2019 Domaine Naturaliste Morus Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River

Trophy Winner 2023 Global Fine Wine Challenge

Lifted aroma with fresh sage and thyme alongside black fruit. Black olive. Palate has degree of freshnes despite powerfull fruit characters. Tanins fine and ripe. A very pretty wine.

97 points Jane Skilton MW

The 2019 vintage is on display here, evident in the detail and aromatic nuance of this 2019 Morus Cabernet Sauvignon. It has cassis bramble, pomegranate molasses, cocoa nib and mulberry. The acid has a juiciness that offsets the supple, ductile tannin. I rarely point 2019 over 2018 in Margaret River—although I am a huge fan of the 2019s—but through the lens of this beautiful wine, the 2019 season is shining so bright and fresh. It is pure, even. The fruit is 100% Wilaybrup Cabernet Sauvignon, 35-year-old Houghton selection clones. From 2016 – 2020, the vineyard remains true to the cuvée. Destemmed, the berries are split just enough to let some juice out and start fermenting. Undergoing a cool, long ferment in stainless (peak of 25 degrees Celsius), the cap is managed as required. As the fermentation progresses the management evolves. Post ferment, the wine is left on the skins for a further two to three weeks. It is matured in 225-liter French oak barriques (Taransaud, Jupilles, Allier, and "just a smidgen of Bertrand," 55% to 60% new) for 14-18 months, depending on the season. 14% alcohol, sealed under natural cork. Release date October 1, 2023.

96 points Erin Larkin robertparker.com Drink 2023-2039

Very deep, dark, brooding colour with a rich mulberry, cassis and vanilla bouquet, the full-bodied palate loaded with a generous core of sweet berry fruit flavour and abundant soft, ripe tannins imparting a fleshy texture. Superb cabernet showing none of the ripening difficulties of the vintage. (Houghton clone fruit from two Wilyabrup vineyards; one month on skins & 16 months in French oak, 55% new)

96 points Huon Hooke therealreview.com SEP 2023 Drink 2023–2034