Cullen Moon Opposite Saturn Flower Day Vanya 2020

When I saw the price before I tasted this wine, I did a double take. This is heady stuff pushing a Margaret River Cabernet into the rarefied air of Grange and Hill of Grace and at the same time making a statement about this great Cabernet region. It was a very good vintage managed at the very start of Covid. The fruit was naturally fermented and then had 13 weeks in terracotta amphorae before pressing to second fill oak. So, the oak influence is subdued but important in allowing the fruit to express itself. Lifted violet and red fruit merge with deeper dark fruit, there is a minerally fine tannin support with a slightly talcy feel. It’s brilliant and bright with a burst of luminosity. One of the very finest in more than 50 years of Margaret River red wine. Margaret River has earned the right to push its best wines into this price point, and there are none better than Cullen to lead the way.