I have Cullen & Moss Wood 2001s in magnums and regular bottles. The Cullen is too young & I have stopped trying them. The Moss Wood at release & a few years later was hot clumsy & terrible. Tonight I apprehensively open a SC bottle. No decant. Black olives and damson plum with vibrant richness. It is still in evolution. The fruit on palate is blossoming plump richness tamed by fruit / oak tannins. At 14.5% this wine is not hot. Next one will be consumed at 20 years of age. Not for sale - sorry guys.
thanks Michel, I have this back home, but will forget about it for another decade. I remember it being touted as the finest vintage ever for MW, so I guess it is not surprising it will take a good deal of time to shine.
michel wrote:I have Cullen & Moss Wood 2001s in magnums and regular bottles. The Cullen is too young & I have stopped trying them. The Moss Wood at release & a few years later was hot clumsy & terrible. Tonight I apprehensively open a SC bottle. No decant. Black olives and damson plum with vibrant richness. It is still in evolution. The fruit on palate is blossoming plump richness tamed by fruit / oak tannins. At 14.5% this wine is not hot. Next one will be consumed at 20 years of age. Not for sale - sorry guys.
94/100
Is that a cork or stelvin bottle. That was the first year they offered stelvin as an option and I got all my bottles stelvin.
Thanks for the note. Have a few of these .. interestingly a couple under cork and a couple under screwcap. If my memory serves me correctly this was the first vintage Moss Wood offered their flagship cabernet under both closures to their mailing list. Bought a couple of each so I can do my own experimental tasting in a few years!
michel wrote:I rarely drink bordeaux.........probably a cabernet every 4-5 years
You should get out and play more often. Staying indoors stunts personal development. Your own post tells you what you are missing.
AaronL wrote:I thought SC stood for Stupid Cabernet.......
Considering that Cabernet Sauvignon, especially in Bordeaux and Napa (that's in California by the way), is considered some of the finest wines in the world, and one of the signature wines of Australia is the Shiraz/Cabernet blend................well, you get my drift.
I'm reminded of a '97 Moss Wood that I had in February 2001 when I was in Sydney. It was young at four years of age but was quite approachable and very drinkable. Michel, interestingly it was not at all like your description of the 2001. It's likely that the difference is in the vintage. People tend to overlook weaker vintages but in the hands of good producers they make excellent wines that tend to be approachable earlier. What I remember most about the '97 was it's Bordeaux-like nose. I wish I had a few in my cellar - I suspect it would be drinking beautifully.
Mahamoud Another 4 years till my next New World cabernet. I do drink Bordeaux reasonably regularly- I really appreciate quality ones. Across our wine group we cover lots of different styles I dont post many notes I will make more of an effort Regards Michel
hahaha, I find your posts amusing and informative Michel, keep them up!! As many would know, no respectable Burgundian gent would ever attest to drinking Bordeaux, and visa-versa!!! Try buying a bottle of Pichon in most Dijon restaurants hahaha Anyway, it seems I too have the 01 MW in both screw cap and cork, will also be happy to compare over the journey (I actually avoid buying screw-cap reds now, which is a pity as I wanted to buy the 2012 Old Block shiraz, but it comes in screw-cap only.) London to a brick your Moss Wood beats the crap out of your Cullens in another decade
I have many Cullens and Moss Wood in my cellar and have found both lacking when drunk under 10 yrs of age. The 2001 Moss Wood is a fabulous cabernet and may well turn out to be one of the greatest in a few more years. I think it has almost reached it peak drinking window now but will hold strongly for another 5 years. I wouldn't wait 10 yrs from now as my experience with Moss Wood over 20yrs of age is not that good. Cullen in the better vintages outshine MW IMHO.
At every turn, it pays to challenge orthodox ways of thinking
Gianna wrote:I have many Cullens and Moss Wood in my cellar and have found both lacking when drunk under 10 yrs of age. The 2001 Moss Wood is a fabulous cabernet and may well turn out to be one of the greatest in a few more years. I think it has almost reached it peak drinking window now but will hold strongly for another 5 years. I wouldn't wait 10 yrs from now as my experience with Moss Wood over 20yrs of age is not that good. Cullen in the better vintages outshine MW IMHO.
Mine are from cellar door & SC & temp controlled- it just seems such a young wine currently !
Gianna wrote:Cullen in the better vintages outshine MW IMHO.
I'm definitely of the opposite view!
Me too. Recent personal experience indicates that older vintages of DM can be suspect, even though when drunk young they are gorgeous (but who wants to spend $100 to drink a 2-year old wine?). The 2013 in my view is the best young DM I have tasted, but I'm still not sure how it will fare in 10 years time. Bio-dynamics? Harvesting by the moon? Who knows
I bought a stash of 2001 Moss Wood a little while ago, and the one I've drunk so far was superb!
purchased a stack of both the MW and Cullens in the 80's, 90's and early 00's, and have never found a Cullen to better a MW, for my palate at least. the mid-90's Cullen's are, in fact, pretty disappointing for me. Interestingly, after 15 years, I have found most of the old "regular" cuvees of Cullens are better than the "reserve" bottling they used to have. MW 95 and 96 are, IMO, as good as any Bordeaux of the same vintage, bar the very top tier. Great, great wines. But I would say recently, Bin 707 is the premier cabernet in Australia, with MW coming in second.
Gianna wrote:Cullen in the better vintages outshine MW IMHO.
I'm definitely of the opposite view!
Me too. Recent personal experience indicates that older vintages of DM can be suspect, even though when drunk young they are gorgeous (but who wants to spend $100 to drink a 2-year old wine?). The 2013 in my view is the best young DM I have tasted, but I'm still not sure how it will fare in 10 years time. Bio-dynamics? Harvesting by the moon? Who knows
I bought a stash of 2001 Moss Wood a little while ago, and the one I've drunk so far was superb!
Tend to agree with Mike and WAwineguy. '12 DM tasted recently blind was nice, but just that.
