Winemaker Virginia Willcock worries about her flagship wines leaving the fold, as in Heytesbury Chardonnay and Tom Cullity, released too young, she says. And while she’s right, anyone buying them knows time will reward the patient. It’s built for ageing, but I’m impatient, and this Tom Cullity is youthful but also complete. Malbec, off the original plantings, comprises 16 per cent of the blend; three per cent petit verdot, too, is fundamental to the shape and flavour profile. Dark-fruited, meaty, spicy, complex, roasted chicory accented, floral and beguiling. Fuller bodied with exceptional tannins, all textural, expansive and long, working in tandem with the acidity to a long finish.
97pts James Suckling
#40 in Top 100 Wines of Australia, 2024. The nose is wonderfully complex and perfumed with aromas of blackcurrants, violets, wild blackberries, graphite and eucalyptus. The full-bodied palate has seamless tannins and focused acidity, giving notes of mulberries, mocha, dried herbs and saltbush. Very refined and polished with an underlying power. Made from a blend of 81% cabernet sauvignon, 16% malbec and 3% petit verdot. Excellent. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
96pts Vinous
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec Tom Cullity (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot) is densely packed, ripped and built for the long haul. Gravel, dried sage and cassis aromas start with a dusting of dark earth and pepper, wrapped up in a finely tuned blanket of mocha French oak. Mouthfilling flavors follow with excellent definition thanks to a dense line of tannins. Refinement is the key here, as is a long, seamless finish.
96pts Decanter
Produced from vines planted in 1967 by Dr. Tom Cullity, this top Cabernet blend was renamed after the estate’s founder in 2013. From a fantastic vintage, this is still a baby of a wine considering its lifespan. The nose opens with an innate flashiness of red berries and tuberose absolute; but prettiness and charm underpin the opulence. Intensity and concentration on the palate; tannins are tight-knit and firm, yet with just enough movement to support the fruit weight and silvery acidity. Fruit is pristine yet powerful. Sun-warmed ironstone gravel and a hint of oak spice frame a flush of raspberry, tomato skin and delicate coppa meatiness. Judicious use of oak lets the fruit shine, and the length is outstanding. Elegant, with a long life ahead, yet it will drink well in its earlier years thanks to its generosity of fruit and sense of ease.
Winemaker Notes
Bright garnet in color with an incredibly fruit expressive aroma evoking blackcurrant coulis, with hints of dried rosemary and fresh basil. Pretty floral perfumes of lavender and lily intermingle with traces of native summer forest and fungi. Beautiful transparency of vineyard site is on display as the delicate scent of dried peppy leaf on the banks of the Wilyabrup Brook lifts in the glass, accompanied by cacao, crayon and an intriguing musk like fragrance. A succulent, creamy entrance brimming with vibrant fruit weight. The concentrated, elegant body embeds on the palate, framed by a super fine, powdery tannin structure. Relaxed in its completeness, the comfortable dry finish lingers on with tantalizing flavors of blackcurrant, dark chocolate, and sweet aromatic oak.
Blend: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec
