Woodlands "Clementine" Cabernet Petit Verdot Malbec - Margaret River Western, Australia
Woodlands "Clementine" Cabernet Petit Verdot Malbec - Margaret River Western, Australia

Woodlands "Clementine" Cabernet Petit Verdot Malbec 2016 - Margaret River Western, Australia

$65   $77




This is great……and here’s why!
96/100 James Halliday
96/100 James Suckling
95/100 Huon Hooke
94/100 Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
93/100 Ray Jordan
92/100 Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate
90/100 Decanter World Wine Awards

5 Star Halliday Winery

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 15% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot matured in barrel (40% new) for 16 months

Gary Walsh, The Wine Front "Oh my darling, oh my darling… Dense and brooding, with plenty of high quality toasty/pencilly oak, black fruits, some marker pen lift, spice and dried herb perfume. Full-bodied, lavish tannin, charred and tightly packed, distinct mineral feel here, red and black fruit pushing through on a long and inky finish. Bordeaux coursing through its veins, but with the personality of Margaret.”

James Suckling "A very attractive, leafy layer to the nose with bright cassis and redcurrants, as well as savory, cedary nuances. The palate has a very smooth, contained feel. Fine-grained tannins carry fresh, red-fruit flavours with a layer of spicy vanilla. Plenty to like here.”

James Halliday "This, like all the Woodlands wines, is a reflection of a great site, meticulous viticulture and unrelenting attention to detail in the winery.”

The Winemaker “We believe 2016 may go down in history as Margaret River’s greatest vintage.”

Woodlands was one of the first five vineyards to be planted in the Margaret River Wine Region. Founders David Watson and wife Heather aimed to create wines that emulated the great vineyards of Bordeaux. They had spectacular success with the cabernets they produced in 1979 and the early '80s. This success has been rediscovered in recent years, with the advent of sons Stuart and Andrew (Stuart primarily responsible for winemaking) with the estate bouncing back to pre-eminence. Their premium wines primarily come from the original Woodlands Vineyard, where the vines are almost 50 years old.

Wilyabrup is a sub-region within the Margaret River region of Western Australia. Located just north of Margaret River township, it is home to some of the region's earliest (and most respected) wineries such as Vasse Felix and Cullen.

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. It is renowned for its unusually refined cabernet sauvignon and intensely citrusy chardonnay varieties. Located in the south-western corner of Western Australia, it is famous for having a more 'European' wine style than its counterparts in eastern Australia – this is due to the regions temperate, coastal, location which is very similar to that of Bordeaux.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Malbec are a blend of four traditional red Bordeaux grape varieties. Most of these wines would fall under the Bordeaux blend classification, but there has been renewed interest in the inky-dark Petit Verdot, with winemakers looking to express the nuances of that grape, augmented by the better-known Cabernet Sauvignon. Malbec is also a common ingredient in red wines from Bordeaux, as a constituent of the classic Bordeaux Blend. In both of these regions the variety has traditionally gone by its local name – Cot – but, due to the success of Malbec in Argentina, it is increasingly known by this more internationally recognized name. Malbec forms part of the Meritage blend in the United States, and has a strong presence in California. In Australia and New Zealand, it is frequently blended with the softer, less tannic Merlot, to produce bright, fruit-driven wines against a backbone of oak. Plums and violets are common flavor descriptors.
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