CULLEN Vanya Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

Robert Parker Score: 97+ points

Reviewer: Lisa Perrotti-BrownMar 2016

Not to be made every year, the debut vintage of the 2012 Vanya is a blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon with 3% Petit Verdot. Only 4,500 bottles of this wine were made. It spent 19 months in 50% new oak and possesses a deep garnet-purple color with a savory, yeasty and meaty nose redolent of red and black plums, cassis and cigar box, and a spicy undercurrent of lavender, bay leaf and rust. This multi-layered, taut, intensely flavored wine is beautifully elegant in the mouth, with incredibly ripe flavors and with silky tannins. It should cellar for 20-30 years or more. Vanya Cullen has so many new and exciting projects going on at her winery, I could have happily spent a week or more in her sagely company instead of my requisite three hours. 100% Biodynamic since 2004, Vanya makes no secret of her passion for purity and sustainability. Readers will note that I refrained from using the term "natural" here as this has sadly become something of a dirty word of late and it would be wrong for anyone to unassumingly tar this conscientious winery at the pinnacle of quality with the same brush. This said, Vanya has created a brand new orange wine (as in a white wine produced from extended skin maceration to such an extent that the phenolics oxidize, producing an orange color). I don't say this about many orange wines but "Amber" is very good indeed and well worth checking out. Vanya has also produced Fruit and Flower day harvested barrels of the 2014 "Legacy Series" Kevin John Chardonnay, which yield some evocative and, dare I say, pretty convincing differences for all the biodynamic unbelievers (see my tasting notes). Interestingly, Cullen Wines even uses biodynamic barrels, which means the wood is harvested only on fruit and flower days. When I raised my eyebrows about this, Vanya insisted that Tonnelierie Bordelais produce a certificate of authenticity for these barrels. Hmmm. Anyway, back to what's in the glass, the other major vinous treat for me was a preview of the new "Vanya" Cabernet Sauvignon label, which pushes the already high Margaret River Cabernet bar up just that much higher.