Winemaker Notes
Vasse Felix, Margaret River's founding wine estate, was established by Dr Thomas Brendan Cullity in 1967. Among his first plantings were Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec vines, from which he produced the estate’s first red wine. The Tom Cullity descends from these original vines and represents the pinnacle of Vasse Felix.
The palate is vibrant with mouth-watering cranberry freshness and while light, is juicy, precise and balanced with remarkable fine-grained tannins. Long cassis and cherry pip flavored tannins create a dry and fine finish. A significant Cabernet of uniquely delicate proportions.
Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A very insightful blend of predominantly cabernet sauvignon with 16% malbec and 4% petit verdot. This is a single-vineyard wine at the pinnacle of the endeavors of Vasse Felix. It opens with red fruits in the redcurrant and red-cherry zone, as well as fresh red and purple flowers with some deeper notes of blue fruit. The palate is the star though. The way that the malbec entwines itself around cabernet's linear tannins and enriches the wine without fundamentally changing its shape is genius. A supple, fresh and commanding Margaret River red. Best from 2022. Screw cap. Top 100 Wine of 2018
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is a supple, succulent thing, and the wine remains as perfumed and as lithe as I remember it being on release. Today, it is 11 years from its harvest, and while it is showing attractive development, it is showing no signs of slowing its slow evolution through time. It is an eloquent reflection of the year that birthed it.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is only the second vintage of Vasse Felix's top tier wine, the first was released during the winery's—and the region's—50th anniversary in 2017. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot, it offers aromas of red currant, mocha, sea spray, smoke, potpourri spice, green olive and graphite. The oak is there—tight-grained and a tad flashy—but it's a string to the bow rather than the whole orchestra, and it will settle with time. Overall, it's elegant, complex and should age remarkably well.
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Wine Spectator
The wild blueberry and blackberry flavors are intense, set on a tight frame, with accents of bay leaf and black pepper, tightening the velvety grip on the finish. Shows terrific focus and concentration. Should be exciting to see this evolve further. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2035
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Decanter
Restrained plum, licorice and meaty oak nose, umami character. Elegant dark red berry palate, lovely freshness and fine layered texture.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Home to some of Australia’s most elegant and long-lived red and white wines, Margaret River is situated in the farthest reaches of Western Australia. Relatively warm and dry, the region is cooled by breezes from the Indian Ocean. Margaret River takes some inspiration from Bordeaux, producing top-quality Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux Blends with firm structure, mouthwatering acidity, balanced alcohol and notes of herbs and spice. For white wines, refreshing blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon as well as complex, age-worthy Chardonnays are regional specialties.