Winery: Moss Wood
Region: Margaret River
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
Vintage: 2008
Your Wine Guy says:
The 2008 Ribbon Vale Cabernet is a crimson colour in the glass. The nose offers good intensity of red berries, plums and chocolate characters with some spicy blackcurrant and cedar oak notes. The palate is soft and medium bodied with spicy fruit characters, fine tannins and good length of flavour. Given the chance in a cellar it will gain some more complexity.
94 Points YWG Drink to 2018
Critics say:
“Stylistically similar to the Merlot, but medium-bodied rather than light- to medium-bodied, and with blackcurrant to the fore, the tannins providing more structure. Nonetheless, retains the elegance and effortless length of the Merlot.”
93 Points Drink to 2017 James Halliday Wine Companion
The winemaker says:
Colour: Deep brick red, in bright condition.
Nose: Generous nose, with ripe fruit aromas combined with Merlot’s complex earthy notes.
Palate: The wine presents immediate fruit generosity, with plum and black currant flavours filling the mid-palate. In addition, the hallmark of this vintage is the balance of tannin, which can so often be a problem with this variety. In 2008, the typically firm Merlot tannins sit neatly underneath, giving firm tannin all the way through but never being gritty or drying. At the very back, the toasty oak adds to the finish. – Moss Wood
Since this was such a good vintage, it will come as no surprise that we enthusiastically recommend this wine for cellaring. The generosity and balance make it delicious drinking now and we encourage consumers who prefer the plump young fruit flavours to enjoy the wine in its youth. However, the vintage has delivered a combination of chemistry and style that will age successfully for many years. We recommend those who enjoy older wine to cellar it for at least 10 years. – Moss Wood
Winery/Label Information:
Fruit flavours of berries and earthy notes - full body - firm tannins and soft oak. Ribbon Vale can include up to 30% of Merlot, for its intense red and dark fruit characters on both nose and palate, and 10% of Cabernet Franc for its dark berry aromas. - Moss Wood
Moss Wood is a premium wine producer located in the Margaret River Wine region of Western Australia. The area is regarded as one of Australia's premium grape growing regions.
Listed in the Exceptional category of Langton’s Classification V of Fine Australian wines. One of only 4 Cabernet wines in the top Exceptional category.
Dr. Bill Pannell, one of Margaret River's early pioneers, established Moss Wood in 1969. By the early 1980s the Cabernet Sauvignons were regarded as something very special. Keith Mugford, who began as an assistant winemaker and his wife Clare purchased the property in 1985. They have taken Moss Wood to the pinnacle of Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.
The wines produced at Moss Wood are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Semillon and from Moss Wood's Ribbon Vale Vineyard, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Merlot and Merlot. There is also a Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, produced from grapes sourced from Yallingup and Cowaramup and since 2008, a Moss Wood Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, produced from grapes sourced from that famous Victorian region.
Ribbon Vale Vineyard - The 6.36 hectare vineyard, situated in the heart of Wilyabrup, was first planted in 1977 by then owner John James. It is planted on a southwest facing slope and its soils are the classic gravelly loam over a clay sub-soil, responsible for the best table wines in the Margaret River region.
The following varieties are planted: Cabernet Sauvignon (1.33 hectares) Cabernet Franc (0.22 hectares) Merlot (1.63 hectares) Semillon (1.72 hectares) Sauvignon Blanc (1.46 hectares)
In March 2000, Clare and Keith who were long-time admirers of Ribbon Vale, purchased the vineyard and winery, just in time to make the 2000 vintage. It was run in the traditional way, just as Moss Wood is unirrigated, hand-pruned and hand-picked.
The vineyards plantings were an interesting mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Semillon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc is not planted at Moss Wood and we only have a very small number of Merlot vines, so the varieties provided new winemaking challenges. They were also useful additions to enhance the portfolio of wines because they had proved to be of significant quality, with the Sauvignon Blanc being a wine show trophy winner.
Proprietors Clare and Keith Mugford enjoy the challenge of consistently producing high quality wines at Moss Wood. All decisions made in the vineyard and winery are based on the effect they will have on the quality of the wine. – Moss Wood
James Halliday writes of Moss Wood “Widely regarded as one of the best wineries in the region, capable of producing glorious Semillon in both oaked and unoaked forms, unctuous Chardonnay and elegant, gently herbaceous, superfine Cabernet Sauvignon, which lives for many years.” 5 Red Stars
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