2020 Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec
  • 96
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 95

2020 Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec

Margaret River, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA
$195. 00
Bottle
$2340.00 Dozen
ABV: 14.5%
Closure: Stelvin

Named in honour of Vasse Felix’s founder Thomas Brendan Cullity who planted the first vines in 1967, this wine is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot sourced from the original plantings. Maturation took place in French oak barriques (54% new and 46% 2-4 year old) for a period of 18 months.
Alc. 14.5%

Other Reviews....
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec Tom Cullity (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot) is densely packed, ripped and built for the long haul. Gravel, dried sage and cassis aromas start with a dusting of dark earth and pepper, wrapped up in a finely tuned blanket of mocha French oak. Mouthfilling flavors follow with excellent definition thanks to a dense line of tannins. Refinement is the key here, as is a long, seamless finish. Drink 2032 - 2045.
96 Points
Angus Hughson - Antonio Galloni's Vinous

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. Drink 2025 - 2040.
97 Points
Jane Faulkner - Halliday's Australian Wine Companion

The 2020 season in Margaret River was an interesting one: warm, low yielding and very early (not as early as 2024!), with great marri blossom aromas and responsible for quite tannic, lushly fruited wines. Generally regarded as very good to excellent, the season had the potential to produce wines that were firm and closed, yet it didn't. So here, the 2020 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is floral on the nose, with raspberry pip, rose petals, pink peppercorn, sumac, clove, a hint of sandalwood and sun-dried kelp. In the mouth, it is everything the nose promises, with a splay of ductile tannin that bends and moves with the fruit as it progresses over the palate. This is a super release from a great year; it's very much in line stylistically with the 2018 and 2014 Tom Cullitys. This is made with 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot grapes that were handpicked between 28th February and 9th April, then matured for 18 months in French oak (33% new). For those who care about numbers (me): total acidity is 5.8 grams, with a pH of 3.61. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink 2024 - 2050.
98 Points
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Produced from vines planted in 1967 by Dr Tom Cullity, this top Cabernet blend was renamed after the estate’s founder in 2013. From a fantastic vintage, this is still a baby of a wine considering its lifespan. The nose opens with an innate flashiness of red berries and tuberose absolute; but prettiness and charm underpin the opulence. Intensity and concentration on the palate; tannins are tight-knit and firm, yet with just enough movement to support the fruit weight and silvery acidity. Fruit is pristine yet powerful. Sun-warmed ironstone gravel and a hint of oak spice frame a flush of raspberry, tomato skin and delicate coppa meatiness. Judicious use of oak lets the fruit shine, and the length is outstanding. Elegant, with a long life ahead, yet it will drink well in its earlier years thanks to its generosity of fruit and sense of ease. Drink 2024 - 2044.
96 Points
Cassandra Charlick - Decanter

This is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (81%), malbec (16%) and petit verdot (3%). I often think of conversations with winemaker Virgina Willcock about ‘tannin quality’ and it sits in mind when reporting on the wines. Tannin is a friend. Real, structural tannin sought. A good thing. Just a tidbit from the recesses of my head.
Gorgeous wine. Come hither, supple texture with strands of building, silty tannin a distinct feature. A plushness and dark fruited, brooding profile of fruit, woody spice, herbal nuance and brine-laced minerality underlying. There’s a pedigree immediately noted – concentration, control, density and stretch of flavour. The perfume is off-the-charts inviting in sweet fruit, mesh of herbs, sea spray, earthiness and nutty savouriness. Lots on there. A bit of woody chew through the finish, a succulence flows on in saline elements and bright, blackberry fruit with piquant herbal trails lingering. A very composed, quite generous and striking red. Drink 2025 - 2040.
95+ Points
Mike Bennie - The Wine Front