2017 Woodlands Wilyabrup Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot

Elegant, refined and blessed with delicious red fruits, this Bordeaux styled blend delivers great value.

A blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 6% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc matured in French oak for 14 months. Opens with an impressively coloured pitch black core and a deep dark red black tinged hue. The nose exudes ripe red to blackcurrant and mulberry scents over a red liquorice, dusty cedar, earthy tobacco, bay leaf and spice back drop. On the medium bodied palate rich red currant and mulberry fruits sit within an elegant framework. Elements of vanillin cedar, tobacco, dusty earth and infusions of bay leaf follow on the refined finish. Well integrated tannins show plenty of polish. Concludes with a long red fruited aftertaste that shows plenty of finesse. Another great value Bordeaux styled blend from the Watson family.
Cellar 5-6 years.
Alc. 13.5%

Other Reviews….
An interesting exercise tasting the 2016 alongside 2017, and while similar, you can certainly see a marked difference between the wines, not only due to an extra year of bottle age.
His Most Purpleness on show here. Boysenberry, mulberry, violet, slight youthful char, liquorice, spicy biscuits. It’s medium-bodied, so brightly lit and well-defined, a coolness and distinct ‘minerality’ to the acidity, precise and tight, fine graphite tannin, and an effortlessly long finish. This is one out of the box. Drink 2020-2027+
94 points
Gary Walsh – The Wine Front