2020 Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec Margaret River 750 ml

Margaret River is Australia’s Napa Valley—the greatest Cabernet growing region on the continent—and the region’s oldest vines go into one of its most iconic Cabs: Vasse Felix’s Tom Cullity

Named after the estate’s founder, the first man to plant wine grapes in the region, the wine draws from Cullity’s original 1967 plantings. That old-vine depth, combined with Margaret River’s ideal Napa-meets-Bordeaux climate and Vasse Felix’s legendary prowess, makes for one of Australia’s greatest Cabernets.

Surrounded on three sides by the Indian and Southern Oceans, Margaret River’s generous sunshine and Mediterranean climate are as enticing to winemakers as they are surfers and bronze-tanned tourists. Ample sunlight, cool sea breezes, and dry ripening seasons awaken fine tannin structure and complexity, a terroir James Halliday has called “Bordeaux-like,” but we think sits halfway in-between France and Napa.

Vasse Felix is among the best representations of Margaret River style because they helped mold it, planting the very first vines in the region. And over the years, they’ve only fine-tuned their approach, turning up the quality dial year after year. As Virginia told us: “I’ve become a lot more hands-off, allowing the wines to express themselves a lot better.”

For the 2020 Tom Cullity, Virginia blended 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, and 3% Petit Verdot from the 1967 original plantings. She fermented them whole for silkier tannins, then tailored the time on the skins to the specific lots of grapes, aiming for rich fruit and ageworthy structure without harshness or aggressive tannins. Finally, the wine underwent a gentle pressing in a basket press and 18 months in French oak.

The result is a bottle that’s profound now, but will only gain complexity in the cellar.