Moss Wood, Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River 2021

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 filled with pleasure and life. Elegant and self-assured.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is from a milder year in Margaret River, one that experienced plentiful and intermittent rain during the growing season. The wine in the glass today is eminently more black fruited than the 2022 tasted alongside; here, we see notes of clove, aniseed, violet, dark cocoa and blackberry fruit. The wine is elegant and refined and looks better today than it did on release. Everything here suggests it will continue to improve in bottle over time, justifying the "+" after the score.