Vasse Felix Tom Cullity

Vasse Felix Tom Cullity bottle image

Wine Description

Vasse Felix, Margaret River's founding wine estate, was established by Dr Thomas Brendan Cullity in 1967. Among his first plantings were Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec vines, from which he produced the estate’s first red wine. The Tom Cullity descends from these original vines and represents the pinnacle of Vasse Felix.

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Acclaim
“The 2017 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is a spicy, firm and somewhat closed wine—none of which are surprising given the cool, wet and weirdly high-yielding vintage. It was an exhaustive year in the vineyards, and those who endeavored largely prevailed, as we see here. On the nose, you get black cherry, saltbush, star anise, arnica, nori and licorice, all of which provide a backdrop to the cassis fruit. The wine is svelte and grippy and a little grainy; these three attributes work in harmony to show the value of the old vines in the Tom Cullity block, planted in 1967. This is an impressive wine in a difficult year. It's classy and looking so good today.” — Wine Advocate, Apr 2024
“Saturated ruby. Highly perfumed, mineral-accented red and blue fruit, exotic spice, potpourri and incense aromas show superb clarity and pick up hints of cured tobacco and vanilla with air. Sweet, seamless and juicy on the palate, offering intense kirsch, black currant, spicecake and candied rose flavors and a touch of cracked pepper. Deepens steadily through the finish, which delivers superb persistence, youthfully gripping tannins and a resonating floral note.”
— Vinous, Sep 2022
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Vineyard & Production Info
Production area/appellation:
Margaret River
Soil composition
deep gravel loam soil over clay
Year vineyard planted:
1967
Harvest time:
March-April 2016
First vintage of this wine:
2013
Average Vine Age:
53 years
Certifying Organizations:
NASSA
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Winemaking & Aging
Prefermentation Technique:
100% wild yeast, whole berry
Time on its skins:
11-30 days
Varietal composition:
78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot
Fermentation container:
78% Static Fermentation, 22% Open Fermentation
Malolactic fermentation:
Full
Fining agent:
Egg white
Type of aging container:
Barriques
Type of oak:
French
Length of aging before bottling:
19 months
Age of Aging Container:
80% new, 20% 1-4 year old
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.52
Acidity:
6.1 g/L
Alcohol:
14.5 %
Residual sugar:
0.37 g/L
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Wine Production

All blocks destemmed only without crushing and then allowed to ferment naturally. The Cabernet Sauvignon (making up 78%) was static fermented, gently pumped over through a splash tub and then left on skins for up to 30 days. This was a particularly brilliant year for tannin ripeness and the time on the skins allowed for the wine to become structurally sound and stabilised. The Malbec and Petit Verdot (making up 22%) were open fermented, hand plunged and pressed dry. The small sections were basket pressed to fine French oak and matured for 19 months. The strength of the fruit in this vintage resulted in a greater contribution from new oak compared to previous vintages.

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About the Vineyard

Dry warm spring conditions at the end of 2015 helped establish a healthy fruit set and better yields than the previous two seasons.