Cabernet Sauvignon, Moss Wood 2018

Intense, dense cabernet sauvignon with ripe cassis, blueberry, violet, black berry, wood-smoke and spicy French oak flavours. A sumptuous, almost decadent wine that is built for the long-haul but is dangerously accessible now. Incredibly concentrated.

Screwcap. Deep ruby colour. Highly refined and pure nose of blackcurrant fruit. There is a peppery layer of spice, bringing more exotic liquorice and nutmeg from the oak with air. The palate is pure silk, the tannins highly refined and ripe, enveloped by the intense core of black fruit. Despite the fruit's ripeness and intensity it is not jammy - but presents as pure creme de cassis. Bright and refreshing acidity cuts through the fruit to provide a harmonious balance and fresher, floral tones. This is a slick style that you could drink now if you enjoy Cabernet full of fruit. Layers of toasted spice come through on the finish and become more persistent with air - this should integrate nicely into the wine over the next 3-5 years. An excellent example of the region - showing typicity and balance in equal measure. Very long finish.

Minty notes accent mixed red and black berries on the nose of the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon. Intense cassis and raspberry flavors dominate this medium to full-bodied red, framed by ample but ripe, silky tannins and crisp acids. With its intensity and length, it seems sure to age well for up to two decades. 2021-2040

The day I rolled up to Moss Wood, the mobile bottling truck was also there. Having finished the 2018 Pinot Noir the day before, the crew was cranking out bottles of the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon. I managed a taste of the Cabernet from tank, so the 2018 Pinot Noir wasn't available for tasting as a result. As readers of this report will see, I was still able to taste a few wines. Moss Wood was originally established in 1969, and the first plantings were made that same year by Bill and Sandra Pannell, among the region's pioneers. Those original vines and some subsequent plantings continue to be the backbone of Moss Wood's Cabernet Sauvignon. The current owners, Keith and Clare Mugford, purchased the property in 1985—Keith was the winemaker for the Pannells starting in 1979. As he said during my early November visit, "I've been here 40 years, and done 41 vintages." In addition to his personal experience and a reasonable library cellar of older wines to refer back to, Mugford has had a weather station in the vineyard for the past 20 years. In case there was any doubt as to whether the preferred terminology should be "climate change" or "global warming," he said, "Our vineyard is approximately two degrees Celsius cooler now than in 2012." Among recent vintages, he prefers 2018. "It was a good year across all varieties," he said. "Give me a warm year anytime. Seventeen and '19 were cooler, so more work." The Semillon is picked relatively early and made only in stainless steel, so it can be difficult to taste when young, but as a 2002 showed, it can age magnificently. All of the other wines see time in barrel as part of their maturation, but over the years, the amount of new oak seems to have been pared back across the board. The results are striking, well worth seeking out. The wines have an intrinsic sense of balance to them, which gives them the ability to age well across the board.