Woodlands, Margaret River Cabernet 2014

2014 was a warm consistent year producing wines of balance. Unfortunately, high winds early in spring reduced some varieties, but Woodlands' Cabernet Sauvignon survived unscathed. Warm dry conditions until February perfectly ripened the Cabernet Franc and Malbec, but from March onwards the conditions cooled somewhat, extending out the Cabernet Sauvignon harvest and enabling more flavour development. Woodlands' Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from their original plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc found on a south-facing slope in the Wilyabrup Valley. The soil profile of this slope is generally sandy loam over gravel and clay. The top of the slope, where the Cabernet Franc is planted, has significantly more gravel in its soil. These four small plots receive the greatest number of sunlight hours on our vineyard, but the east-west orientation of the vines ensures a slow fruit maturation. After being picked, the fruit was destemmed before passing over a vibrating sorting table. Once sorted and crushed, this wine was fermented in small closed fermenters. Following fermentation, the Cabernet Sauvignon remained on skins for 28 days before being pressed for the malolactic conversion to occur.

When David and Heather Watson established Woodlands in 1973, they were amongst the first six pioneers to plant vineyards in Margaret River and can certainly claim to have 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 is 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 Andrew is in charge of operations.