Bright and deep ruby with a purple tinge. Super fragrant “Old Spice” perfume with nutmeg, star anise, orange, Pimento, jasmine, vanilla, musk and cedar. With old cellar charm, this vintage expresses more earthy, forest-like elements, wild mushroom and dark berry fruit, than ocean scents. So powerful and fluid. It flows from buoyant fruit sweetness with a savoury overtone, into a super-fine, tightly woven tannin profile that is powdery and dry but not intense. It is rich fruit power, but not heavy.

The Premier Cabernet Sauvignon of Vasse Felix. This wine’s distinctive style possesses all the hallmarks of the finest Margaret River Cabernet; elegance, generosity and ageability. Made every year since 1972, it is Margaret River’s archetypal Cabernet Sauvignon.

A cool, high-humidity start to vintage meant we benefited greatly from precise canopy management to mitigate disease pressure and optimise sun exposure for the fruit. The success of this program enabled us to harvest ripe, clean fruit with slightly lower alcohol and great natural acidity. Mild conditions allowed for extended ripening, creating beautiful aromatics and fine ripe tannins. Marri Blossom was non-existent throughout the region in 2019, resulting in the largest netting program ever seen at Vasse Felix to protect the fruit from bird damage. Overall, a labour intensive vintage that resulted in beautiful quality fruit.

WINEMAKER COMMENTS - Our Cabernet parcels are grown in Wilyabrup, (the coastal, mid northern ancient and well-draining gravel loam soils of Margaret River) to produce a wine of great varietal purity and character. These wonderful, often tiny, vineyard sections are individually fermented using indigenous yeasts, with many experiencing maceration periods of up to 40 days. Natural fermentation and extended maceration are coupled with traditional oxidative handling to clearly define the intricate personality of each vineyard site before blending. This was a cool, but bright fruit vintage, with super-fine tannin ripening and very low yield, where only a small volume of this wine was made. Malbec remains an important component with our Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot is becoming a valuable contributor from our Wilyabrup soils.

91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.5% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot, 0.5% Cabernet Franc