Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Merlot 2022

96 POINTS

Ray Jordan

A lot of work was put into rejuvenating this vineyard when Moss acquired it, and it has certainly paid off handsomely with merlot in particular. It’s now recognised as one of Australia’s consistently best. This is another cracker combining the suppleness of the fruit with power and poise. You are getting a serious red wine here with deeply concentrated fruit impelled through to a very long finish. Firm tannins give this structure.

95 POINTS

Jane Faulkner - Halliday Wine Companion

Merlot with decent glugs of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon; aged 26 months in French oak barriques, 21% new. It comes across as detailed, structured and fuller bodied but not weighty. While its core is all dark fruits with baking spices and licorice, it’s savoury with tobacco, peat and roasted red peppers. And yes, the oak is impacting in youth – as in it has cedary and woodsy spices – but nothing is out of place. The textural tannins are nicely drying and the finish long. Smart now but even better with cellar time.

95 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2022 Ribbon Vale Merlot is from a warm, dry and early vintage; the confluence of these climatic conditions has come together as a superb red wine vintage in the region. Aromatically, the wine leads with redcurrant and pomegranate molasses, raw cocoa and tapenade. On the spice register, we see nutmeg, clove, anise and cinnamon. It's floral, as well. The highlight, however, is undoubtedly the tannins—chalky and ultra fine, pulverized rather than in stratum. Wow. This is excellent, just sheer elegance. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

95 POINTS

Angus Hughson - Winepilot

This serious Merlot from 2022 is again putting Moss Wood forward as one of the country’s top performers with this variety. It opens with a powerful and tightly focussed core of blackberry and cedar with touches of crushed leaves, and a strong savoury feel. Impressive intensity and fruit drive takes it up a notch, with bright acidity and muscular tannins holding firm. Impeccable and signifiacnt tannins with a supremely long finish mark this as one of the greats.

94 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

Merlot, with a little boost from  7%  Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Cabernet Franc. I often prefer this to the Ribbon Vale Cabernet (and I do in 2022), in part because I like Merlot, but also because of its point of difference. Red fruit, cherry and plum, quite spicy with pimento and nutmeg, slightly leafy and earthy, some liquorice, dried flowers and herbs. Medium to full-bodied, excellent mid-palate richness, savoury and spicy, ripe dusty and emery board tannin sits well in the wine, and the finish closes long and crisp, with spiced strawberry and tobacco in the aftertaste. Lovely. A super release; best since the 2018.

93 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

I suspect this wine holds a Moss Wood record for the shortest vintage weather report they have ever issued – “Mother Nature was in a very benign frame of mind”. Of course, they didn’t leave it at that, but it is a great start. In addition to the Merlot, 7% of Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% of Cabernet Franc were also included. The wine spent 26 months maturing in 228-litre French barrels, 21% of them new. A deep red/garnet hue, this is still very youthful and if opened in the next couple of years, would very much benefit from a decant, or time in the glass. The nose gives us notes of dried herbs and fruitcake, with plums, black fruits, chocolate, bay leaves and spices. There is plenty of power here, a good forceful style with firm tannins and a lengthy finish. Enjoy for at least the next five to eight years, most likely considerably longer.

93 POINTS

James Suckling

Perfumed aromas of plums, violets, black cherries, red apples, blueberry bush and potpourri. The midweight palate has firmly framed tannins and balanced acidity, leading into a tactile, structured finish with a really mouthwatering and mineral-edged close. Bright, lifted and built to age with a touch of freshness.