2019 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon

A blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc & 2% Petit Verdot matured in French oak barriques of which 15% were new. Pitch black core with a deep bright dark red black tinged hue. A wonderful array of red to black currant, red liquorice, violet and mulberry aromatics sail out of the glass followed by some toasty cedar, tobacco, black olive and subtle bay leaf notes. Rich and silky in its feel the medium bodied palate is flooded with a mix of red to black currant and red liquorice fruits that show superb power and length. Notions of vanillin cedar, tobacco, subtle black olive and bay leaf chime in on the back half. Super fine tannins are seamlessly integrated. Concluding impressively long and refined this is already seductive drinking.
Drink over the next 10-15 years.
Alc. 14%

Other Reviews…..
This is a masterclass in refinement. It is svelte and streamlined, the cool, mineral spool of flavour across the tongue is what the 2019 vintage can look like at its most restrained and harnessed. The length of flavour basically flutters out over the finish, so weightless and enduring. The 2018 that came before it had a thundering, legendary quality - legs widespread, hands on hips, power pose. This is the creative in the family, the quiet guy. It's intriguing and intelligent and thoughtful ... poignantly red fruited, spicy and super-supple. I'm descending into hyperbole. It's unnecessary. This is another great Moss Wood release. Drink by 2042.
97 points
Erin Larkin - James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion

Gracefully powerful and exquisitely expressed, the wine shows blackcurrant, dark cherry, cedary oak, green olive and warm spice aromas on the nose. The concentrated palate delivers outstanding fruit purity and intensity, combined with finely textured mouthfeel and beautifully pitched grainy tannins, finishing with a great line and length. Impeccably detailed, precise and undeniably classy.  
98 points
Sam Kim – Wine Orbit

There was some debate around a decade ago that this iconic Margaret River winery had lost a little of its glitter and that the wines were not what they once were. I was not quite as onboard with that as some – in fairness, it is not easy to remain at the pinnacle for a half century – but in recent years, the levels of quality they have attained have put to rest any such doubts. These guys now make some of the most thrilling wines in Margaret River and none better than their Cabernet. There are some world class Cabs made in the region and the MW sits with the very best. This vintage ranks with the finest of recent releases and there have been some crackers. To be honest, to look at this, I slipped it into a tasting which friends had organised, which was of some “super-second level” Bordeaux and great Margaret River Cabernets, from vintages as far back as 1990, right up to today. It will give an indication of how well it went if I tell you that one friend, not usually known for purchasing anything other than the great wines of Europe, rang the next day to say he had already picked up a six pack.
96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this is elegance personified. A low yielding and slightly cooler vintage, the grapes went into small open tanks for fermentation, with thrice daily hand-plunging. 15 days on skins and then pressed to tank before it was racked to French oak, 15% new. Over two years maturation. As mentioned, elegance personified. A silky combination of coiled power and finesse, this is a glorious Cabernet. Blackberries, spices, tobacco leaves, kid leather, violets, cigar box notes, aniseed and delicately integrated oak. There is a gossamer-like web of complexity weaving through the wine. Seamless, great length and cashmere tannins. This is a brilliant wine. Ten years, twenty years? How long have you got? If you are serious about great Australian Cabernet, this is a must for your cellar.
99 points
Ken Garrett – Winepilot.com

Generally, contrary to many, I tend to favour 2019 Margaret Cabernet over 2018. A bit more brooding, dense, tight, ‘minerally’, and all that.
Powerful, compact, brooding sort of style, but tight too, all black fruit, dark chocolate, a seasoning of bay leaf and baking spice, some floral notes peeping over the top. Tannin is earthy and dense, but smooth and layered, boysenberry and dark raspberry, firm acidity set neatly inside, and a tobacco and black olive savoury finish of length and intensity. A very strong release, indeed maybe the best in the last decade. High drinkability, even early.
Drink 2027-2043+
96 points
Gary Walsh – The Wine Front

Concentrated, silky and lingering, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is elegant and fine with salted licorice, ripe raspberry, dark chocolate and exotic spice. It's a beautiful wine that continues the legacy of Moss Wood Cabernets, albeit with a slightly softer, more lilting voice. Age-worthy in the supreme. Drink 2022-2042.
97 points
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate