Here’s a curly one. How do you follow the Vasse Felix Tom Cullity cabernet malbec 2020, a wine that has received universal praise as one of Australia’s greatest red wines?
Many rock bands, for instance, failed miserably with second albums after a smash hit debut.
Clearly it isn’t easy, but in the case of wine it is totally about the vintage.
Vasse Felix has just released the latest iteration of the Tom Cullity from the challenging, and at times just plain difficult, 2021 vintage.
But here’s the thing. Even in challenging vintages, great vineyards can produce outstanding wines. And here, the elegantly structured and finely honed 2021 is a product of a vineyard planted back in the first year of Vasse Felix by Tom Cullity, and which over the years has been carefully nurtured to adapt to the vagaries of vintage.
This is the ninth release of the Tom Cullity, and again it makes a strong statement about the combination of cabernet and malbec, and its ability to produce wines of elegance and refinement with the power, structure and drive that comes from the cabernet dominance.
The 2021 is 81 per cent cabernet and the remainder malbec. It doesn’t include any petit verdot, which is a traditional part of the blend. The reason, of course, is that it’s hard to ripen petit verdot in cooler years such as 2021.
Another interesting feature is the relatively high level of new oak, which seems counterintuitive at first in a cooler year, with the potential for it to dominate the fruit.
However, winemaker Virginia Willcock says the high level of new French oak is used to bolster the tannins in cooler years. It works well, as the wine has excellent tannin structure and the oak certainly doesn’t intrude.
The 2021 wine marks 50 years of cabernet sauvignon winemaking at Vasse Felix, and traces precisely the style that pioneer Tom Cullity and his winemaker David Gregg were seeking: red wine that was light on the palate, modest in alcohol, and reminiscent of a fine Bordeaux (in contrast to a powerful Australian red).
The key to the Tom Cullity and other cabernets from Vasse Felix is the old vineyard and the vines. These are now nearly 60 years old and continue to produce outstanding wines.
At the same time, it still required astute vineyard management to deal with a cool, wet November and humid growing conditions.
Along with the Tom Cullity, this week I have featured the premium cabernet sauvignon from the excellent 2022 vintage. It’s wine that continues to deliver both exceptional value and great quality.
Also featured is the Filius cabernet sauvignon from the great 2023 vintage. If you want great value for money, here it is.
Vasse Felix Tom Cullity cabernet sauvignon malbec 2021 ($200)
This vintage was a challenge, yet Tom’s old vines have stood tall and delivered the fruit to make another exceptional statement of varietal combination and region.
The combination is 81 per cent cabernet and 19 per cent malbec with no petit verdot. All wild yeast and whole berry with 100 per cent French oak for 16.5 months, 68 per cent of which was new and 32 per cent between two and four years old.
The aroma is somewhat more muted, showing more of the iodine and seaweed character and less of the primary fruit notes. The palate is elegant and controlled, with a leafy medium body and a fine thread of chalky tannins.
A high natural acidity with a distinctive chalky, minerally oyster shell character providing definition. A wine that truly reflects the vintage but is unmistakably Tom.
Score: 97/100
Cellar: 20 years
Vasse Felix Filius cabernet sauvignon 2023 ($30)
Consistently one of the best cabernets from Western Australia. It’s designed to express its best qualities as a young wine, with its brightness and energy immediately apparent. A blend of cabernet with a small amount of malbec; an important variety at Vasse Felix.
Smooth and seamlessly structured with a sublimely elegant expressive palate. It’s medium-bodied with a fine-boned structure. Subtle use of oak and fine tannins adds support. The best yet.
Score: 94/100
Cellar: Eight years
Vasse Felix cabernet sauvignon 2022 ($55)
A classically elegant and exquisitely presented cabernet from a vintage that combined fruit intensity and stylishness.
The aroma has a distinctive lift of blackcurrant and slightly savoury olive tapenade with a deep, dark chocolate character. Hint of bay leaf and oyster shell minerality. It’s finely balanced with fine-grained oak and firm fine tannins.
Score: 96/100
Cellar: 18 years
• Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected wine journalists, contributing to newspapers and magazines over more than 40 years. In 2017 he co-authored The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region
