Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine Facts
| Blend: | 93% Cabernet Sauvignon 5% Cabernet Franc 2% Merlot |
| Median Harvest: | Cabernet Sauvignon – 24/03/2014 Cabernet Franc – 04/03/2014 Merlot – 07/03/2014 |
| Bottled: | 28/06/2016 |
| Released: | 26/08/2016 |
| Yield: | Cabernet Sauvignon – 4.85 t/ha Cabernet Franc – 6.02 t/ha Merlot – 6.01 t/ha |
| Baume: | Cabernet Sauvignon – 13.6⁰ Be Cabernet Franc – 12.4⁰ Be Merlot – 12.9⁰ Be |
| Alcohol: | 14% |
| Vintage Rating: | 10/10 |
Tasting Notes
The colour is a very youthful brick red and the condition is bright. The wine gleams in the glass.
The immediate impression of the nose is one of liveliness and fragrance, combining black and red currant with roses, five spice and liqueur cherry. There is complexity as well with soft, toasty oak, and some of the classic Ribbon Vale tar, linseed and seaweed.
On the palate it shows the evolution of the vineyard, where once this wine was distinctly savoury now there are rich, almost sweet dark berry and cherry fruits and an almost confectionery jubey muskiness. The palate gives just a glimpse of Ribbon Vales past, with firm tannin and leather and tarry notes on the finish, but the overall impression is one of great balance and length.
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ray Jordan, Ray Jordan Wine
This is one of the best cabernets yet released from this vineyard. It’s a gracefully presented wine of elegance and poise from the fine chalky tannins through to the energised finish. Blackcurrant and savoury plum notes with a light bay leaf and black olive nuance. The palate is so tightly…
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Cassandra Charlick, Decanter
Ripe fruit. Nose is resplendent with mulberry, cassis, dried florals, sappy hints, green peppercorn, black earth and nori flecks. Supple, energetic palate follows the nose, with a jumble of red fruits and graphite. Fine, firm tannins and fresh acidity, the union of the two producing an energetic and elegant wine….
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Jane Faulkner – James Halliday, The Wine Companion
An elegant and immediately appealing Ribbon Vale offering a light spray of red fruits, leafy freshness, Moroccan mint, tobacco and cedary oak. It’s medium bodied with supple yet restrained tannins, pops of sweet fruit across the palate and fine acidity keeping this light on its feet. August, 2024
WA Wine Review 2024
Ray Jordan “Moss Wood is a family-owned wine company and a pioneer of the Margaret River region. Planted in 1969, Moss Wood is an important founding estate of Margaret River. Clare and Keith Mugford, as viticulturalists, winemakers and proprietors, have been tending the vineyard and making wine at Moss Wood…
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Medium-deep red-purple with a briary, tomato-bush and angelica bouquet, the palate medium-full bodied and lively, intense, fine and focused, with bright and attractive cabernet cassis/raspberry fruit backed by fine, persuasive yet supple tannins. Fine, elegant cabernet, worth cellar space. February, 2024
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ray Jordan, Ray Jordan Wine
Another stunner from the 2020 vintage. This vintage shows slightly more sweet fruit than some previously, yet the firm tannin core remains a structural feature that is part vineyard and part season. Plenty of dark fruits woven with a trace of black olives, bay leaf and oyster shell minerality. So…
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
Red and black fruits, cedar, some dried flowers and mint, blonde tobacco. It’s medium-bodied with an understated claret-like charm, and don’t mind me, but there’s a distinct flavour of honey glazed ham in the mix, along with tobacco and dried herbs. The tannin offers a light grainy grip, and the…
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Angus Hughson, Wine Pilot.com
There is much to enjoy in this 2021 Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon which shows the elegance of the vintage. It opens with layers of graphite and pure cassis which are well backed by finely balanced French oak. Mid weight and vibrant with tannins already showing good integration behind a streamlined and…
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ned Goodwin, jamessuckling.com
A savory, mid-weighted expression from a cooler year, making for effortless early to mid-term drinking. Better tended parcels of cabernet performed well. And it shows. Pointed aromas of redcurrant, dried sage, graphite and judicious oak. Classy and fragrant, this makes for delicious drinking. Drink or hold. Screw cap. December, 2023
Moss Wood Ribbon Vale 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot.com
The classic red variety from Margaret River, this wine is a deep, shining red. The nose is blackberries, delicatessen meats, spices, tobacco leaves and an ever-so-slight oaky note, but it is well integrated and merely adds to the complexity evident here. Attractive dark cherry touches. Fine tannins, a hint gravelly….
Vintage Notes
Ripening Time from Flowering to Harvest
2014 Ribbon Vale Merlot – 108 days / 2014 Ribbon Vale Cabernet Franc – 112 days / 2014 Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon – 118 days
One thing we can say for certain about calendar year 2013 - it wasn’t dry. By midnight on 31st December the rain gauge had recorded 1219mm, some 23% above average. To say the soil was at full capacity was an understatement and during the winter, some patches in the vineyard had become almost impassable.
Timing of rain is the key for us, and when flowering began in the beginning of November, things had eased and the Cabernet varieties commenced in excellent conditions. However, Mother Nature’s mood changed during the last 2 weeks, delivering more wet weather and leaving us with below average yields. Cabernet Sauvignon was down 31%, Cabernet Franc was down 22% and Merlot down 26%. Vines do not like rain on their flowers.
Beyond this, the summer was a delight, typified by consistent warmth without extreme heat. Cabernet Sauvignon had a positively glorious time of it, enjoying almost 1000 hours in its key temperature range of 18-28⁰C, when it needs around 850 to ripen fully. It did this with virtually no heat stress at all, receiving only 36 hours above 33⁰C. Indeed, the vineyard experienced only one day when the mercury hit 40⁰C and that for only 45 minutes.
The conditions were equally as good for Cabernet Franc and Merlot, if not better. Both need less heat for ripening than their big sister and so they luxuriated in abundant warmth. Similarly, the lack of extreme heat benefited them as well.
Add to this the fact that our shoot positioning, trimming and spray programs all worked a treat, so no disease or bird problems and you could say we had one of Margaret River’s very finest seasons.
With small crops and good weather, the vintage was on us fairly quickly. Cabernet Franc came off on 4th March, 10 days early; Merlot on 7th March, 10 days early; and Cabernet Sauvignon on 24th March, 4 days early.
Production Notes
Having got half the job done, we then set about shepherding our high quality fruit carefully and safely to the bottle, applying all the usual Moss Wood techniques. Each variety was hand pick and all the fruit was destemmed into small fermenters and pumped over 3 times per day for extraction. Fermentation was by selected yeast strains and temperatures were set to a maximum of 30⁰C. Time on skins was 12 days for Cabernet Franc, 15 days for Merlot and 16 days for Cabernet Sauvignon.
After pressing, each variety was racked to barrels, all 225 litre French oak. In December 2015 all batches were racked to stainless steel, tasted and the final blends assessed. The 2014 Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon looked best at 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Merlot. The blend was made up then returned to barrel for further aging. For the record, the Cabernet Sauvignon received a total of 25 months in oak of which 12% new was new.
In June 2016 the wine was racked to stainless steel and fining trials were carried out. The balance was excellent, so was left unfined. It was then sterile filtered and bottled on 28th June, 2016.
Cellaring Notes
While unquestionably a cellaring wine, it is rich enough to be enjoyed now with any sort of flavoursome, winter fare. However, it is wine for the long haul and we recommend it for a minimum 10 years cellaring. For those who have the space and patience, please keep it for 25 years.