are seeking to ameliorate the tannins. Time on skins can remove furry tannins and soften and improve the definition and balance of tannins. There is a point beyond which there is no improvement in this softening process. Daily tastings look for the point at which improvement ceases. The grapes are then pressed with all pressings being included in the wine.
This is then allowed to settle in stainless steel tanks and left on its gross lees until after the malolactic fermentation is completed. After that it is put into barrel - 50% in new French oak and 50% in two and three year old barrels - where it is kept for two years. The ways in which the Reserve style differs from the traditional Moss Wood Cabernet are that the wine is given two years in barrel (rather than 18 months); and 12 (rather than 6) months bottle maturation before release. This allows the development of some complex features of cabernet sauvignon - tar and smoky characters - while the wine is in oak. It also means that the Cabernet will lose some of its fresh fruit flavours without adversely affecting the wine. The additional time in bottle enables it to avoid bottle shock and any problems associated with handling it. We believe that these two changes underpin a step up in quality and takes the vineyard to a new level. We hope that this will enhance Moss Wood's reputation as a quality producer.
Cellaring Notes
This is a bold, complex and powerful red that has impressive weight, a velvety texture, and a long, dry finish. It will improve over the next ten years but, well cellared, will live for much longer.