Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Moss Wood Cabernet 2010

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Margaret River, WA)
14%, Screwcap, $95
Source: Sample
www.mosswood.com.au

Just for perspective, I tasted this next to the 2010 Grosset Gaia and gee, they couldn’t be more different wines. The Grosset was firm, tannic, structured, acid driven and herbal, whilst this was round, broad, indistinct and sweet. Great and less great…

Considering that I once thought the Moss Wood far superior, it seemed an almost comical turn of events, the Moss Wood a structureless disappointment (again) the Gaia a very firm, but beguiling, masterpiece.

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What this does have is that unquestionable richness, that oak-sweetened depth of fruit that makes Moss Wood Cabernet stand out and seduce with its warmth and hugs. Yet dig deeper and this is a contrived wine, that lavish oak painting over any varietal nuance like a careless tradesperson, turning a distinctive wine into an ‘anywhere wine’. Sure that richness is enticing, even sexy, but the tannins feel like an afterthought, the alcohol still intrusive (even though most of the components were picked below 13.5 baume) and the general shape of the wine overly soft and round. It is a lazy Caberne,t that feels like a shadow of what it once was.

My question, again, is simply about what is going on with this wine. Is the fruit too exposed, leading to overripe fruit (giving the excessive alcohol)? Is the oak too heavy handed and inferior, giving this the sensation of being overoaked and dull? Did this bottle, like last years and the year before, get cooked as it crossed over from Margaret River?

Whatever it is, I’m annoyed that this is good, but not great, Cabernet. This was once my ultimate Cabernet yet I haven’t loved it for many years (as noted here, here and here), the dry spell going right back to the 2005 vintage (here). Admittedly I’m tasting it way too young, but that still doesn’t explain why it doesn’t hit the spot like it once did.

What has happened to Moss Wood Cabernet?

Drink: 2015-2022
Score: 17.5/20 91/100
Would I buy it? Not while the 05 can be picked up at the same price.