CABERNET SAUVIGNON MERLOT 1999

  
back    
       
 

Perhaps Cullen's best known wine, this blend was recently included in the prestigious Langton classification of Australian wines. The vines planted in 1971 are 30 years old. On average the yields are around two tons per acre, or 26 hectolitres per hectare, giving great concentration to the wine.They are grown on the Scott Henry trellising system which yields grapes with ripe tannins and flavours. This wine is typically a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The varieties are vinified separately and matured in french oak for 18 months. The result is a deeply coloured wine with great depth of flavour, fine grain tannins and outstanding cellaring potential.

Tasting notes   Reviews
   

The early summer was cool with southerly winds dominating in this part of the season. This gave the vintage a late start and the grapes achieved flavour ripeness at lower sugar levels. Cyclone Vance, which created havoc around Australia, threatened the vintage just as the reds were approaching harvest. Fortunately, Vance diverted eastward and the reds were saved. After this nature turned on the most glorious Indian summer which lasted for weeks and produced one of the best red wine vintages of the decade. A small amount of Petit Verdot from the Mangan Vineyard was added to the wine.

Yields
Cabernet Sauvignon - 1.9 tons per acre
Merlot - 2.3 tons per acre
Cabernet Franc - 2 tons per acre

Harvest Dates
Cabernet Sauvignon - 23 March to 12 April
BE 13.1° - 14.4°
pH 3.61 - 3.80
TA 6.0 - 5.2 g/L

Merlot and Cabernet Franc - 4 March
BE 13.3°
pH 3.50
TA 5.0 g/L

Wine Treatment
The wine spent 18 months in 50% new oak.

Final Blend
74% Cabernet Sauvignon
20% Merlot
5% Cabernet Franc
1% Petit Verdot

Quantity Bottled: 2700 dozen

Colour: Plum red with purple meniscus
Bouquet: An amalgam of blackcurrant, mulberry, violet and chocolatey aromas
Palate: Lovely ripe, fine-grained tannins embrace the palate and make a major contribution to its structure and length
Cellaring: At least 10 years
Food: Beef and venison
 

James Halliday

Margaret River arguably achieved the most successful 2000 vintage out of the major wine regions of Australia. Although the wettest calendar year on record the lead up to vintage was dry. Cullen, as usual, is a top example of a contemporary Australian Blend. Halliday below sums up the wine quite well:

"Medium to full red-purple; the bouquet is clean and fresh, with small red berry fruit aromas and subtle oak, half suggesting the palate may be down in power. Nothing could be further from the truth, for there are lush red and black berry fruits in abundance, followed by the pillars of tannin which are so much part of the structure of this distinguished wine. A blend of 65 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 21 per cent Merlot, 5 per cent each of Petit Verdot and Malbec, and 4 per cent Cabernet Franc. 94pts"

Jeremy Oliver - ONWINE REPORT
April 2002 - Wine Of The Edition

There's something rather predictable about the inclusion of this wine in this company, but I'm making no apologies. After naming the 1998 vintage as the OnWine of the Year two years ago, I'm not the only one who expected great things in 2000 from this mature Margaret River vineyard. It's clearly a warmer year wine than the 1998 edition, more expressive of the "restrained power" approach than the 1998's sheer elegance and fineness.

Pure, almost essence-like aromas of cassis and dark plums have a vibrant floral quality, over a background of lightly dusty, cedary oak. Undertones of dark olives add to its complexity. Ripe and sumptuous, yet never jammy or out of shape, the palate is exceptionally long and seamless, with intense juicy dark cherry/plum flavour, creamy oak and tobaccoey merlot influence beautifully wound in by powder-dry tannins. A hint of bitumen attests to the warmth of the vintage, while the wine's compactness and balance belies its strength.

Marking hard, I rate it 19.3 (drink 2012-2020+), but wouldn't be surprised to upgrade it in the future.