Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2020 750ml

Flagship Margaret River Cabernet blend with cassis, blackberry, graphite and long polished tannins.

About The Wine

Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2020 is a prestige Margaret River red that captures the history, power and elegance of the region. Made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and a small portion of Petit Verdot, it is drawn from the original Vasse Felix plantings and represents the estate’s flagship red wine.

The 2020 vintage is deep, refined and built for long cellaring, with concentrated dark fruit, savoury complexity, polished French oak and a firm but beautifully controlled tannin frame. It is a serious collector’s bottle with both immediate presence and exceptional longevity.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: Cassis, blackberry, violets, graphite, dried sage, mocha, gravel and subtle eucalyptus.

Palate: Powerful and refined, with blackcurrant, mulberry, dark cherry, savoury herbs, mocha, saltbush and finely integrated oak.

Finish: Long, seamless and structured, with confident Cabernet tannins, mineral drive and lingering dark fruit.

Halliday Wine Companion - 97 Points

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% of the blend; 3% 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. Jane Faulkner

Ray Jordon Wine of the Year 2025 - 99 Points

Oh yeah. I expected this to be good and it has delivered. I see the power and concertation of 2018 and the elegance of 2019 with the restraint of 2017. Beautiful, perfumed fruit with tremendous intensity. The palate is seamless with a velvety feel to it. So vibrant with an energy and drive that takes it effortlessly to a very long finish. Everything and everything in its place. The intensity of the blackcurrant and red fruit combination is extraordinary, yet it delivers with such finesse and poise. Pretty and at the same time powerful. With a degree of delicacy and grace. A great, great wine.

Huon Hooke therealreview.com - 96 Points 

The colour is not too dark or too youthful but there are earthy, ferrous/ironstone and nori/dried seaweed aromas that team well with the intense and tightly packed palate structure. Firm and long: a serious wine worth cellar space. It's young but there is already a lot of detail. Impressive. Drink 2025–2040.

Erin Larkin- Robert Parker - 98 Points

The 2020 season in Margaret River was an interesting one: warm, low yielding and very early (not as early as 2024!), with great marri blossom aromas and responsible for quite tannic, lushly fruited wines. Generally regarded as very good to excellent, the season had the potential to produce wines that were firm and closed, yet it didn't. So here, the 2020 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is floral on the nose, with raspberry pip, rose petals, pink peppercorn, sumac, clove, a hint of sandalwood and sun-dried kelp. In the mouth, it is everything the nose promises, with a splay of ductile tannin that bends and moves with the fruit as it progresses over the palate. This is a super release from a great year; it's very much in line stylistically with the 2018 and 2014 Tom Cullitys. This is made with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Malbec, 1% Petit Verdot and 1% Merlot grapes that were handpicked between 28th February and 9th April, then matured for 18 months in French oak (33% new). For those who care about numbers (me): total acidity is 5.8 grams, with a pH of 3.61. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Serving Suggestions

A superb match for roast beef, lamb rack, venison, slow-cooked short ribs, mushroom dishes or aged hard cheeses. Decanting is recommended if drinking now.

About the Winery / Producer / Region

Vasse Felix is Margaret River’s founding wine estate, established by Dr Tom Cullity in 1967. His first plantings included Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, the same varieties that remain central to this flagship release. The wine is named in his honour and reflects both the estate’s origins and the evolution of Margaret River as one of Australia’s great Cabernet regions.

Tom Cullity sits at the top of the Vasse Felix range and is produced only from carefully selected parcels. It combines the structure and elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon with the depth and plushness of Malbec, creating a wine of provenance, longevity and regional importance.

Cellaring Potential

Built for long term cellaring. Drinking now with a long decant, but best rewarded with patience and capable of devel oping beautifully through to 2050 under good conditions.

Collector’s Note

A highly relevant collector release, Tom Cullity is the flagship red from Margaret River’s founding estate. The 2020 vintage has received major critical acclaim, including 99 point recognition and strong international review attention.

Details

Producer: Vasse Felix

Vintage: 2020

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot

Blend: 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot

Region: Margaret River, Western Australia

Alcohol: 14.5%

Maturation: 18 months in French oak barriques

Closure: Screw Cap

Bottle Size: 750ml