Description
"Moss Wood 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon - is it 1976 re-visited? At Moss Wood, we put significant effort into developing an appropriate style for each of our varieties but the Cabernet Sauvignon, being the first wine, was our primary focus. Naturally, we looked to the great wines of Bordeaux for inspiration and carefully examined the style of numerous of that region’s wines in the search for clues. It is now a matter of Moss Wood folklore that the vineyard produced what turned out to be three great vintages in a row, 1975, 1976 and 1977 and which became our early benchmarks. The 1975 was admired for its finesse and complexity, the 1976 for its ripe generosity and the 1977 for sharing a bit in common with both its older siblings. The middle wine produced a curious response. It was by far the ripest of the three and had a luxurious feel. The generosity of fruit, with ripe red currant aromas and flavours, was quite remarkable. Certainly it was popular with both consumers and critics alike, who especially liked its seamless tannins. This feature caused much discussion about whether it had the right structure to age well. The wine was so supple and drinkable many doubted its cellaring prospects, including the new winemaker. Over the intervening years the doubters were proven wrong and the 1976 developed in the bottle to become one of the vineyard’s finest. It is interesting to consider the ripeness of the 1976. There has been a tendency in recent times, perhaps in response to the production in Australia of some very ripe wines, with alcohol often exceeding 15% alcohol, to look back fondly to earlier times, when good wines were made with lower alcohols. As is often the case, these generalisations are not really true. Despite being made over 30 years ago, the 1976 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon had 14.3% alcohol and was never considered “hot”or “flabby” and went on to develop excellent character after cellaring. We have since made several vintages that have some commonality with the 1976, with the 2007 we believe we have a serious rival.
Very typical Cabernet Sauvignon fruit aromas. Red currant, mulberry, dark chocolate combine with a background of charry oak, cigar box and spice. It is worth noting the wine’s concentration is such that it can take several minutes to unfold. We recommend allowing it to breathe. The immediate impression is one of full-bodied, mouth-filling red and blue fruit flavours, giving a luxurious feel. Although the phenolics are firm they are more than balanced by the juicy concentration, so texture is smooth. Length and persistence of the flavours are enhanced by charry oak notes that leave gentle, slightly bituminous tannins on the finish." - Moss Wood
