The Blank Canvas:
Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? Suddenly, with the release of the Moss Wood 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon we arrive at our 50th vintage of this wine. Astute readers will of course note that this is, in fact, 49 releases of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, plus one vintage of this wine that was sold as the 1978 Dry Red. Either way, we’re very proud of this achievement.
Given all that has unfolded, we felt it would be fun to reflect on how Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon has evolved and share the important stories of this occurred. Keith has done his best to remember names and dates and apologises in advance for any oversights.
The first vintage in 1973 was a classic blank canvas. The Margaret River wine region, at least in its modern iteration, was experiencing just its second harvest. This meant much excitement and trepidation as growers confronted some fundamental questions. What can be expected in terms of wine style? When is the right time to pick? What is the best technique? Looking back, we can say that luckily for Moss Wood, Bill and Sandra Pannell made some very good choices. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to overstate how challenging this was at the time, and it would be too easy to see this through the lens of what our region looks like now.
To begin with, he availability of basic services was almost non-existent. Vineyard and winemaking companies typically didn’t have offices in WA, so ordering equipment and supplies was slow and complicated, especially when trying to purchase the specialized materials needed for small batch winemaking, something that was very uncommon in the Australian industry of the time. To their great credit, local agricultural supply businesses did their best to stock the necessary products but, of course, they had little or no experience and were learning with and from the industry. Compare that to now, when most of the best international suppliers have agencies here in Margaret River. It’s a different world.
The work of Dr John Gladstones was the key to the development of region in at least two ways. Firstly, when he published his 1965 data it showed the temperatures of Margaret River’s maritime climate compared favourably with the great Bordeaux region in France. The idea that there may exist an opportunity to make international quality wines in WA was too tempting for people to ignore and so the process began. Secondly, if Bordeaux was the comparable region, then Cabernet Sauvignon must be the variety to plant and so it was.
There was an international view at the time that red wines from Australia’s traditional, and warmer, regions were too ripe and tannic and lacking in elegance. It’s amusing to reflect on how that has now changed and famous wines like Penfolds Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace are now revered. Regardless, this meant there was a feeling in the early years of Margaret River that the region should focus on more elegant wines and that a Bordeaux style was where producers should aim.
Naturally enough, we sought to learn about the home of Cabernet Sauvignon and read as widely as possible on the subject. Edmond Penning-Rowsell, founder of the Wine Society in the UK, had written one of the best books on Bordeaux, which provided insights into the region, its vineyards and techniques. When he visited Australia in the late 1970’s, a trip which included Margaret River, he commented favourably on the area’s Cabernet wines and this provided even greater inspiration.
The context here is important because specialized, small-batch winemaking was almost unheard of. Wine industry focus was on large scale production and in some respects, mimicked California and its big production facilities of the time. Of course, things have now changed there, too. This also meant there was a strong American influence at an academic level, made easier by the common language, English. Although the great French oenologists like Ribreau-Gayon and Peynaud were known in Australia, their work wasn’t widely translated and remained in the realm of the esoteric. Only the truly nerdy types had any great knowledge of them.
This meant learning about Bordeaux was something of a labour of love, ridiculed by many as completely impractical and not worth bothering with. Perseverance in the face of this skepticism shows just how focused and dedicated the early pioneers in Margaret River really were.
The classified growths of Bordeaux are not cheap but they are highly sought-after and available in Australia. In WA, there just happened to be enough like-minded people who got together as frequently as possible to taste and debate these wines to try and understand what made them great and how we might apply that learning to our own wines. Special mention must go to John Jens, legendary and long serving Perth wine retailer, who organized and promoted so many of these tastings. Apart from the first growths, other names considered benchmarks were Chateau Pichon Lalande, Chateau Leoville Las Cases and Chateau Palmer. Astute followers of Moss Wood will recall the former also provided the inspiration for our original label, with its simple and uncluttered style, showing vineyard, producer and vintage. These were the elegant, Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines we chose to emulate.
In the meantime, the viticultural times, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, they were a changin’. The senior lecturer in Viticulture during Keith’s time at Roseworthy College was Dr Richard Smart. Richard, a man of great intellect and boundless energy, completed his PhD at no less an institution than Cornell University, under another viticulture legend, Dr Nelson Shaulis. Shaulis developed an innovative trellis system, the Geneva Double Curtain, named after the location of Cornell’s agriculture research campus in New York state. His work on canopy management impressed Richard, who brought the ideas back to Australia and further developed the concepts. His openness to ideas meant he invited Dr Alain Carbonneaux, from the University of Bordeaux and a very proficient English speaker, to present at Roseworthy College. Carbonneaux had done similar vine canopy work and developed his Lyre Trellis and he explained, in detail, the mechanisms responsible for both its quality and quantity. To one Keith Mugford in the audience, it was a fascinating process.
Since Margaret River was truly a blank canvas, not limited by existing traditions, all these grapegrowing and winemaking ideas fell on fertile ground and no option was off the table. By roughly 1980, growers were bringing innovations into the vineyards. Erl Happ began using the Lyre Trellis, while Mike Peterkin at Pierro was even more avant garde, using the classical French planting distance of 1 metre between vines and 1 metre between rows, with a canopy of roughly the same height, which required careful maintenance. Consider for a moment what this meant. In a very conservative industry, where the intervine distance was typically at least 1.8 metres, the row width was at least 3 metres and the canopy sprawled and was often 2 metres in height, yet here was a grower who went completely against the conventional wisdom. Gradually, Margaret River vineyards, including Moss Wood, which uses the Henry Trellis, developed in Oregon by space engineer turned grapegrower, Scott Henry, began to look like carefully maintained hedges, something largely unheard of at the time, in Australia.
In amongst all this, the wine style we now know as Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon began to evolve.
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1973-79 - The Early Wines
An important first step was the decision by the Pannells to use small, open tanks, with hand plunging, for red wine fermentations. Although labour intensive, it the gentlest technique for extraction of colour and flavour and we use it to this day. They also used “small” oak barrels, instead of the larger formats that were more common. Initially, the smallest available volume was hogsheads, or 300 litres but when they became available, we began using the traditional barrique, or 228 litres, the preferred volume for high quality wine and once again and once again, we still use them today.
With such a sound technique, it meant we could focus on the vineyard and things like harvest ripeness to determine the style. As luck would have it, from 1973 to 1978, there had been sufficient variation between the seasons and the resulting wines, for us to draw some important insights.
Using chronological order, 1973 was what we might call average. Cabernet Sauvignon ripened well and made a wine with very promising fruit depth. Things changed in 1974 when the season was cooler, resulting in similar, if more restrained fruit characters and the finished wine was more tannic. A similar mild year followed in 1975 but tannin balance was better and this vintage eventually became one of our benchmarks. The summer of 1976 was warm and dry and produced a ripe, soft Cabernet Sauvignon, also very highly regarded and a gold medal winner at the Royal Perth Show and is probably the wine for bringing Moss Wood into the public eye. Similar conditions, although slightly cooler, prevailed in 1977, and the result was another fully ripened wine but with firmer tannin than its 1976 sibling. The warm, ripe theme continued in 1978, a vintage that should have been great but sadly wine suffered fermentation problems and developed hydrogen sulphide. The problem was treated but it left the wine more subdued than Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon had typically been. Since the Cabernet Sauvignon moniker had become so important, the Pannells decided the ’78 should be declassified and sold as “Dry Red”, a brave decision to protect the newly emerging brand.
When Keith arrived for the 1979 vintage, there were many and lengthy tastings, using these different vintages, when Sandra, Bill and Keith debated what style to pursue. In the end, reflecting the thinking of the time, if elegance and complexity were the goals, then 1975 had to be the target.
We also wrestled with the criticism that Moss Wood’s youthful tannin balance made it less than suitable for aging. The gist of the argument was that classic claret-style wines needed firm structure to ensure long term cellaring and there were doubts that our Cabernet Sauvignon met that requirement. Our response at the time was the wines had more than sufficient tannin and their early balance was the product of good fruit depth ameliorating the impact. The result was early drinkability but our feeling was the wines would still age. Without a lengthy history to use as a reference, we couldn’t emphasise this point with complete confidence, although we certainly believed it to be true. Our hope was that as our library of vintages grew, the longevity would become self-evident. In the meantime, we had to be cautious about our cellaring recommendations and suggested 5 years aging before consumption, based on the wines’ fruit depth and good chemistry.
With the help of our great mate, Gill Thomas, we were able to find a solution. After the experience of the firmer tannins of 1974, Sandra and Bill were cautious about including too much of the pressings in the following vintages. Gill, who took holidays from his Pharmacy business in Bunbury to assist with the Moss Wood vintage, couldn’t bear to see any wine wasted. Instead, he brought his own barrels and pressed every last drop out of the skins and took the pressings wine home to age in his cellar. After a year or so, he bottled each batch off and was very happy to share the results. From this informal trial we quickly concluded that all the pressings should be blended into finished wine straight away, and every vintage back to and including 1980 has been made this way.
Returning now to the chronology of vintages, 1979 was a consistent warm summer, somewhat on the mild side and made wine not dissimilar in style to the 1975 upon which it was modelled. Along came 1980, one of the great Australian vintages, a very typical summer, tending to warm. It produced a ripe, soft and generous Cabernet Sauvignon.
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1980 – Birth of the Moss Wood Special Reserve:
This led the next step in the evolution of the wine. The 1980 vintage was so good, we used it to produce the first Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve. When the wine was blended for bottling, a small portion was returned to oak for an additional year to see how the wine changed with longer barrel aging. The great Chateau Lafite Rothschild spends 2 years in oak, so why not Moss Wood? The 1980 Special Reserve was bottled in September 1982 and released in 1983. We were delighted with the result and the wine was winner of the Montgomery Trophy at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show of that year. We decided to produce the Special Reserves only in the great years with the highest quality. The other vintages were 1983, 1987, 1990, 1991 and 1994. Through this exercise we learned the additional barrel age benefited Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon in any vintage, so from 1996 onwards, all have been made in this style and the Special Reserve label was discontinued.
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1981 – A Weather Decimated Season
As much as 1980 produced a wine of fabulous quality, later in the year, things turned sour, and Mother Nature threw a large spanner into the works. Up to this point, seasonal conditions in the 8 growing seasons had been relatively benign but all that changed in the spring of 1980. Week after week we had intense winds, rain and hail damage. The early varieties were smashed, with Chardonnay losing 90% of its crop, but even Cabernet Sauvignon suffered. Wintry conditions lasted all the way through to December and the vines looked haggard and Chardonnay lost virtually all its leaves. It’s hard to describe how devastated the Margaret River industry was. The idea that a whole season’s crop could be lost was very challenging for all of us.
The next step was to analyse exactly what had happened and the best Australian viticultural minds were brought into the discussion. The solutions seem so simple today. Strong wind and hail both inflict physical injury on the soft green tissues of the new vine shoots. Secondary infections then commence in those wounds and leaves, shoots and bunches are soon compromised. The more wind and hail, the greater the risk. Fast forward to today, and we use this hard-earned knowledge to limit but not prevent losses. The grim reality with hail, in particular, is that when big hailstones hit soft green tissue only bad things happen. There is no opportunity for secondary infections because the entirety of leaves, bunches and shoots are literally wiped out. It happens around one year in five and really badly around once every fifteen years, so we’re always on the alert during spring.
The result of this long, cool, tumultuous season was a late-ripening and tiny crop in 1981, which produced perhaps the most tannic Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon ever. The wine had good fruit depth and some of the expected early appeal, but it aged really slowly, and we wondered if it would ever soften. Finally, in 2001, when topping up and re-corking some bottles of the ’81 for a customer, we tried the wine and noted for the first time some bottle development. We were relieved and proud.
1982 – A Famous but Frost Affected Vintage
So, we arrive at 1982, perhaps Margaret River’s most famous vintage. In the Australian wine show system, the most famous prize for red wines is the Jimmy Watson Trophy at the Royal Melbourne Show and at the 1983 exhibition, Cape Mentelle took out the trophy with their 1982 Cabernet Sauvignon. The fledgling Margaret River was now holding its own with the nation’s best.
As exciting as the above event was, in the background, Mother Nature’s tough viticultural life lessons had continued.
The spring of 1981 was somewhat cool and damp but largely benign, certainly by comparison with 1980 and we were relieved to avoid the damaging wind and hail. However, there was another challenge coming down the pipeline – frost. Up until October 1981, there had been no frosts since planting began in 1967. Frost risk was not even on the grape growing radar, given Margaret River’s strongly maritime climate. That all changed on the morning of 18th October, when we had a frost of such magnitude the cold air settled over nearly half the Moss Wood vineyard, wiping out the Old Block Chardonnay, Old Block Cabernet Sauvignon and most of the Semillon. Our local farming mates were able to recall a similar frost in the mid-1960’s, so they are not especially common. The topography of our site means cold air can build up on a chilly night and about once every 5 years, it will be cold enough for us to have a frost. We now own a New Zealand-made frost fan, which has the classic Kiwi catchy name, “Tow and Blow”, which paid for itself on one cold night in 2023.
The 1982 season was long and cool and for Moss Wood, produced a Cabernet Sauvignon with lots of leafy, cedary notes, much loved during that era. However, consumer preferences were set to change.
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1983-1986 – Seasonal Variation
In 1983, we had a vintage that was completely the opposite and more in line with 1976. The season was warm and dry and the Cabernet Sauvignon was notable for its ripe red currant fruit notes and, for Moss Wood, firm tannins. It was a wine we liked from the day we made it and so did the wine show judges. At the 1983 Perth Royal Show it was a gold medal and trophy winner.
The dial spun back the other way in 1984, with a long, cool and dry season. We were now beginning to understand that no vintage is exactly the same as one we’ve made in the past. Yes, the years may share similarities but each one is different. It was also becoming clear that no matter how much, as winemakers, we wanted to influence the style and quality, Mother Nature was largely in charge. From this emerged our preference for describing the quality of each new release in these terms, rather emphasizing our production efforts. In 1984 we returned to 1982-like style, still recognizable as Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon but again with emphasis on the classic Claret notes of leaf, tobacco and cedar. We would like to have made a riper wine, as we’d done in 1983, but the season simply didn’t allow it. Another lesson learned – Cabernet Sauvignon ripeness in Margaret River was more marginal than the temperature data indicated, something we’ve become increasingly mindful of over the years.
We rolled into 1985 and enjoyed one of the region’s best ever growing seasons, good for all varieties, with many similarities to 1980, although slightly cooler and with more rain during harvest. Two things were notable. Firstly, we experienced Moss Wood’s warmest day, during Keith’s time at least, when the mercury maxed out at 41.5°C on 25th February. Secondly, we had our first vintage with significant rain, receiving 50mm just after we commenced picking the Cabernet Sauvignon. We had to cool our jets for two weeks while we waited for ripening to get moving. The lesson was, if it rains, we need to be patient. If fine weather looms, the vines will make up lost ground.
The resulting wine remains one of our finest. The relatively mild season delivered the full range of Cabernet fruit aromas, red currant, blueberry and violets and the tannins were beautifully balanced.
In 1986, the season was not dissimilar but crops were smaller and the finish was warm and dry. Fruit ripeness was good and Cabernet Sauvignon displayed lots of red currant and tar, and the tannins were quite firm. We were beginning to understand that in the lower crop years, Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is more tannic and slower to age.
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1987 – Robert Parker and the UK Wine Trade
Now we arrive in 1987, a year of note, not just for the wine but also for some important stories that influenced the style and quality of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon.
To begin with, we return to 1981, the year, Francois Mitterand, an avowed Socialist, was elected President of France. This led to wide speculation, all of it negative, about how this would impact the French economy. In turn, the value of the French Franc slumped, making their wines more affordable than they’d been in living memory. Historically, one Aussie dollar bought 4 French francs but after devaluation, the Aussie was buying more than twice that. This meant the value of French wine halved and even first growth Bordeaux wines were only $20 per bottle in the first indent offers.
The second amusing twist was the emergence of a new USA wine critic, Robert Parker, a lawyer who began publishing wine scores and commentary in his subscriber-only newsletter, The Wine Advocate. His wine writing shook the conservative wine commentary world. His style preferences were for ripe, forward wines, unlike those of the traditional English trade and press, not to mention the French producers themselves. He also used 100-point scoring, rather than the traditional 20 points, making it easier for consumers to differentiate between quite similar wines.
American consumers, not previously big buyers of Bordeaux, took to his recommendations with enthusiasm, as did the Japanese. With the weak currency and commensurately lower prices, demand for French wine, especially Bordeaux, skyrocketed. Naturally enough, prices gradually followed suit and we’ll return to this point later in the story.
In the meantime, however, the fabulous 1982 vintage was affordable and larger than usual quantities made their way to Australia. The significance of this should not be lost. For the first time ever, it was possible to try virtually every wine in the 1855 Bordeaux classification and compare and contrast the styles, all from a great year. A key lesson for us was the Bordelais celebrated the good ripeness, just as they had with other great years like 1978, 1976, 1961 and 1959. We needed to embrace the same ethos in Margaret River.
Back to the 1987 vintage. This was another of the long, cool seasons, very similar in style to 1982 and produced similar wines. Cabernet Sauvignon ripened well enough and produced reasonable red currant fruit depth but there was also a lot of leaf and cedar. The tannins were well integrated and so the wine didn’t appear green and certainly remained in the style that was popular at the time.
The story of 1987 now takes a marketing tack. Clare and Keith had begun exporting wine to the UK in 1984, to an import company called Peter Diplock Ltd, owned by a very English gentleman of the same name. So began a friendship that lasted until Peter’s death, at the age of 100, in 2024. Three years hence, sales were big enough for the Mugfords to visit the market and so with Peter and his partner Lindy Gerard, they had a stand at the London Wine Trade Fair, the world’s premier event of the era. Amongst other wines on our table were the 1983, 1984 and 1985 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignons. Since it was very claret-like, we expected the ‘84 would be the wine of preference but the British trade much preferred the ‘83 and especially the ‘85. Of course, the lesson should have been obvious. The Brits could buy as much claret-like wine they wanted from just over the Channel. They didn’t want or need to import it 20,000 kilometres from Western Australia. From us, they wanted Margaret River wine, with all its distinctive characteristics and especially the sort of ripeness on offer in ’83 and ’85. It was a light bulb moment. We didn’t need to fuss about elegance because Moss Wood had shown it could produce wines of balance, which had international appeal.
We have previously mentioned the prices for French wine, and especially Bordeaux, had soared as a result of massive demand for the 1982 and then 1983 vintages, the latter also being a great year. However, things took a different turn with the release of 1984, a year of significantly poorer quality. It was generally accepted in the wine trade that good vintages could earn higher prices but the lower quality ones didn’t justify the same premium and were usually sold at a discount. Demand was so high, many producers charged even higher prices for 1984 and this met with stiff resistance, especially in the British trade, many of whom expressed outrage at the temerity of the French. Indeed, the anger was so great, they were prepared to consider purchasing wine from other sources, especially if the quality was of the same standard. So much so, they were even prepared to buy wine from the colonies!
Australian wine had been through a quality renaissance during the decade up to and including 1985. Advances in viticulture and oenology, plus expansion into the cooler regions like Margaret River had changed the face of the industry. Our wines were receiving critical acclaim, all around the world. The British trade, now looking for alternative suppliers, took to us with open arms, despite years of playful enmity around cricket and rugby. Australia virtually stormed into the UK market, eventually toppling the French as the largest supplier. Moss Wood was part of this change.
To summarise, we had gained two very important insights. We now had a much better understanding of what made the Cabernet Sauvignon wines so great and we also now knew we could make wines of style and quality that offered a serious challenge.
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1988-1993
With increasing confidence, we tackled 1988. Mother Nature decided it was time for a warm, low cropping year and we produced a wine in the style that was a mix of 1986 and 1983. The fruit aromas were the classic red currant of the ’83 and the tannins very much in the mould of ’86. It was year when we could apply our new and unapologetic aim emphasis on ripeness.
As is so often the case, just when it seems we have this viticulture game covered, Mother Nature throws a curve ball. The growing season of 1988/89 started well enough, with reasonable rainfall and no wind or hail damage. Temperatures were relatively warm as we proceeded into summer and we expected an early vintage. All that changed in the first week of February when tropical inflow made its way down the WA coast and we received about 70mm of rain. This caused all sorts of complications for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both of which were ready to pick. Cabernet Sauvignon is more robust and coped with the rain but the amount received, combined with the immediate transition to autumn temperatures meant we had to wait and wait for sugar levels to rise.
This was the first of our truly wet vintages and we learned many valuable lessons, the most important of which is if the rain comes early enough, the best quality outcome will be achieved if we give the vines as long as possible to recover. In 1989, we watched the weather and waited as long as we could and its median harvest date of 8th April made it our latest vintage at the time, 6 days later than both 1982 and 1987. Our patience was rewarded, with the sugar level reaching 13° Baume, tannins were well balanced and the final alcohol was 13.5%. A mighty effort, given the challenging circumstances.It also means that 1989 has always had a special place in Keith’s heart. It falls between the high-quality years of 1988 and 1990 and in comparative tastings of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, has often been considered as an ugly step sister. This has often prompted an emotional defense from a proud father because of the blood, sweat and tears that went into that vintage.
What can we say about 1990? It was a great vintage, right across Australia and especially so in Margaret River. Spring 1989 produced regular rain and no wind and hail and flowering dates were slightly behind. Through the summer we experienced regular rain and so the vines were in terrific shape as autumn approached. In mid-March we experienced a winter cold front that dumped 25mm rain but, armed with our 1989 experience, we were confident things would be fine if we waited and that’s how it turned out. Quite simply, a marvellous year of solid crops and great quality, certainly in the style of 1975 and probably our best wine to date.
What followed in 1991 was a warmer year, although not dissimilar and produced another great Cabernet Sauvignon, in fact, in the opinion of consumers (as opposed to critics), perhaps our best ever. Put simply, another marvellous year, with above average crops and exceptional quality.
After these two bumper crops, it began to dawn on us that low cropping didn’t really suit Cabernet Sauvignon and that unlike Pinot Noir, which produces its best wines in the concentrated small crops, Cabernet has much better tannin balance and overall quality when the yields are up. The Bordelais had long noted this and celebrated their bountiful years, with 1982 being a good case in point.
Yet another good season followed in 1991/92 and we rolled through spring with benign conditions and a vineyard in good shape. Summer temperatures were warm but not excessive and so all varieties ripened steadily but came on slightly later than average. No problem, we thought, everything was looking excellent for Cabernet Sauvignon. Too easy, thought Mother Nature and so on 17th March, with full ripeness all but achieved, we received the first dump of what, in the end, totalled 50mm of rain. Using the lessons of 1989, we waited once again and allowed ripening to catch up at least a little bit, eventually finishing our last pick on 21st April. Even with the delayed harvest, the wine only reached 12.3% alcohol, relatively low for Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, which is usually 13.5-14.0%. Nevertheless, the extra time on the vine allowed better fruit aroma and tannin maturity, delivering a result at least as good as 1989.
In 1993, the clock rewound to 1984 and we had a cool, dry season. Everything went very much as we would have hoped, with steady, if slow ripening, leading to a harvest with good flavour and balance and average yields. The influence of the mild conditions is notable in two ways. Firstly, the median harvest date, which is a week later than average and secondly, an aromatic array of red currant, violet and roses, typical of those seasons.
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1994-96 – We’ve Got This Thing Worked Out
On to 1994 and what it, perhaps, our most underrated vintage. It was a very good growing season, which gave us slightly above average yields, within reason, now seen as a good thing for Cabernet Sauvignon, and excellent ripeness of both fruit flavours and tannin. The balance and drinkability of the wine was reminiscent of 1980 and it was always wonderfully approachable as a youngster and very popular with consumers. Why would such a good wine be underrated? The answer lies in the quality of the two vintages that followed.
Mother Nature decided that warm to hot would be the theme of 1994/95 and this led to slightly below average yields but higher than average ripeness. From the outset, the wine displayed ripe Cabernet Sauvignon aromas of red currant and mulberry, the latter being something we were beginning to look for more and more. On the palate, it had remarkable balance, with fine, concentrated tannins, something not always seen in the lower cropped years. This gave tremendous early appeal and the wine was an immediate hit with consumers and critics alike and is probably the fastest selling Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon. Ever.
Warm and dry continued in 1995/96, albeit a little cooler and more damp than the previous year. Benign conditions prevailed during spring and so yields were excellent and slightly above average. The excellent weather rolled right through into autumn and there was no daily panic over the 2-week weather forecasts. The sunny days just kept coming. All the Cabernet varieties, which included Petit Verdot for the first time, moved steadily to full ripeness and we took each one off as they hit the target. The finished wine aligned in style with 1991, with similar generosity but with different complexity, most likely a product of the change in the blend. Once again, it was immediately very popular.
This grape growing and winemaking lark was all easy peasy, or so it seemed. The ravages of 1980 and 1981 had drifted into the mists of time. It was all about to change.
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1997 – A Humbling Reminder from Mother Nature
The spring of 1996 was horrendous. Mother Nature bashed us with heavy winds and hail storms, the last of which came with a thunderstorm that passed straight over the top of Moss Wood on 12th December. It was a monster. Hail stones the size of marbles rained down for what seemed an eternity but was probably about 2 minutes. The aftermath was not something Keith hadn’t seen before and never wants to see again – smashed leaves, bunches and shoots.
Having learned our lesson 16 years earlier, we sprayed the vineyard as best we could to try and control secondary infections but it was something of a lost cause. The damage was simply too extensive and we resigned ourselves to very significant yield losses. In the end, Cabernet Sauvignon was down by 50%, which was itself an achievement, given the damage that had been wrought.
The fun and games weren’t over, as Mother Nature then switched the dial to hot and dry and we experienced warm temperatures through the remainder of December and into January until Australia Day. At that point things changed again and we cruised into beautiful autumn conditions. After all that had gone on over the preceding 5 months, we were granted gentle ripening conditions and Cabernet Sauvignon, or what was left of it, glided in for a gentle landing right on the long-term average harvest date of 27th March.
What do we make of the year? The fruit aromas were in the pretty, aromatic spectrum of red currant and violets, reflecting what were mostly cooler temperatures. Also, despite the damage and yield loss, the tannin balance was OK, although the impact of the hail could be seen with more aggressive astringency than usual. Given all that prevailed, we’ve often felt the same parental protectiveness toward the ’97, as we did for the ’89. It may not have the absolute class of some of its older siblings but is deserving of support.
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1998 – Vintage #26 and the Introduction of Bird Nets
So, we arrive at 1998, year number 25 and vintage number 26. After the trauma of 1996/97, we were relieved to enjoy a far more normal spring in 1997/98. Benign conditions prevailed and the vineyard made steady progress until 9th March, when a tropical cyclone remnant deposited 50mm of rain on us. No problem, we thought, it’s early March and we’ve got plenty of time, so we’ll wait for the vines to catch up. As always, Mother Nature had other ideas. On 20th March, she repeated the dose, this time delivering 70mm rain. It was still early enough in the season that we could count on more fine weather but waiting was introducing a new threat – bird damage.
Through this 25-year period, losses to bird damage had been substantial but by 1998 we’d begun using bird nets to keep the silver eyes and parrots at bay. This ensured a crucial quality step for the ’98 vintage and allowed us to make a better wine than the ’92, despite being very similar years. For the former, we had enough nets to cover nearly all the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard and any vines left uncovered were picked on 30th March, at a ripeness of 13.0° Baume. Over the next 3 weeks, we picked each parcel as they ripened, all around 13.8° Baume. The resulting wine had pleasing weight and richness and surpassed any we had made in wet years. At the same time, it seemed to possess a dual personality because the less ripe portion contributed 20% of the finished wine, just enough influence the style, bringing some cedar and leafy notes.
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1999 - Trellis Changes and Wild Yeast Fermentation
Things settled down somewhat for the 1998/99 growing season, with mild springtime conditions, followed by a mild summer and a later harvest. The first Cabernet Sauvignon fruit wasn’t picked until 31st March and at that point, ripeness was still a little below what we wanted. Fortunately, Mother Nature was in a cooperative mood and the first two weeks of April were fine and warm and we were able to wait and re-start, finishing just before significant rain on the 15th. Despite being mild, the season produced fruit aromas, quite different from similar years in the past like 1982 and 1987. This we put down to the introduction of the Henry trellis and the improved leaf and bunch exposure that results. The tannin structure was also very well balanced.
We also instituted a major change in the winery with the use of wild yeast fermentations. We had done some experiments with these for several years prior and decided to use the technique across all wines. In brief, indigenous yeast ferments contribute two main components to a wine. The first is higher levels of glycerol, that improve mouthfeel, although, amusingly, we later learned this is largely imperceivable in wines above 12% alcohol, making it almost irrelevant in all the Moss Wood wines. The second component is aromatic yeast-derived complexity, which appears as mushroom and truffle notes in the background of the nose.
There are also significant risks to using this technique. The first is an unknown yeast may produce unwanted “off” characters, like high volatile acidity, amongst others. Secondly, since the population of the yeast is unknown, and potentially quite small, it may struggle to complete the fermentation, leading to further quality problems. Given that we only have one opportunity to make wine each year, these risks are significant because we don’t want to ruin any batches at this crucial stage.
When tasting the different wines from 1999, they all display interesting nuances on the nose, confirming the activity of wild yeasts. In particular, the Semillon is notably different to previous vintages, although still in a style typical of Moss Wood. The Cabernet Sauvignon shows this to a lesser extent but also has higher volatile acidity than normal, but fortunately not intrusive.
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2000 – The Introduction of Screw Cap
On to 2000, another very good growing season, with no damage and plenty of rain but no disease and crop levels were truly bountiful. Although slightly warmer than 1999, ripening was slowish and harvest was slightly later than average. In the end, the Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the ripest we made, with bright aromatics of red currant and violets and a wonderfully round and soft palate. It was very much in the style of 1976 and both vintages are best described using the technical term “yummy”.
The 2000 was the first of the Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignons to be bottled under screw cap. We had finally reached the point where the inconsistency associated with the use of corks had become too much. We simply could not tolerate a closure failure of 10%, sometimes higher, and for no gain in terms of the aging of the wine.
Once again, we used wild yeast and once again, the results were similar. The wine with the most idiosyncratic characters was the Chardonnay, but all the others show nuanced touches as well. Some batches proved very challenging from a winemaking perspective, because the fermentations were slow and difficult. In the end, we concluded the quality risks didn’t outweigh the additional benefits and haven’t used indigenous fermentations since. For about 10 years, a commercial alternative has been developed, whereby it is now possible to purchase multiple yeast strains from wine industry suppliers, which include the unusual species found in wild yeast fermentations. We now use these products and for want of a better way of saying it, we can buy wild yeast ferments in a can.
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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 for 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 winery and then into 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 it will continue to age beautifully for at least another 25 years.
2002 – A Reality Check
There was always going to be a reality check and that’s precisely what happened in 2002. Conditions during spring were reasonable but the season was very cool and flowering was two weeks late. Summer temperatures continued the mild trend and ripening was slow. By virtue of having a weather station, we now know Cabernet Sauvignon, in a typical year, where the temperature is 20°C, will need 120 days to go from flowering to harvest. In 2002, it flowered on 13th December, so a quick calculation suggests if temperatures were normal, it would ripen around 12th April. However, its median harvest date is 4th April, meaning it fell 8 days short of the normal flavour development window. Why did we pick it early? The weather had cooled and ripening had slowed but more importantly, with the cold weather had come the rain threat and, in the end, we had no choice but to pick. Although it has a final alcohol of 14.3%, extra time would have helped improve the fruit flavours but it was not to be. Although we were happy enough with the final quality it always seemed a little underripe, with some cedar and leaf aroma notes and medium to full body on the palate. A very fair effort in a challenging year and it continues to age well.
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2003-05
There were no such complications in 2003. It was a good warm spring, with no damage to speak of, followed by a warm to hot summer, delivering a very slightly early vintage. A year that shared much in common with 1983 and not surprisingly the resulting wines are similar. Ripe red currant fruit characters are the order of the day, sitting over quite firm tannin, and despite this, it was ripe and generous enough to be enjoyed as a young wine. Nevertheless, cellaring expectations are high and while it has now developed some secondary bottle bouquet, it will continue to live on for at least another 20 years.
Keith has often felt that 2004 was the vintage that got away. Mild temperatures were common through spring and summer and while crop levels were good, ripening was steady but slow. As we approached the final fortnight for Cabernet Sauvignon, things were looking good and we felt we were about to make another 1985, without rain. What’s not to like about that? Thursday 18th March was yet another beautiful autumn day and we sampled the vineyard, concluding that Cabernet Sauvignon had at least 2 weeks to before it would be ready. We checked the weather forecast, which suggested a few warm days coming but in our learned view, in mid to late March, we’d get one or two days with maxima in the low 30’s. Keith decided it was fine to travel to Adelaide for a wine tasting promotion. In the Qantas Lounge at Perth Airport on the Friday afternoon, he got an insight into what was to come, when the air conditioning failed and it was unpleasantly warm. Of course, this was in the Swan Valley, not Margaret River, so of course, would be cooler at home. Down in the God’s Own Country at Wilyarup, the thermometer peaked at 32.5°C, so our guess seemed to be accurate. On Saturday, we got to 34.1°C, slightly warmer than expected but still OK but on Sunday the mercury climbed to 38.8°C, Monday reached 40°C and things finally eased on Tuesday with a maximum of 26.3°C. We ventured into the vineyard and took new samples to see what how things had progressed and discovered to our amusement that the Cabernet Sauvignon had managed to do 2 weeks ripening in 4 days and was now ready to pick.
The resulting wine has an interesting style. The harvest sugar level was 13.9° Baume and the fruit aromas were the expected generous combination of red currant, mulberry and violets but the tannin structure was firmer than we’d expected. It seems there may have been better balance if we’d had the 2 weeks of mild weather, which would have produced one of our greatest wines. That said, the 2004 is extremely good and aging beautifully. The additional phenolics are certainly playing their role and it will cellar well for at least another 20 years.
Luckily for us, we didn’t have to wait long for the next great vintage because 2005 was waiting for us. The growing season was gentle and mild, with no physical damage and temperatures slightly warmer, which meant flowering was a week early. The summer was warm to hot, giving an average temperature of 20.5°C, slightly warmer than the long term 20.2°C and crops were basically spot on average. With the early flowering and good temperatures everything was in our favour and remained so right to the end and Cabernet Sauvignon came gently in to land on 21st March. The timing was impeccable because starting on 30th March, Mother Nature delivered 67mm rain over the next 4 weeks. Glad we missed that!
For many, the 2005 is perhaps Moss Wood’s best wine and rivals 2001. It’s ever so slightly different in style, with brooding dark fruit, more blackberry than mulberry, combining with tarry complexity. The palate is firm but still has the Moss Wood balance and at 20 years old, it’s just hitting its straps. Another vintage that will cellar beyond 40 years for sure.
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2006 and 2007 – Two Opposing Seasons
We seem to be mentioning this quite often but in 2006, everything switched back the other way when Mother Nature decided cold was the order of the day. Spring 2005 was very cool indeed and flowering was extremely late, almost a month later than 2004. For Keith, it was the coolest season he had seen and sent him to the Bureau of Meteorology to try and confirm exactly how cold it was. Research of their records revealed it to be the coolest since Moss Wood was planted in 1969. We were sailing into unchartered territory.
With the relatively recent experience of a similar season in 2002, we had some clues as to how we should manage the vineyard. Apart from being fastidious with our fungicide program, to keep botrytis under control in near-perfect conditions for its growth, we also decided to remove all the leaves around the bunches, so they received maximum sunlight and higher temperatures. Our intention was to ensure we did all we could to avoid the greener fruit notes seen in the 2002. It was a time consuming and expensive process because it had to be done by hand but in the end, was worth the effort. Despite being cooler than 2002, at 19.4°C compared with 19.6°C, it has much riper fruit aromas and tannins. The 2006 also benefited from a more sympathetic autumn,
This vintage led to some vigorous, nay rancorous, debate because the quality was written off by many and there was much criticism levelled at the Margaret River region. This irritated Keith no end, particularly some ill-informed comments that the wines wouldn’t age. Sure, there was no doubt the 2006’s lacked the sheer majesty of recent wines like 2005 or 2001 but so many seemed to forget, or never knew, that 1982, mentioned previously as perhaps the region’s most famous year, was very similar and those wines aged beautifully. Just for the record, 2006 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon has developed as all its siblings have and at 19 years old is still well short of full maturity and will live on for at least 2 more decades. We’ll take that as a win.
Upon reflection, this period reads like something of a wild ride because we went from the cold of 2006 to our earliest vintage on record in 2007. Warm and dry was definitely the theme, starting in the spring and continuing through the summer. Flowering was early, on 15th November and good conditions prevailed, so crops were excellent. Cabernet Sauvignon charged through to full maturity in 115 days on 6th March, a week earlier than 1983. The style is very easy to describe – ripe, soft and friendly, similar in style to 1976 and 2000 but less tannic than 1983 and 1995. The classic “yummy” Moss Wood but it shouldn’t be underestimated. At 18 years of age, it retains youthful primary aroma and is aging well. It will need at least another decade to display its full bottle bouquet.
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2008-11
Warm remained the trend through calendar year 2007 and we experienced a trouble-free spring, with rain at the right times, no wind or hail damage and slightly warmer temperatures, such that flowering was a week earlier than average. A mild to warm summer followed, with no extreme heat and we anticipated steady ripening and an early vintage. On or about 1st February, Mother Nature decided it was time for a change and so we began a beautiful, extended autumn. Ripening slowed and we had one of our most orderly vintages ever. The individual blocks all ripen slightly differently although the variations are not huge, especially in warmer years. In 2007, all the Cabernet blocks were picked on 3 consecutive days. In 2008, the same blocks were picked over 3 weeks, as we waited patiently and took each one off as it reached full ripeness. The resulting wine has classic mulberry and red currant fruit aromas, combined with pretty violet scents and is notable for a long and balanced tannin on palate. It’s at least a decade away from full maturity.
The cooler trend continued through 2008 and although spring conditions were generally benign, there were hailstorms around and we a particularly nasty day on 24th October. As a result, yields were down by about 50%, courtesy of below average results for both bunch weights and bunch numbers. Those hailstones took a toll. Flowering was about a week later than average but then a consistent warm summer followed. The average temperature from flowering to harvest was 20.7°C, slightly warmer than usual and allowed Cabernet Sauvignon to reach full ripeness in 117 days.
Stylistically, the ’09 is similar to earlier low-crop years like 1981 and 1986, showing a similar concentrated tannin, although it’s riper than both its older siblings and has more generous red currant fruit notes. It has at least another decade to reach full maturity.
The spring of 2009 was kind to us and we experienced largely good conditions, although the weather was certainly changeable. September was quite damp. It rained on 25 of the 30 days and we received 124mm. October was the complete opposite, when we received 12mm on 8 days, but Mother Nature promptly swung the wheel back the other way in November, when she delivered 53mm over 10 days, including some spectacular thunderstorms on the 12th but luckily, they didn’t come over the top of us and we missed the hail. Cabernet Sauvignon began flowering in the last week and so missed the majority of the rain and temperatures were never cool enough to cause a problem. Conditions were so favourable, Cabernet Sauvignon produced an above average crop of 8.26 tonnes per hectare.
With higher crop levels, it’s always good to have a warm summer, to give the vines the best chance of taking the crop to full ripeness. This is largely how it turned out and we enjoyed an average temperature across the season of 19.8°C. As we progressed into March, temperatures began to ease and we experienced some showers, slowing things down. Having started on 12th March, the last blocks didn’t come off until 10th April, by which time we were starting to look anxiously at the weather forecasts. With a median harvest date of 27th March, it had taken 116 days to reach full ripeness and made a wine in the style of 1996 and 2004, with the fruit notes of the former and the tannin weight of the latter.
Warm conditions continued through calendar year 2010 and somewhat dry, with rainfall down 12% to 880mm. Rainfall during the winter was excellent and soil moisture was at maximum as we moved into spring. However, after the first 2 weeks of September, Mother Nature turned the tap off. The rain eased and temperatures rose and so flowering conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon were excellent. Accordingly crop levels were a very respectable 8.04 tonnes per hectare, not quite as good as 2010 but still above the long-term average of 7.28.
Warm conditions continued through the summer, somewhat similar to 2007 and 2008. The season average was 21.0°C, so good for Cabernet Sauvignon and which delivered a final ripeness of 13.4° Baume in 111 days from flowering. Not surprisingly, the 2011 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon has plenty of ripe, black currant and blueberry fruit aromas and a similar firm tannin to 1983. It currently shows some secondary development but is still evolving and has at least 3 decades ahead of it.
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2012-14 – The 100 Point Wine
Calendar year 2011 remained a warm one but not dry. We received 1039mm rain for the year, so 4% above average. Flowering was about a week early but missed most of the spring rain and temperatures were mild, all of which contributed to an excellent crop. Yield was a bountiful 9.2 tonnes per hectare. Warm weather continued through the summer, giving us an average temperature of 21.2°C, making this our warmest year since the weather station was introduced.
With the large crop, we were thankful of the hot weather because Cabernet Sauvignon needed all the warmth it could get bring the large crop to full ripeness. In the end, the early flowering assisted as well and the final sugar level was 13.8° Baume, which took 118 days, despite the warmth. One curious aspect to the season was the slow maturity of the seeds. Every year we monitor the hardness of the seeds, as they progress from soft and green and white through to brown and crunchy. We only pick when they’ve reached the latter stage, the idea being this gives the best tannin balance. In 2012 the passage from soft to hard seemed to take an eternity, certainly longer than usual and hence the higher sugar level that accrued. If we had been relying simply on that, the harvest date would have been at least a week earlier.
The 2012 has always had lots of ripe dark fruit notes but for Keith, at least, the seed maturity issue is evident in the tannin structure. The wine has a firmer phenolics than similar years like 1980 and 2000. Needless to say, while always being approachable, it still has at least 30 years ahead of it.
The remainder of the year continued the warmer theme, not dissimilar to 2011, although slightly drier, with rainfall down 5%. Mother Nature decided she’d have a dry July and August but then provided us with very good spring rain, without serious damage. Soil moisture was excellent and flowering conditions the same, with warmer temperatures. The only slight complication was some heavy rain in the last week of November it did little harm and Cabernet Sauvignon delivered above average yield at 7.87 tonnes per hectare.
A warm summer followed, giving us a season average temperature of 20.9°C, allowing Cabernet Sauvignon to reach full ripeness in 111 days. It’s worth noting that a shorter season like this one can certainly deliver good quality, provided the average temperature is high enough. We see this with the 2013, which has an alcohol of 14.3% and displays all the variety’s ripe fruit characters of blueberry, mulberry and red currant, giving the wine exactly what it needs to last for decades. As it stands at the moment, it displays predominantly youthful fruit notes and will need at least another decade to show more bottle age complexity.
After some drier years, things swung back the other way in 2013 and we accrued 1219mm rain, so 20% above average. Things tailed off a little through October but then some good falls came in late November, without any damaging wind or hail and set the vineyard up for what turned out to be a fantastic season. Yield was just below average at 7.07 tonnes per hectare and with an average season temperature of 20°C, Cabernet Sauvignon waltzed through to full ripeness in 116 days, finishing with a generous alcohol of 14.8%. In terms of how we viewed it in the winery, it was one of those years where everything just fell into place, making it similar to 1991, 1994 and 2001 and was the sort of wine where all we have to do is look after it and not spoil it. Upon release, it received widespread critical acclaim, which included the first 100 point score by noted Western Australian wine writer, Ray Jordan. It can be easily summarized as a classic Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon and rivals any of the great vintages of the past.
More wet weather came in 2014 with another above average rainfall of 1245mm. Since this hasn’t been mentioned for a while, it’s worth noting again that Moss Wood is an unirrigated vineyard. We depend completely on the whatever Mother Nature delivers. Luckily, the locality of Wilyabrup is quite reliable and even in drier years, yields are rarely compromised. Indeed, our biggest fluctuations occur when our weather is wet, cold and windy, rather than hot and dry.
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2015 – The Machine Harvesting Debate
Speaking of which, things went somewhat awry during the spring of 2014. Flowering conditions were challenging, with quite a bit of rain falling and 10 nights when the temperature dropped below 8°C. This led to a slightly disappointing yield of 4.31 tonnes per hectare but it would be foolish of us to complain. The remainder of the season was excellent, mimicking 2014 in so many ways, including an average temperature of 19.9°C, allowing Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen easily, in 118 days, with a median harvest date of 16th March and 14.1% alcohol. As expected with the lower yield, the style shows firmer tannin, in keeping with years like 1981 and 1986 but with riper fruit presence than both of those.
In 2015, we decided to run an interesting experiment. It may surprise readers to learn all the Moss Wood wines are still harvested by hand, which makes us an exception in the Australian wine industry. The harvest team pick individual bunches, place them in 7kg buckets, these are collected, emptied into bigger bins, which are delivered to the winery. The fruit arrives in near pristine condition. Machine harvesters, on the other hand, are very fast and efficient but they remove the crop by shaking the vines with beaters, causing the berries to fall off and which are captured and conveyed into on-board receival bins. These are then offloaded and delivered to the winery.
To give an indication of the efficiency gain, the actual picking of Moss Wood and Ribbon Vale by hand takes approximately 300 hours. A machine harvester would finish the task in 30 hours.
With the significant savings on offer, it’s fair to ask why we continue with hand picking?
In 2015, we sought to provide a careful answer by doing a trial with Moss Wood Semillon. In this case, two batches were made. On Day 1, we picked all the odd numbered rows by hand and on Day 2, we picked all the even numbered rows machine. The two wines were kept separate then tasted blind, using the Australian Wine Research Institute protocols. We showed statistically that we could identify the two different batches and that we preferred the hand harvested one. Why would this be the case? The answer is the machines, by virtue of their harvesting technique, do damage to the fruit and the vines and collect not just the grapes but also leaf matter, wood from the vines and even small animals that live amongst the vines like frogs and snails. The new generation machines, such as the one we used in our trial, have excellent on-board sorting systems to remove most, but not all, of the unwanted material. In addition, some juicing occurs in the process, which can lead to oxidation and other problems, although, once again, the impact can be minimized by harvesting in the cool of the night. Since our aim is to make the wine of the highest possible quality, and that all such wines around the world are made this way, we have no choice but to continue to harvest by hand.
2016-18
Back to the story of the wines. Reflecting on the rest of the calendar year, after some wetter years, things were drier through 2015, with total rainfall of 959mm, 4% below average. Spring conditions were not overly challenging but during Cabernet Sauvignon’s flowering period, temperatures dropped and we had 15 nights when the thermometer fell below 8°C. We switched back to wet conditions through the summer and during January, typically a dry month, we had 9 days of rain for a total of 115mm. Fortunately, the timing of the heaviest rain on 19th January was in our favour, because all the fruit was still firm and green, so there was no splitting, or disease. Regular rain continued through February and March but caused no problems, because the vines were accustomed to the damp and coped without further damage.
In the meantime, temperatures had been in our favour, with a season average for Cabernet Sauvignon of 20°C, allowing steady progress, and after 123 days, slightly longer than usual, courtesy of the rain, Cabernet Sauvignon was picked on 17th March, with a final alcohol of 14.6%. The only disappointment was with the yields, as the cool flowering weather came back to haunt us, down nearly 50%, to 4.34 tonnes per hectare.
Overall, quality was excellent, with the full array for ripe Cabernet Sauvignon aromas, especially mulberry and violets, combining with a surprisingly soft tannin, given the small crop. Another vintage that will age for at least a further 3 decades.
Rain continued through the rest of calendar year 2016, when we amassed another well above average 1248mm. The rain eased somewhat during spring but temperatures were relatively low and Cabernet Sauvignon flowered two weeks late but this meant there were only a handful of cold nights. As summer progressed, things remained mild and progress was slow and Mother Nature threw in some rain, just for a bit of interest. In March we had 82mm of 13 days and that combined with the mild temperatures had us watching the weather forecasts with concern. In April, she smiled on us, the rain stopped and we enjoyed classic autumn days and Cabernet Sauvignon off on 10th April, 123 days after flowering, at very close to average crop of 7.37 tonnes per hectare. The season temperature was a low 18.9°C but the last 2 weeks of fine weather ensured we got to full ripeness and the wine has a final alcohol of 14.2%. Given the timing of the rain and the lower temperatures and length of season, we liken this vintage to 1990. Cabernet Sauvignon shows off its prettier aromas like pomegranate and roses, that are often swamped in the warmer years. Using the older sibling as a cellaring guide, the 2017 will be yet another wine that will reward patience.
Mother Nature kept the switch on wet conditions through 2017 and we finished with 1117mm rain, 11% above average. Spring conditions were good to us and we avoided damaging storms and enjoyed warm temperatures, such that Cabernet Sauvignon flowered almost exactly on average. There were a few rainy days but no really cold nights to interrupt the process.
As we moved into summer, temperatures remained mild but were right in the sweet spot for Cabernet Sauvignon and it gradually became clear we were having a truly great year. Rain fell at the right times and refreshed the vineyard but didn’t cause problems. The average season temperature of 19.6°C aligns very closely with 2001’s 19.4°C and so we cruised to full ripen after 128 days, producing a final alcohol of 14.7% in the finished wine. All this combined with an above average yield of 8.67 tonnes per hectare. What a year! Needless to say, this is one of our finest vintages and ranks right at the top of the Pantheon of Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon.
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2019-21
Having been blessed with such wonderful conditions for the ’18 vintage, Mother Nature, as is her way, decided we needed a challenge. The rain tap stayed on and we had yet another above average year, this time receiving 1076mm, so 7% above average. Having said that, spring was initially dry but towards the end of October, rain came again and topped the soil up. With the rain came mild temperatures and flowering was about a week late. There were 8 chilly nights, including 30th November when the mercury dropped to 2.9°C and very close to a frost. This impacted the yield, which was down 13% to 6.36 tonnes per hectare.
What followed was a complicated summer, with mild temperatures and regular rain. The season average temperature was 18.7°C and it took Cabernet Sauvignon 130 days to reach full ripeness on 12th April, with a very creditable final alcohol of 14.1%. This is a vintage we compare to years like 2006, 2009, 1989 and 1982. The key here is we have now had many years of experience and can make better and more informed judgements about how to manage the vineyard in complicated seasons. To that end, we are really pleased with how the 2019 turned out, better than the years noted above and with genuine, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon fruit aromas and balanced tannins. We pushed the limit but got there in the end.
Having battled through damp cool conditions during the vintage, the needle swung the other way for the rest of the year and we had a relatively dry 779mm, down 22%. Temperatures were warm and Cabernet Sauvignon flowered about a week early but there were bigger matters afoot. Readers will note there’s been no mention of difficult spring conditions for quite some time. Well, that all changed on 24th October, when we had a cold thundery day, culminating in a nasty hailstorm just after midnight. Damage was extensive and the Cabernet Sauvignon crop was down by close to 50%.
The summer was warm and the season temperature was 20.4°C, plenty warm enough to ripen Cabernet Sauvignon, although some rain in March slowed things a little. In the end, it took 123 days to reach full ripeness on 22nd March and had a final alcohol of 14.0%. In style terms, the ’20 shares some of the features of the low crop years like 1981 and 2015, but has delicious ripe fruit and a generosity that balances the firmer tannins. Using the former as a guide, the 2020 will be a very long-lived Moss Wood indeed.
Drier conditions remained the order of the year and 2020 was a little below average at 929mm. Spring conditions returned to benign and we had no storm damage, temperatures were warm to mild and Cabernet Sauvignon flowered a few days ahead of average.
We entered the summer feeling confident about things, although temperatures were mild and ripening was slow. By the end of January, we remained confident things were looking good and of course, this is never a wise move. Mother Nature decided it was time for another challenge and, in the mould of 1989, brought a series of tropical systems down the west coast, giving us significant rain during February, March and April.
This led to an exciting game of dodge the rain, while we waited for each block to ripen and gradually Cabernet Sauvignon came through, taking a mammoth 135 days to get to harvest and finishing will another very creditable alcohol of 13.7%. The scale of this achievement is quite something, considering the season average temperature of 18.8°C and a crop level spot on the average of 7.29 tonnes per hectare. Rather than produce a wine in the style of 1989, we were able to achieve the sort of fruit depth and complexity we saw in a cooler year like 1975.
