Moss Wood 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine Facts
| Harvested: | 27/3/2000 |
| Bottled: | 5/8/2002 |
| Released: | 30/6/2003 |
| Yield: | 10.00 t/ha |
| Baume: | 14.00 |
| Alcohol: | 14.50% |
| Vintage Rating: | 10/10 |
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Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Tyson Stelzer, Top 250 Wines of 2024
A singularity of black- and redcurrant and cassis defines a monumental Moss Wood of stellar definition and endurance, yet somehow at the same time alluringly silky, slippery and polished to the nth degree. Super-fine tannins unite top shelf fruit with classy oak structure, impeccably resolved, carrying a finish of effortless…
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Medium-deep and very bright red with a strong tinge of purple, but it’s not a very deep colour for cabernet. The bouquet is fresh and red fruit driven with mulberry, violet aromas, mixed dried herbs and fragrant spices. The wine is medium-full bodied, not big but supremely elegant and fine-boned….
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Cassandra Charlick, Wine Pilot
95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot, with a detailed French oak regime. I can resist everything but temptation, or so said Mr Wilde. Place a glass of this in front of you and resistance is futile. Juicy and jewel like, the nose leaps with dusty rose, raspberry…
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Cassandra Charlick, Decanter
Vibrantly perfumed, with rose petal jam and bright red primary fruit fringed with dried eucalypt, sage, sea spray, clove, delicate spices and lightly toasted oak. Impressive fruit weight. Hums with energy. Tannins are ripe, firm, fine, almost silky. Acid is balanced and lifted. Lacks classic Margaret River Cabernet characters, but…
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Jane Faulkner – James Halliday, The Wine Companion
There’s as much a Moss Wood DNA thumbprint as a regional one here. This shows off violets, cedary/toasty oak (thankfully not too much), chocolate and a slight ironstone character. Fuller bodied yet the palate is smooth and contained with fine-grained, almost silky tannins, plus dabs of sweet mulberries and blackberries…
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Sam Kim, Wine Orbit
A wine of stunning presence, the engaging bouquet shows dark berry, thyme, star anise, rich floral and cedar characters. The palate is both concentrated and seamless with outstanding weight and depth, wonderfully framed by finely infused chalky tannins. This is symphonic with grace and style, promising to evolve magnificently. At…
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot
The Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is always one of Margaret River’s best and this latest release is no exception. From the sub-region of Wilyabrup, the blend is 95% Cabernet, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Not the easiest vintage in the region, the team overcame any and all obstacles….
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Angus Hughson, Vinous.com
This engaging 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon appeals with its subtlety rather than raw power. Dried herbs, clay and blackcurrant are finely intertwined with French oak. Firm and mid-weight with a strong core, the Wilyabrup gravels emerge in flavor and texture to drive a strong, tension-filled finish. There’s a lovely overall flow…
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Paul Edwards, The West Australian
High expectations accompany iconic labels such as Moss Wood, especially following on from the powerful 2020. This elegantly styled 21 vintage steps up and delivers, even in its youth. This is a wine built for cellaring and, as such, it was day two when the full gamut of flavours and…
Moss Wood 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Bob Campbell, The Real Review
Elegant red that is a benchmark for the variety with red rose petal, cassis, blackberry, cedar wood, cacao nibs flavours and a backbone of spicy French oak that adds extra complexity. Accessible but it’s almost a shame to drink it before 2030. May, 2024
Tasting Notes
The Moss Wood 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon is wonderfully fragrant with redcurrant, spice and cedary oak perfumes; is soft, round and velvety textured; has ripe, rich and concentrated sweet cassis, mulberry and cedar flavours and a lovely fleshy finish. This is an elegant wine that has the tightness of structure, impressive weight, bold vibrant characters, and restrained, fine, silky tannins to ensure that it ages well, while having an approachability and a suppleness to make it appealing when young.
Vintage Notes
There was a good growing season for the 2000 vintage in Margaret River. It started with mild to warm conditions up to Christmas, the hottest day of the year on New Year's Eve, and a January that was not as hot as December had been. There was significant rainfall in the third week of January which the vines soaked up and so remained stress free until harvest. Although the rain did cause downy mildew in some local vineyards, Moss Wood was not affected. One direct consequence of the downpour was that crop levels were higher than expected. The 2000 Semillon is one of the best ever, and we believe that the same is true of the Cabernet.
We see the 2000 as being closest in character to the 1980 and the 1990 Cabernets and, in some ways, a combination of the two. There were differences from the earlier vintages. There was more rainfall during the 1990 growing season. Although there was a similar amount in 1980, it came later. In all three cases, we see the wines as soft and fruity with generous flavours and gentle, fine tannins.
Production Notes
The new machine, the Delta E2 Destemmer, involves no crushing of the grapes. It destems the berries and transfers them whole, plus some juice, by conveyor belt into the fermentation tanks. The destemming means that a minimal amount of tannin is extracted. Given the 28 year difference in their age and the fact that the Delta E2 is made of stainless steel, it is scarcely surprising that the new machine is much easier to clean and so already well loved by winery staff.
The other major difference with the 2000 wine is that it was the second - and last - Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon in which fermentation was triggered spontaneously by strains of wild yeast.
Apart from that, production followed the traditional Moss Wood approach. Fermentation took place at warm temperatures - up to 32° Celcius. During the process, hand plunging took place four times a day. Each batch was left on skins after fermentation for between 10 and 14 days, depending on taste. After that, it was pressed and placed into barrel (50% new oak) for two years. All pressings were included in the finished wine. It was taken out of oak in July 2002, and filtered (but not fined) and bottled in August.
It was the first Moss Wood wine to be bottled partially under Stelvin (screw caps) ensuring that those bottles are not affected by cork taint. We are committed to bottling more and more using Stelvin caps. We plan to move from 200 cases of the 2000 Cabernet to 1,500 cases for the 2001. With the current vintage, Stelvin will be used for comparative tastings to show its value as a closure.