Woodlands Margaret Reserve Cabernet Merlot Malbec 2018 - Margaret River Western Australia

96/100 Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion
90/100 CellarTracker

94/100 James Suckling (2017 vintage)
91/100 CellarTracker (2017 vintage)
95/100 The Wine Front (2016 vintage)
94/100 James Suckling (2016 vintage)

5 Stars Winery - James Halliday

Silver - International Wine Challenge (2017 vintage)

"Outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon" - Langton
96/100 - Top Cabernet Halliday Wine Companion Awards 2023

Halliday Wine Companion Awards 2023, Erin Larkin "Rooted in the very fabric of this wine is a savoury lining of spice. It is inescapable, and it's what makes this wine a wonder. Is it better than the great 2014? Hard to say – the 2014 was pretty amazing. But this has all the ripe power and concentration of the vintage. The pure 'cabernosity' of this wine is a thing to marvel at. I keep coming back to the savoury layers ... they are a defining characteristic of the house style."

James Suckling "This has rich ripe-plum and summer-berry aromas ,as well as deeply earthy notes and fresh, spicy oak. The palate has deep, sweetly ripe fruit flavors with smooth-honed tannins that sit juicy and agile. Really delivers. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec." (2017 vintage)

James Suckling "Quite a savory nose with forest wood and dark spices, as well as rich plums and berries. Leafy, earthy and gently leathery notes, too. The palate has an elegant, succulent feel with dark berries, creamed spices and a smoothly delivered, dark-fruit finish. " (2016 vintage)

70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 13% Malbec.
Alcohol: 13.5%

James Halliday "Founders David Watson and wife Heather had spectacular success with the Cabernets he made in 1979 and the early '80s...With the advent of sons Stuart and Andrew (Stuart primarily responsible for winemaking), the estate has bounced back to pre-eminence. ....The top-end wines primarily come from the original Woodlands vineyard, where the vines are over 45 years old."

Evan Schwarten "Woodlands is one of Margaret River’s top producers, along with the likes of Cullen and Moss Wood. They produce some outstanding wines, including their flagship Cabernet Sauvignon."

When David and Heather Watson first established Woodlands in 1973, they were amongst the first six pioneers to plant vineyards in Margaret River and can certainly stake a claim in having helped establish the region's reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon. With the addition of a second vineyard site, purchased in 1998, the Watson family now have 25 hectares of vineyard in the Wilyabrup Valley, which are all maintained by hand using traditional and organic methods and without irrigation - a rarity in this arid corner of Australia.

A true family affair, son Stuart is the winemaker and brother Andrew is in charge of operations. Five red stars from Halliday, consistent excellent ratings for its wine and an "Outstanding" rating for the Cabernet Sauvignon from Langton's, identify Woodlands as one of the best producers in the region.

Woodlands ‘Margaret’ is sourced entirely from the Woodlands Vineyard. The Cabernet Sauvignon portion comes from a slope on the south of Woodlands that wraps around a 90-degree radius from east to north. The fruit on this slope receives a great deal of direct sunlight from morning to mid-afternoon, leading to rich full-bodied wines. The Merlot and Malbec plots that make up the remainder of ‘Margaret’ come from our west-facing slope of deep loam soil. This slope receives the most direct afternoon sunlight at Woodlands, and produces more exotic fruit characters in the finished wine.

Margaret River is one of the best-known wine regions in Australia, recognized internationally for the quality of its wines and the natural beauty of the region. Although originally renowned for its unusually refined Cabernet Sauvignon and intensely citrusy Chardonnay varieties, the region now produces Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blends and Shiraz.

Located in the south-western corner of Western Australia, it is famous for having a more 'European' wine style than its counterparts across Australia, owing to the regions temperate, coastal location which is very similar to that of Bordeaux.

Cabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world.

Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.

Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace.