Woodlands Cabernet Franc Merlot ‘Emily’ Special Reserve 2021

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 has been producing ‘Emily’ since 1989. Woodlands had almost ceased production at the time, and almost all of the Cabernet Sauvignon fruit was sold each year. David Watson and his great friend Peter Anderson discussed what to do with the remaining Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and a little Cabernet Sauvignon. The idea came to make a “right bank” Saint-Émilion blend and call it “Emily”.

When the decision was made to purchase the Woodlands Brook Vineyard, we certainly believed its existing plantings to be serendipitous – no Cabernet Sauvignon (yet), but there was Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot planted on a gentle north facing slope of sandy loam.  So, from 2008 ‘Emily’ became both our expression of the “right bank” blend, and the expression of that site at Woodlands Brook. This wine is made in very limited quantities, with only 300 cases being able to be produced each year. Like all red wines at Woodlands, this wine was destemmed and sorted by our gravity fed system. Once harvested and in the winery, the fruit was delivered to the destemmer by a vibrating hopper, where the stems are removed by a swinging motion. Once destemmed, the fruit passed over a vibrating sorting table. Following fermentation this wine was matured in French oak barrels for 14 months, of which forty percent were new.

The ‘Emily’ blend, 45% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon & 1% Petit Verdot.

The Wine Companion

Woodlands Cabernet Franc Merlot ‘Emily’2021 – 95 / 100 Points

“Cabernet franc and merlot are the driving force of Emily, making this a supple, approachable wine, a supple and approachable wine. The tannins are rather fine yet expand across the medium-bodied palate where a cascade of dark fruits, spice, warm earth and florals have left a mark. In a way, this is the most subtle and restrained Woodlands wine. Don’t hold back.

– Jane Faulkner>.