Moss Wood Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2023

 Cabernet Sauvignon this Margaret River wine from the Ribbon Vale Vineyard may be, but it is very much the traditional Bordeaux blend, with 2.5% of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot included in the mix. From the 2023 vintage, which continues to grow in reputation with every wine released, this must surely be the best Cab under the Ribbon Vale label yet made. Maturation was for twenty-eight months in French oak barriques, 17% of them new. Dark mauve/crimson with a purple rim, this is both elegant and yet intense. There is incredible length and immaculate balance with serious persistence. The nose offers notes of chocolate, kirsch, tobacco leaves, dried herbs, cocoa beans, aniseed, mulberries and blackberries. Tannins are a mix of silk and gravel, and we see cassis emerging towards the finish. A wine which will provide immense pleasure for at least the next fifteen to twenty years, though winelovers will be raving over well-cellared bottles long after that. Love it.