Winemaker Notes
Bright garnet in color. An incredibly full and complex perfume slowly teases apart, revealing woodsy raspberry pip, salty sea breeze, potpourri with fresh rose petals, a hint of orange peel, crushed rock, mulberry, mulberry leaves and shiitake mushrooms. A plush, yet beautifully fresh and elegant mouthfeel that remains textured thanks to classically fine tannins. A hint of raspberry and another touch of orange combine with savory, crushed rock and a subtle cigar nuance, finishing the super fine palate.
Blend: 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From an excellent vintage, Vasse's top dog red deftly demonstrates the unique juxtaposition of grace, perfume and power inherent to this unique West Aussie region. 2020 is particularly aromatic and fruit driven, but the pop of fresh cherry, currant, raspberry and red licorice is neatly underscored by savory herb, graphite and dark-chocolate nuances. Ultrafine, chalky tannins are beautifully integrated with the silky red fruit and fresh acidity on the palate. A highly classy, harmonious and expertly made bottling that could cellar for decades whilst offering drinkability right now.
Cellar Selection -
Australian Wine Companion
Winemaker Virginia Willcock worries about her flagship wines leaving the fold, as in Heytesbury Chardonnay and Tom Cullity, released too young, she says. And while she’s right, anyone buying them knows time will reward the patient. It’s built for ageing, but I’m impatient, and this Tom Cullity is youthful but also complete. Malbec, off the original plantings, comprises 16% of the blend; 3% petit verdot, too, is fundamental to the shape and flavour profile. Dark-fruited, meaty, spicy, complex, roasted chicory accented, floral and beguiling. Fuller bodied with exceptional tannins, all textural, expansive and long, working in tandem with the acidity to a long finish.
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James Suckling
The nose is wonderfully complex and perfumed with aromas of blackcurrants, violets, wild blackberries, graphite and eucalyptus. The full-bodied palate has seamless tannins and focused acidity, giving notes of mulberries, mocha, dried herbs and saltbush. Very refined and polished with an underlying power. Made from a blend of 81% cabernet sauvignon, 16% malbec and 3% petit verdot. Excellent.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is looking so good today, at just five years from its harvest. The tannins are shapely and permeate the fruit characters on the palate, while the length of flavor persists long after the wine has gone. This feels immediately more approachable and succulent than the other vintages tasted here before it, and while the wine may live long into the future, it's offering some very attractive arguments.
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Wine Spectator
Red currant, raspberry and rose petal notes open up into a complex mix of cedar, graphite, cigar box, clove and black tea flavors on a polished frame. Herbal accents carry through from beginning to end, with sage and bay leaf standing out. Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2034.
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.