NOSE

Immediate impression is of ripe blue and black fruits combining blueberry, black currant, liqueur cherries and red currant and just a touch of violet-like floral and musk notes. There are also complex, earthy notes of olive, licorice, leather, pencil shavings and nutmeg-like spice plus a soft oak background of light tarry, toastiness. The concentration is such it has a distinctive inky note, something that was a big part of the 1979 vintage.

PALATE

Dark fruits are also strong on the palate where there are concentrated black currant, blueberry, licorice flavours, or perhaps plum pudding and probably a result of the tiny morsel of Petit Verdot, combine with a full body to balance a firm acidity and tannin. The finish combines a both soft toasty oak and Cabernet’s classic, tar and cedar notes.

CELLARING

There is no doubt the 2019 vintage sits right near the top of the Moss Wood quality tree and we have high expectations for its cellaring. Given its concentration and structure, courtesy of the long slow season and also the relatively small crop, we anticipate it will need at least a decade to show some bottle development. Somewhere between 10 and 15 years should see some softening of the tannins and the development of the tar and cedar characters. However, full maturity will require at least 25 years cellaring and after which it should live well beyond 40 years of age.

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2019