Vasse Felix Tom Cullity 2019
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 purest expression of our history, place and vintage; the pinnacle of Vasse Felix.
WINEMAKER COMMENTS
The epitome of rare and fine, from the lowest yielding Cabernet vintage since 2009. Tom’s old blocks were hand-harvested a little later then average, from 5 – 18 April, having enjoyed gentle, extended ripening in this mild season. The small sections were then destemmed, without crushing, and fermented wild with their natural yeast. The Cabernet parcels were static fermented, gently pumped over through a splash tub, and then left on skins for up to 33 days to stabilise and make structurally sound. The Malbec and some Cabernet Sauvignon were open fermented, hand plunged and pressed dry. All parcels were basket-pressed and gently transferred to 66% new (34% old) French oak. Aged on yeast lees for 17 months, all barrels relaxed, untouched throughout maturation, with only one single barrel undergoing one rack and return (K2 Malbec).
