Having missed the annual Woodlands tasting (thanks Covid!) our little tasting group decided to have our own night. For a while I’ve been floating the idea of a comparative look at the even vintages of the Woodlands ‘Margaret’ from 2008 through to 2018. Numbers blew out a bit (not a bad thing) so we threw in a 2011 ‘Margaret’ and a 2020 ‘Emily’ for good measure. The aging curve of Margaret River cabernet remains a bit of a mystery to many including myself. Just when you think you have a foolhardy theory about when the wines might close down, a certain wine catches you off guard. So the premise of the tasting was to get a gauge on how a consistent label like this one changes over time and at what bottle age people might enjoy a wine such as this one.
For those that aren’t familiar, Woodlands is one of the original Wilyabrup vineyards, establishing in 1973. Located quite close to Moss Wood, they have experienced a serious renaissance in recent times and the vineyard is clearly one of the regions finest. If one were to think in terms of Bordeaux wines, the ‘Margaret’ is their second wine, though made solely from the original vineyard. In my (semi biased: I’m a Woodlands tragic) opinion it is often amongst the best wines from the region in any given vintage despite sitting on the second tier at Woodlands. Price wise, the wine has gone from mid $30’s to $70: not an insignificant sum. So on top of looking at the aging curve, I was also keen to explore and discuss whether it still offered value at that price.
The wines all came from my own cellar, with reliable provenance apart from the 2008, which from memory spent at least one or two summers in a Como laundry. All wines received a decant, with the youngest two wines getting close to three hours and subsequent wines between 30 minutes and an hour. There were no serious amounts of sediment in any of the wines.
Earlier vintages state on the label 18 months in French oak, whilst 13.5% alcohol was stated on every bottle of Margaret.
2020 Emily.
Cabernet Franc 45%, Merlot 45%, Malbec 8%, Cabernet Sauvignon 1%, Petit Verdot 1%
I’ve not tasted many wines from the 2020 vintage yet and I thought we should kick off with a younger wine than the newly release 2018 Margaret. One might consider the ‘Emily’ to be the younger sister of the ‘Margaret’, offering up more of a right bank styled blend. Often seductive (the 2018 was glorious at this age) this was far more tightly wound, with coating tannins and fruit flavours dominated by the Cab Franc: think violets-meets-crushed gravel. Sound wine that needs more time to integrate.
2018 Margaret
Cabernet Sauvignon 80%, Merlot 10%, Malbec 10%
This was my second favourite wine of the evening, and came across as a big step up from the Emily. The long airing seemed to mellow some of the glossy barrel notes I’d previously encountered, whilst another taster who’d also already tried the wine and thought the Malbec overpowering noted that it also seemed to be less evident this time round. Tonight this wine was putting on a show, classy and balanced, with a bit of more black fruits than usual. Very, very fragrant, invigorating and ambitious: this is a superb edition of this label.
2016 Margaret
Cabernet Sauvignon 67%, Merlot 17%, Malbec 16%
The first thing I noted here was how noticeable the extra bottle age was: I was expecting this to appear far more youthful. Interesting. As a young wine this had a bit more of a harder, astringent, tannic edge & in a previous note I’d suggested it may need 5-7 years to lose that. That was not the case at all, this had soft fruit and excellent balance, is drinking well now though another 2 years would do it even more good just to slightly advance the nature of the fruit profile.
2014 Margaret
79% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13% Merlot, 8% Malbec
The clear standout wine of the tasting, this was aristocratic and beguiling.
Containing the purest of Cabernet flavours, the fruit was in a marvellous place, hinting at black olive as well as more earthy notes. The length was very impressive, the solidarity between fruit and oak even more so.
2012 Margaret
74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 12% Malbec
My pre-game prediction was that this wine would show far younger than it is and thus very much ‘of the vintage’. And so it was, displaying a cherubic youthfulness with the still-very-primary fruit leading the charge. My very strong advice for this wine and other 2012’s is to hold them tightly and safely: they are going to be magnificent in time.
2011 Margaret
70% Cabernet Sauvingnon, 16% Merlot, 14% Malbec
The closest we came to a wine that was ‘shut down’, this made an interesting duo with the twelve, the two wines that were (in my opinion) neither here nor there on the aging curve. I found this less integrated and was less in love with the violets and dusty (almost furry) tannins. Others liked this more than me: personally I thought it lacked a bit harmony though I would love to try it again in another five years or possibly with a three hour decant.
2010 Margaret
Cabernet Sauvignon 69%, 16% Merlot, 15% Malbec
Another disappointing showing from a wine from 2010, a vintage that has quickly become my least favourite Margaret River year of recent times. There was plenty of pleasant enough tertiary fruit but this wine was unusually slender, lacked a vivacious liveliness and was by quite a length the weakest wine of the night.
2008 Margaret
70% Cabernet Sauvingon, 19% Merlot, 11% Malbec
Despite the question marks over provenance this presented well enough. It is certainly ready to drink and readers would not regret having a look now. The finish was slightly pinched however in a different context this would have been admired for what it was: a lovely mature Cabernet.
On aging curves
One of the frustrating things about Margaret River Cabernet (and Cabernet in general) is the propensity for wines to simply ‘shut down’ for periods of time, at seemingly random moments on the aging curve. Often enough I’ll encounter bottles between 6 and 10 years old that are giving away nearly nothing, only to see them emerge from the cocoon and blossom with further age. And whilst that was not the case here with a spectacular and open knit 2014, the 2012 and 2011 seemed to me to be an ‘in-between’ type place. Structurally they looked sound to revisit in five years or so, not withstanding the slightly disappointing 2010 and 2008, neither of which I am reading into. So perhaps the window of transition can be pushed back in certain cases, perhaps to 8-12 years. That said, much to my chagrin, it seems making hard and fast rules about aging curves is rather futile. Doing these types of tastings, and trial and error in general gives us a rough idea at least and there is always a more complete picture formed when you can compare on the same night. Indeed I was quite surprised at the pace that some of the younger wines were evolving, with each two-year interval showing noticeable differences. I have no doubt the 2011 and 2012 (and subsequent vintages) will be drinking magnificently at 15-20 years of age, but realistically getting bottles in good conditions to that age is a challenge for most of us.
On value
Someone told me today the Grand Vin will be $200 RRP next vintage and if true that marks a depressingly expedient doubling in price over the last few years. I respect the ambition of the vineyard to price its best wine so bravely, and, particularly in great years, without question the wine lives up to its reputation. There are improvements here year on year that absolutely justify a price rise here and there, especially when you throw inflation into the mix. But whether the market forces of supply and demand will consider $200 to be a fair price, I’m not sure. Hopefully the membership price stays reasonable as it is currently my favourite Australian wine.
Andrew Watson made an interesting comment at last years dinner, casually encouraging people to ‘only drink the good stuff’, which by that he meant their most expensive Cabernet. I like the sentiment (wouldn’t that be nice!) and it was a throwaway line and not one to take overly seriously. That said, realistically for people who like the Woodlands style though are priced out of the top dog, the mid tier wines in the stable: the Margaret, the Emily and the Clementine need to offer value in comparison to their peers, and perform reliably in the cellar. On this showing I view the 2018 Margaret, at $70 retail ($59 members), as being right on the precipice of value. Personally I’m happy to have committed to six (I bought nine of the 2016) but it’s no longer a complete ‘no brainer’.
Instead, it’s just a good, old fashion ‘brainer’.
Until next time.
The Wine Accomplice 