Twenty Cabernets: The Margaret River Retrospective

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

This remarkable tasting was hosted by the evergreen John Jens (JJ)of Lamonts Cottesloe. We looked at four vintages from each of five top Margaret River producers of Cabernet Sauvignon and blends. Even more remarkable was that all of the wines are available from Lamonts (even the1990 Moss Wood).

The first winery featured was Cape Mentelle, who won a couple of Jimmys in the early 1980s with their Cabernet Sauvignons. We didn’t go back quite that far. The wines here, while not lacking in flavour, show some restraint in comparison to some of the later wines.

Cape Mentelle Heritage Cabernet Sauvignon 2020: Deep crimson colour. The nose is showing cedar, graphite, blackcurrant, cassis, tobacco and eucalypt. The palate is medium weight, with fine tight tannins (a little chalky), clean acid and a little thickness or texture. Good length without being overly long.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2014: Slightly lighter in colour than the 2020, and a slightly bigger wine overall. The dusty nose shows blackberry, mulberry, mint and eucalypt. The palate adds a little milk chocolate, soy and savoury oak to the mix. Medium to full bodied with integrating tannins and good length.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2012: There’s blackberry, mulberry and red fruits on the nose with savoury oak and eucalypt. The palate is quite tight, with some cedar, fully integrated tannins, noticeable acid and a medium to long finish.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2009: Crimson colour and quite bright in the glass. There’s a touch of leather on the nose, which opens up with soft red fruits, cedary oak, and cigars. Like the 2014, the palate shows milk chocolate and savoury notes around the gentle red and dark fruits. Tannins are fully integrated; acid is soft and the wine finishes medium to long. My favourite of the Cape Mentelle wines shown.

Although this was billed as a Margaret River Retrospective, the second winery (while sourcing fruit for some wines from M.R.) has the Great Southern region as the source for its top red wine.

Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet blend 2021: Deep crimson colour. A relatively closed nose, with polished oak, graphite and black fruits. There’s more blackberry and other dark fruits on the palate, with fine grippy tannins and a long finish. Bernet sauvignon

Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet blend 2017: Also a slightly closed nose, with dark and red berry fruit, graphite, a little tobacco, and eucalypt. The fruit becomes more prominent on the palate, with cigars and savoury oak. Fine dusty tannins and supporting acid leading to a long but not overpowering finish.

Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet blend 2001: Proof that some wines take time. Crimson colour. A touch of leather, tobacco, and plenty of developed dark berry fruits on the nose. There’s bay leaf and mint alongside the fruits on the palate. Tannins are well integrated but still grippy, and acid is supportive. Long finish, and my pick of the Jack Manns.

Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet blend 1999: Polished leather on the nose, with savoury developed characters and not a lot of obvious fruit. There’s a little more (and surprisingly sweet) fruit on the palate. Fully integrated tannins and long finish. The palate was more impressive than the nose.

The third winery offered was Vasse Felix. Their Tom Cullity Cabernet Malbec blend was introduced in 2013 – prior to that, the top red was the Heytesbury Cabernet blend.

Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Malbec 2015: A slightly lighter crimson colour. A closed and modest nose with graphite and red / black fruits. The palate fills out a little, with bright red fruits, and there’s noticeable acid and fine grippy tannins. Good length but not overly long, and perhaps opened too young.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Cabernet Blend 2011: Crimson colour. Initially restrained nose, but opened up to be almost perfumed. Eucalypt, cedary oak, and plenty of developing fruits on the nose. The palate is quite powerful with very juicy red and black berries. Integrated tannins, plenty of supporting acid and a very long finish. My favourite of the Vasse Felix wines.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Cabernet Blend 2009: Dark crimson/ purple. A dusty nose, with eucalypt, violets and blackcurrant. More of the same on the palate, with polished oak, grippy tannins and a long finish.

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Cabernet Blend 2007: A paler colour than the preceding wines. Violets, cedary oak, mulberry fruits, and a herbal note on the nose. The palate shows juicy red and black fruits, fully integrated tannins and good supporting acid.

Next came Cullen’s Diana Madelaine. These are cabernet sauvignon and merlot with small amounts of other Bordeaux varieties.

Cullen Diana Madelaine 2023: Crimson colour. Pristine fruit – blackcurrant, mulberry and dark plum, and cedary oak. These flavours flow through the palate, with fine grippy tannins and clean acid, leading to a very long finish. A riper Diana Madelaine, showing power with elegance.

Cullen Diana Madelaine 2012: Lots of plush fruit - blackberry, mulberry, plums – with supporting cedary oak and graphite on the nose. The palate reflects the nose, with fruits starting to show sign of development. Supporting acid and quite grippy fine tannins lead to a long finish. My favourite of the Cullens.

Cullen Diana Madelaine 2011: A darker crimson colour. Savoury oak on the nose, with the dark and red fruits in the background. The red fruits come to the fore on the palate. Soft acid and tannins are integrating well. Medium to long finish.

Cullen Diana Madelaine 2008: This wine is more about elegance than power, and is showing signs of development. Red fruits, soft acid and fully integrated tannins. Medium to long finish. Possibly starting to fade, and overshadowed by the earlier vintages.

The final bracket was the Moss Woos Cabernet Sauvignon. These were the more concentrated cabernets of this tasting, and we saw some of the older examples.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2008: Darker crimson colour. A complex nose, with plush oak, bay leaf, tobacco, and the usual dark berry fruits. Developed and concentrated dark fruits on the palate, with a strong acid line, grippy tannins and a very long finish.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2004: Crimson colour, with slight bricking. Savoury oak developed blackberry and mulberry on the nose. A surprisingly juicy palate, with dark berries, fine grippy tannins and supporting acid. Long finish.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2000: A touch of leather on the nose initially. It’s very concentrated, with lifted red berries, eucalypt, bay leaf and a hint of tobacco. The palate is soft, with black and red fruits, gentle acid and slightly drying tannins. Long finish and my pick of the Moss Woods.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 1990: Paler colour (not surprisingly, given the age). Lots of polished leather on the nose, with the developed fruit aromas in the background. Red berries on the palate, with fully integrated tannins and enough acid in support. Long finish. Overshadowed by the earlier vintages, in my opinion, and fading.

JJ then generously poured a final ‘bonus’ wine: the Deep Woods Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2014. A different style again. Deep crimson colour. Savoury and polished oak, tobacco, blackcurrant and eucalypt on the youthful nose. A fruit-forward palate with red and dark fruits, integrating tannins and a good line of acid. Long finish and well balanced.

My personal wine of the tasting Was the 2000 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, and I am sure there many favourite wines among the tasters present. The event was superbly and entertainingly MCd by JJ and Yasmeen Jansen MW and the range of vintages were very well chosen. I would enthusiastically recommend similar events hosted at Lamonts in future.

Cheers
Allan

[Con J]

Thanks for the notes Allan, looks like a great event.

I had 1999 Moss Wood on Saturday and was drinking really well.
For my taste this was in a perfect place showing some development with lots of dark berry fruit and some briny black olives.

This is one of the first bottles I bought when I first started collecting.

Cheers

[TravisW]

Great notes. Many thanks Allan.

Con, random question: How old was the Seaview "Champagne" and how was it drinking?

Many thanks, Travis

[JamieAdelaide]

Had the 99 and 01 MW last week or so. Preferred cork sealed 99 by a margin.

How were the corks at your event Allan? Failure rates? Performance?

We are at that period of time where comparisons and personal preference can be made with high quality tastings.

[Waiters Friend]

Had the 99 and 01 MW last week or so. Preferred cork sealed 99 by a margin.

How were the corks at your event Allan? Failure rates? Performance?

We are at that period of time where comparisons and personal preference can be made with high quality tastings.

G'day Jamie

The older two of the Jack Manns were under cork. Both fine, with the 2001 especially good.

The first bottle of 2000 MW was noticeably corked. The replacement bottle was my wine of the tasting. The 1990 MW was not corked but maybe just starting to tire a little. It would have been interesting to see how that one showed under screwcap!

I talk to highly respected winemakers and industry professionals on both sides of the cork vs screwcap debate. With the advent of screwcaps that the winemaker can elect to allow certain amounts of oxygen ingress, I suggest it will be a slightly different debate in another 10+ years.

Cheers
Allan

[Ian S]

As an amusing data point, a friend was (joke) gifted a 187 ml screwcapped bottle of 2004 (IIRC) Jacob's Creek Shiraz. When we met up for a tasting last week, we opened it and tasted it. Utterly primary, albeit just a touch weird (but that might be just how the wine is/was). Presumably seals on these tiny bottles aren't designed for any air transmission. Not the example I'd choose to make a call on cork vs. screwcap, but weirdly interesting.

[JamieAdelaide]

Had the 99 and 01 MW last week or so. Preferred cork sealed 99 by a margin.

How were the corks at your event Allan? Failure rates? Performance?

We are at that period of time where comparisons and personal preference can be made with high quality tastings.

G'day Jamie

The older two of the Jack Manns were under cork. Both fine, with the 2001 especially good.

The first bottle of 2000 MW was noticeably corked. The replacement bottle was my wine of the tasting. The 1990 MW was not corked but maybe just starting to tire a little. It would have been interesting to see how that one showed under screwcap!

I talk to highly respected winemakers and industry professionals on both sides of the cork vs screwcap debate. With the advent of screwcaps that the winemaker can elect to allow certain amounts of oxygen ingress, I suggest it will be a slightly different debate in another 10+ years.

Cheers
Allan

I lost a magnum of Jack Mann to TCA last year.

Yes it’s a very interesting evolution. Which could have won more fans in the wider industry abroad, rather than the dogmatism “I know boats” attitude that I believe plagued the Australian industry.

I think what will manifest is that Australian red wines are not considered age-worthy in the traditional in the international wine scene. Drink them “primary” because,
Uhmm, well they stay primary for some time.

[Con J]

Great notes. Many thanks Allan.

Con, random question: How old was the Seaview "Champagne" and how was it drinking?

Many thanks, Travis

Hi Travis.

I found this and a couple of dozen others in my in-laws garage when I was cleaning it out, probably been in for 25 years.
Please see below.

This bottle of Seaview was not good at all, very oxidised.
A bottle opened on Australia Day was slightly oxidised and very drinkable.

[Ian S]

Retsina. Tastes as good as it looks. Which is unfortunate.