| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | Australia > Western Australia > Margaret River |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
The 2021 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec was released just earlier this year in 2025, and this will be the only year in which there will be two releases of the wine in the same calendar year. The Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec has been brought forward in its release cycle to three and a half years from harvest, while the Heytesbury Chardonnay—the estate's flagship white wine—has been pushed back into the following year. So in context, the 2021 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is lighter and finer than all of the previous vintage releases, and it shows more of an emphasis on tannin than fruit. I like this, as it is a reflection of the challenging season from whence it came: warm conditions—not hot—and with constant rainfall. This rainfall also brought with it cloud cover, and the harvest started the latest of all vintages, with the exception of the cool 2017 and 2019 seasons. This is a lovely wine, one that defies and encompasses its year.
Elegant with incredible purity of fruit. Perfumed aromas of red and black currants, juicy ripe plums and tobacco leaves with bitter chocolate, crushed blackberries, dried herbs and cedar. The midweight palate is succulent but not fat, showing finely integrated tannins and great depth. A beautiful, superbly approachable wine that still has a long life ahead in bottle. Great tension and minerality. A blend of 81% cabernet sauvignon and 19% malbec. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
Some wines take your breath away – this is one of them. A Cabernet/Malbec blend with 68% new French oak; there’s no shortage of wood, but the fruit glimmers through like a mirage. Potpourri, plum skin, blueberry and damson are laced with sweet wood spice, dark chocolate shavings, liquorice strap, clove, briar rose florals and a compelling other-worldly spice. Bonfire smokiness compels. The intensity of perfume on the nose is matched on the palate, complete with splayed, shapely, firm tannins, a spider thread of acidity and a mouth-filling delicacy of fruit. A pinch of dried cranberry, saltbush and red peppercorn adds a nose-crinkling freshness to the finish. Just sublime. Drink: 2025-2045
Deep red-purple colour with intense aromas of mint, cedar, muberry and blackcurrant, the palate intense and polished, finely textured and long, with a pleasant degree of firmness in the grip, and a hint of tomato bush, possibly coming from the malbec component. It begs to be cellared for a few years, and undoubtedly will live long. Big potential. Drink: 2027-2041
Often when a structured and very young flagship wine is up for tasting, I’ll assess it initially, maybe try it with food, and spend a couple of days thinking about it and retasting. They need respect. But this time, I poured a big glass of Tom Cullity and enjoyed it immediately, as it’s approachable and complete. Even a few days later, no signs of fading. This is exceptional. There’s a certain refinement within, almost open-knit. A whorl of dark fruit, from mulberries to red berries, very spicy, very savoury, ferrous, full of nori, licorice, florals and more. It’s complex, shaped by beautifully defined tannins, the length long, the pleasure factor 10 out of 10 with ageability the same. Drink: 2025-2045
