Vasse Felix, Tom Cullity, Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec, Margaret River, Australia, 2016

Overview of the Wine
Established in 1967 by regional pioneer Dr Tom Cullity, Vasse Felix is Margaret River's founding wine estate. Pristine isolation, ancient lands and twin oceans make Margaret River a wine paradise and one of the world’s greatest environments to grow ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. These varieties, alongside Shiraz and Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends are the primary focus at Vasse Felix. All wines are grown in Vasse Felix’s four Margaret River vineyards then vinified and bottled within the modern winery, situated at the Home Vineyard overlooking the Wilyabrup Brook. The Vasse Felix Cellar Door - also located at the Home Vineyard - is renowned. Featuring a tasting room, wine lounge, art gallery, wine museum and one of Australia's most acclaimed restaurants, visitors are welcomed from all around the world, eager for the ultimate Vasse Felix experience.

There are many things that make Vasse Felix the special place it is: the incredible environment and climate of Margaret River, their secure family ownership, their treasured heritage, and their priceless vineyards. But above all, it's the dedication of the entire team to continue Dr Cullity's original aim for Vasse Felix: "to make the best possible wine". 

Vegan.

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Grape / Blend
78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot

Origin
Margaret River, Australia

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Ruby with a purple hue. A deep perfume of wild berries reveals distinctive savoury characters, woodsy Margaret River Forest and briny ocean breeze. Intense and powerful with dried rose petal and violet paired with earthy aromas of mushrooms, the spice of fresh cedar, and linseed oil. Hints of peppermint tree leaves are complemented by enticing notes of a canelé pastry and dark chocolate.

Incredibly luscious, rich fruit builds into a long, fine, powdery
tannin structure. Refreshing floral notes are expressed throughout the palate with lingering blackcurrant and blackberry. Medium bodied, the complexity of ocean and nori influence pairs beautifully with notes of chocolate, polished leather and exotic spices. An elegant, palpable and clean dry finish with earthy power and wild berry custard tart rounding out this complex palate.

96 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is rich and powerful, with a robust fruit profile and firm tannins. For all the descriptors, it remains an elegant wine in the wider context of Cabernet from Margaret River, yet today, it shows to be of firm textural disposition than its vintage siblings. Here, it has dark chocolate and notes of charcuterie, licorice, nori and tapenade. The tannins, while profuse, are agile and flexible

96 Points - Wine Enthusiast
Currant, cedar, olive brine, bay leaf and cigar box. Layers of texture and flavor flow over the tongue, knit together by a powdery, fine line of tannins. Oak is present but should integrate seamlessly with time in bottle. It's a classy wine that walks a tightrope of power and elegance. 

96 Points - James Suckling
This has a very complex, integrated array of red-plum, redcurrant and mulberry aromas with cedary nuances, as well as forest wood, fresh earth, graphite, pepper, leaves, shitake mushrooms and more. The palate is finely layered with grainy, powerful tannin and gives an overall impression of focused power with deeply rich dark berries, plums, berries and mulberries. Seamlessly composed. This has a long life ahead.

96 Points - Decanter
Perfumed with exotic spice, incense, blackcurrant flower and plush plum, while the palate is textured with lush, rich fruit and a neat acidity.

96 Points - Vinous
Deep ruby. Expansive aromas of red and dark berry preserves, incense, black pepper, candied rose and allspice; suggestions of cured tobacco and vanilla build as the wine opens up. Seamless and broad on the palate, offering impressively concentrated yet lithe bitter cherry, cassis, licorice and floral pastille flavors that turn sweeter through the back half. Shows outstanding energy and sharp definition on a strikingly long, floral- and mineral-accented finish given shape by polished, fine-grained tannins.

95 Points - Wine & Spirits
This wine is dedicated to the founder of Vasse Felix, one of the pioneering growers in Margaret River; the cabernet sauvignon and malbec vines Virginia Willcock farms for this wine are descendants of the vines Tom Cullity planted at his vineyard in 1968. Ocean currents meet red and black currants in this smooth and luscious blend, engaging for its voluptuous texture as well as its splash of colorful fruit. There’s an undertow taking you deeper into red cherry and pomegranate, leaving you in the midst of succulent tannins, receding slowly into addictive freshness that immediately brings you back for more. Or so it did for me. This is an Aussie cabernet with elegance, one with decades of life ahead.

92 Points - Wine Spectator
There's an elegance and juiciness to the bright red fruit flavors and notes of spiced plum at the core, with pretty details of matcha green tea, nutmeg and toasted herb. Cumin, black pepper and cedar accents linger on the finish, where the tannins firm up. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. 

Product size: 750ml