- Margaret River, WA - $30-$45
- Screwcap
- 14.5%alc
As Australian Wine Journal gathers age, I'm hoping, or perhaps assuming, my readers will recognise there are some wines I buy practically every year. Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon is certainly one such wine. In theory, Vasse's Cabernet should've benefited immensely from the perfumed nature of the Margaret River's 2008 cabernet crop, so this purchase was always destined to occur.
Ooooh - rich, brambly blackcurrants, mulberries, black olives, graphite and well toasted cedar/mocha oak, all expressed with floral/herbal accents and a risen, savoury intensity - this is classic, unmistakable Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon people. It's about as appealingly aromatic as Australian cabernet gets for me at this price. Fortunately, the palate doesn't disappoint either, especially if bright and assertive Margaret River cabernet is your thing. It's a bit juicier and perhaps plumper than the classic 2004 (95pts) and 2007 (93pts) wines, but its toasty dark fruit flavours are still forged onwards and into the mouth with searing intensity, by a rather mouth puckering, almost astringent acid structure which merges seamlessly with bony, drying tannins, whilst flavours of juicy, genuinely savoury regional fruits marked by cedar and dried herbs return to provide vibrant lasting impression.
ü+ A bit fuller and juicier than I anticipated but nonetheless as fragrant and assertive as I hoped, Vasse's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon shouldn't disappoint its legion of followers. Drink to 2023.
93 points
With you for sure on this one Chris!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tim. Take it you, like myself, are part of Vasse's 'legion of followers'. It's a thirsty crowd come this time of year....
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