Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

96 POINTS

Ray Jordan

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 knit with the fine tannins and fine-grained oak harmonised and defined.

96 POINTS

Jane Faulkner - Halliday Wine Companion

90/2.5/2.5/2.5/2.5% cabernet sauvignon/merlot/cabernet franc/malbec/petit verdot. For such a youthful cabernet, this is perfectly pitched and composed. A delight to drink now, so I did, all thanks to the neat combo of cassis, mulberries, fresh herbs and oak spices. Nothing out of place. The medium-weighted palate reveals its elegance thanks to fine tannins and a level of detail we come to expect from this producer, and thus not disappointing.

94 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

A wine which is near completely Cabernet Sauvignon here, with 90% of the blend that variety, the remaining 10% is split evenly between Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. A wine which provides more compelling evidence as to how good the 2022 vintage was. Maturation was in 228-litre French barrels, 19% new, for 26 months. A deep maroon hue here, the nose is all Cabernet and friends – dried herbs, black fruits, truffles, cassis, blackcurrants, violets, graphite, beef stock and tobacco leaves. A seamless and seductive texture, with impressive length and immaculate balance, the wine finishes with firm but sleek tannins – a fine line to walk but they have managed it here with freshness and drive. Ten years, more likely twenty, will see this wine continue to improve. A superb Marg River Cab blend.

94 POINTS

James Suckling

Deep aromas of blackberries, blueberries, dark chocolate, potpourri, baking spices, mulberries and rhubarb tart. The midweight palate has finely tuned, mouthwatering tannins and generous texture. Soft, mineral finish with plenty of flesh underneath. Excellent lift. Drinking well but has aging potential. Delicious.

94 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Merlot ,2.5% Cabernet Franc, 2.5% Malbec, 2.5% Petit Verdot. All the things.  This wine augers well for the Moss Wood Vineyard Cabernet, I think, though I expect that will be quite a powerful wine. Black and blue fruits, cedar and tobacco, baking spices, and there’s something a bit creamy here too, maybe mint chocolate. It’s medium to full-bodied, a good volume of red and black fruits, blueberry pie with custard, but kind of savoury too with black olive and lightly toasted oak. Acidity is balanced, and the tannin offers gentle grip and traction, finishing pretty long. It needs a few more years to come together, but it’s a strong release for this wine.

94 POINTS

Cassandra Charlick - Decanter

Perfumed nose, almost jube-like with purple fruit, cedar oak and a cooling sensation of menthol. Notes of black chocolate, lilly pilly, candied violets and sweet wood spice. Lovely open quality, with generosity of fruit in the riper spectrum, but vibrant with bright acidity and a crushed bush leaf herbal note. The firm structure will allow this to devlop further with time.

93 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2022 Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon is chalky and chewy, with raspberry pip, nori, iodine, bramble and fresh leather. This is elegant and attractively "not" fruit driven; instead, it's propelled by exotic spice and tannins that feel silken. It's a magnificent wine, a postcard from Margaret River in a bottle. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

93 POINTS

Angus Hughson - Winepilot

This compact 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon delivers a youthful, measured expression of cassis, bay leaf and cedar with a fine French oak accompaniment. Stil quit tight in a young claret style, yet holding its line very well for an extended, structural finish thanks to mouthcoating tannins. Shy right now and needs time to build.