Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec Petit Verdot ‘Clémentine’ 2019

Product

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.

Woodlands Brook Vineyard – Established in 2001
The vineyard faces north west on free-draining Wilyabrup soils. The rows are a mere 2 metres from each other, providing a vine density roughly double that of the Woodlands vineyard. The soils are Wilyabrup Class 1 – with a clay loam top soil, a bed of gravel and then a bed of white clay. The existing vineyard is on a very gentle west facing slope, surrounded by south facing pastoral land.

The Real Review

Woodlands Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Malbec Petit Verdot ‘Clémentine’ 2019 – 95 / 100 Points

Deep, dark colour, full of brightness. Aromas of cassis, lead pencil, brambles, dried herbs and violets, a lovely complex nose. Very youthful, vibrant and focussed flavours of mulberry, dark cherry, a lick of leafy herbalness and then the grippy, savoury and granular tannins kick in to shape this quite tight, textured and rather delicious wine

– Aaron Brasher.