Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Chloe Anne’ 2017 (375ml)

Founders David Watson and wife Heather had spectacular success with the cabernets he made in ’79 and the early ’80s. Commuting from Perth while raising a family became too much and for some years the grapes from Woodlands were sold to other Margaret River producers. With the advent of sons Stuart and Andrew in ’02–05 (Stuart primarily responsible for winemaking), the estate bounced back to pre-eminence, expanding with the purchase of the 17ha Woodlands Brook Vineyard in ’07. The top-end wines primarily come from the original Woodlands Vineyard, where the now-certified organic vines are 50+yr.

Chloe Anne’ is a blend of 91 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, and 3% Cabernet Franc. The colour is an intensely deep crimson. The nose elicits a lifted aromatic array of violet, toasty French oak, vanilla and notes of mint. The palate opens with blue fruits and violet. After time blackcurrant and brambly fruits appear, as well as undergrowth and forest floor complexities. After even more time, darker fruits emerge, the flavours integrate more, and the tannin becomes more prominent and textured. Supple but with latent power, this wine has a very long finish marked by fresh natural acidity.

Very polished, complex and classic in the best sense, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon will be best enjoyed between 2027-2038.

Jane Anson ‘Inside Bordeaux’

Woodlands Cab Sav ‘Chloe Anne’ 2017 – 98 / 100 Points

91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec and 3% Cabernet Franc.

Elegant aromas kick things off here with pops of violet, plum, blackcurrant and vanilla cake at the fore. More savoury and earthy notes cascade with a swirl of the glass in the form of graphite, fine cedar, warm gravel, nori salt and tilled earth with some mulberry beneath. Excellent complexity here. The palate is equally elegant and lifted, effortlessly gliding high through the mouth with baked plum, violet, blackcurrant, cedar, and vanilla with an underpinning of turned earth and graphite. The tannins are present and firm but wonderfully integrated, coating the sides of the mouth to provide a lithe frame for the wine’s elegance to glide along. Rolling waves of acidity weave through the finish providing freshness and elongation. There’s a calmness to this wine.

It’s svelte, poised and oozing with class.

– Tom Kline (26th March 2025).

Erin Larkin Halliday Wine Companion

Woodlands Cab Sav ‘Chloe Anne’ 2017 – 96 / 100 Points

”As with all Woodlands cabernets, once you get past the oak, the fruit is of the highest pedigree; rippling with layers of complexity and nuance. Their potential for grace in the cellar is proven. Raspberry, pomegranate, bitter cocoa, aniseed, salted tomato, Dutch licorice, sage and exotic spice hide within the savoury folds of flavour that forms the backbone of this wine. The oak envelopes it all now, but will emboss into the fruit over time.”

– Erin Larkin Halliday.