2020 Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River

Pulsating with sweet fruits and velvety mouthfeel, it only takes a split second for this wine to establish its greatness in the pantheon of cabernet sauvignons grown around the world. The unusual decision to include 7% petit verdot picked at 15.2˚ baume (cropped more heavily than the cabernet and picked over a week later) doubtless played its part, but its synergy with the cabernet (and a soupçon of 3% cabernet franc) must have given much pleasure and justified pride. Nature being what it is, the cabernet sauvignon yield was 40% down at 4.5t/ha. All in all, though, this is a cabernet to melt a pinot noir addict's heart.

98 points James Halliday Wine Companion Dec 2023

Another simply sublime edition of this great wine. The volume of fruit was down almost 60% but the small berry influence has added even more intensity and depth, if that is possible with this wine. Interesting point of difference is that the combination is slightly different from previous vintages with 90% cabernet sauvignon, 3% cabernet franc and 7% petit verdot. The petit verdot certainly brings a darker berry influence with slightly firmer tannins. The aromas are a seductively perfumed with a combination of violet and redcurrant with a subtle black olive and mulberry. But the palate, oh the palate, is simply a joy. Smooth graceful lines with fine chalky tannins supply essential definition and support and harmoniously played oak. At the moment it is quite restrained but with age, a treasure trove of delights will be released. It is a wine destined for even greater things. Extraordinary.  Cellar 30 years.

99 points Ray Jordan The West

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is a child of the 2020 season, which was warm, early and low yielding, and the wines from the area have been decidedly structural, lushly fruited and powerful. All in all, they are excellent quality across the board, and this wine here is no exception. Dense tannins, layered with pink peppercorn, nori, blood, brine and bay leaf, were quite firm in this vintage, but with knowledge of how this wine ages, this is not a problem in the least. I've given it a conservative drinking window by decades, if stored well. Sealed under screw cap.

Moss Wood has a long reputation in the region for elegant, long-lived Cabernet Sauvignons. The wines from the late '70s are still wines that you can access (with some difficulty, but possible) in 2023, and the wines, cork willing, are elegant, classy and ethereal and of beauty and place. Once the winery shifted to screw cap in 2000, the cork closure is no longer a problem. Wines from 2001 and 2005 remain some of my favorite Cabernets from Margaret River, ever. Needless to say, the all-time 2014 vintage was also handled most favorably at this address. While the estate has expanded to include a varietal estate Semillon and the Ribbon Vale Vineyard Merlot, Cabernet and Chardonnay, the estate Cabernet Sauvignon remains the wine that it is best known for and is the basis of its iron-clad reputation. I visited the estate at the end of 2021 and tasted through numerous barrel samples, aimed at understanding the various impacts of selected coopers. It was a fascinating exercise and a pleasure to see the wines in that state. The 2020 estate Cabernet Sauvignon hails from an excellent vintage and is a great representation of what they are

97 points Erin Larkin Robert Parker

Deep garnet red in the glass, very youthful, inky and opaque. Lovely lifted aromas of cassis, bramble, dried herbs, pencil shavings and nutty oak, wonderfully complex and incredibly evocative. Powerful on the palate, lashings of blackcurrant, mulberry, blackberry and cedar. This is quintessential Margaret River cabernet, not too heavy or angular, just the right amount of sinewy, shapely tannin working superbly with a very pure drive of fruit and delivering fabulous length. Destined for a long and glorious life. 15 MAY 2023 Drink 2023–2043

97 points Aaron Brasher The Real Review

90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot. 17% new oak. Red and black fruit, something of an aniseed pastille thing here too, some floral notes, tobacco, cedar, and baking spice. It’s medium-bodied, kind of svelte and evenly weighted, just a little toasty oak, with some black olive and nori savoury elements. the tannin is quiet, and kind of latent, but swish it about in your mouth a bit, and their quality is revealed, especially on the long finish. I think this is going to be a beautiful wine with requisite bottle age, and is likely to rate (even) higher in time.

95+ points Gary Walsh The Wine Front

From one of Margaret River’s founding estates, Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon is a benchmark wine that has defined the region’s reputation for decades. Established in 1969 by Dr Bill Pannell and now under the long stewardship of Keith Mugford and Clare Mugford, Moss Wood has built a cult following for Cabernet that combines structure, longevity and remarkable consistency. Planted on gravelly soils with strong maritime influence, the vineyard produces fruit of depth and clarity, shaped by meticulous viticulture and traditional winemaking.

A deep garnet crimson fills the glass with quiet intensity. Aromas unfold in layered waves of blackcurrant, dark cherry and plum intertwined with cedar, tobacco, bay leaf and a distinctive graphite edge. There is an immediate sense of pedigree, complex and slowly revealing.

The palate is medium to full bodied and finely structured, delivering concentrated cassis and black fruit framed by firm, finely grained tannins and vibrant acidity. Notes of dark chocolate, spice and dried herbs build through the mid palate, leading to a long, savoury finish that feels both powerful and composed. This is classic Margaret River Cabernet built for serious cellaring, evolving beautifully over twenty to thirty years into layers of cigar box, leather and earthy complexity.

Dry aged ribeye carved thick, slow braised beef with herbs, or aged cheddar broken into generous chunks alongside crusty bread. A shift into something timeless, Miles Davis Kind of Blue easing into Beethoven’s Symphony No 5, the wine carrying that same sense of structure, depth and enduring greatness.