Moss Wood wines are made from our own Estate vineyard, Ribbon Vale*, which is less than 1km from our own vineyard, and Amy's, a long-term contract we grow and manage ourselves.The estate range is Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon; the Ribbon Vale range is Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon; and from Amy’s, Cabernet Sauvignon.*To scale up their business to support four children, the Mugfords purchased the Ribbon Vale Vineyard from the founder who wanted to retire in 2000. Though it is only 1 kilometer south of Moss Wood, it is higher and on top of a slope looking west and south, so is quite a bit cooler, and ripens more slowly. To improve the quality of the fruit, they upgraded the trellising, and released the first Moss Wood Ribbon Vale range in 2000 when they made the vintage from scratch.◆ Why does Margaret River seem to have less trial and error in selecting locations, varietals, and clones compared to other emerging wine regions?Keith ―― The reason the Margaret River region was planted was based on scientific research published by Dr. John Gladstones in 1965. The information he presented about the grape growing climate and the possibilities in Margaret River was very comprehensive and proved to be accurate. That meant that the varieties people chose, primarily the Bordeaux varieties, were pretty suitable.People were also interested in growing Burgundy varieties as well, and it was a bit of luck that Margaret River was suitable for growing Chardonnay and mostly good for Pinot Noir too. So there was some good luck, but also good management in the early years.Once the grape growing started here there was definitely some trial and error. We had no idea what sort of vigour the vines would have, so trellising was a bit of a guessing game. We had a mixture of trellises at Moss Wood, the initial plantings were on what I call the Sunraysia system developed for growing irrigated sultanas in Central Victoria, but over time we moved to the Scott Henry trellising system.Then there’s been a lot of trial and error in the winemaking, some successful. The Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, has always been fermented in small open tanks, and Pinot Noir the same. With Chardonnay though, we did a lot of experimentation trying to understand the Burgundian technique, we wrestled with lees contact, malolactic fermentation, solids inclusion, fermentation and so on, and over the years made several quirky Chardonnays. But these days, after more than 40 years, we have refined our techniques.◆ Do you still have the same Cabernet Sauvignon clones and vines that were first planted at Moss Wood?Keith ―― Pretty much. For Cabernet Sauvignon we have the Houghton clone, and that has been a reliable performer so we’ve never needed to change that. Our Chardonnay is the original introduction from the University of California, Davis (UCD), that arrived in WA around 1960 - it’s called the Gingin or Mendoza clone, it’s the classic Chardonnay with lots of classic chicken and hen.Vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon◆ Have you seen a significant difference in the flavour profile of the fruit as the vines age?Keith ―― Generally speaking, what we’ve noticed in the vineyard as it gets older is, that it has become increasingly resilient in the face of things that may cause a deterioration in the flavour profile like stress and weather. Also, as the yield diminishes over time, that’s been beneficial in terms of the final fruit quality and consistency of ripeness. So I think the vineyard is making better wine in old age, than when it was a young vineyard.The difference isn’t that marked. A well-run vineyard anywhere should ripen the fruit pretty consistently.◆ In the vineyards are you picking specific parcels?Keith ―― With Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon, there are 4 individual vineyards which are picked independently from each other, and made as individual batches. For Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon we have 5 different small vineyards on the property which have different ripening profiles. Each is picked as it reaches full maturity, sometimes several days apart. For Moss Wood Cabernet, the biggest difference is about 3 weeks, so the coolest sections of the vineyard are picked significantly later than the warmer sections, even though they are only about 500 meters apart.We keep a close eye on all the vineyards, monitoring their individual ripening, and each batch gets its own special attention. That’s what we have to do if we are going to make the best quality.◆ How do you handle the different parcels in the winery?Keith ―― They are basically all made as individual batches. The Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are all made with exactly the same technique in the vineyard and winery, including the choice of barrels, length of time in barrels etc., so what you see is all the individual batches expressing the part of the vineyard that component came from. For quality reasons, we do the Merlot from Ribbon Vale in static fermenters rather than open, hand-punched tanks.Panoramic view of the Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard at Moss Wood◆ How does Moss Wood’s approach in the vineyard and winery differ compared to France?With Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, we aim to make a Margaret River interpretation of a ‘Bordeaux’ style wine. Especially in the early days, we spent a lot of time trying to understand Bordeaux wine and what made it really good. We realized we didn’t want to make a Bordeaux from Margaret River, as we have our own individual characteristics. Instead, we wanted to understand aspects of Bordeaux technique, to learn where we can from the best, - how they run their vineyards and what they are doing in the winery that influences the quality of the wine.We then extrapolate that for our Cabernet Sauvignon as it ripens. So small batch fermentations, all hand-plunged, and then careful, long-term barrel aging. In many ways it is that simple, because the key characteristics you see in Moss Wood wines are from the Moss Wood vineyards, which is then nurtured through the process to capture it and save it in the bottle. Our approach is the same for the other varietals.Sorting of grapesAlex ―― Where I worked in Bordeaux pumping over is common, so sediment and use of maceration are different from what we do here.Especially in the younger wines and in particular Cabernet Sauvignon in Bordeaux, they have a firmer tannins, so the softer tannins at Moss Wood put a Margaret River stamp on a Bordeaux variety.◆ How does Moss Wood connect with younger people?Hugh ―― Tristan, Alex and I do quite a lot of the trade and restaurant events. Moss Wood is often seen as being a traditional, old-school brand, but that doesn’t mean we are old school in the way we adapt to new technologies.We also have an approach to sustainability – while we don’t fall under any of the biodynamic or organic systems, we try to be sustainable as we can in our production, and that reaches some of the younger market. Our story is important for young people, and the quality of our wine stands on its own.Our point of difference is our focus on quality, and that starts in the vineyard. All five of us spend a substantial amount of time in the vineyard, so we know every inch of the vineyards very well, and work to ensure we pick the highest quality fruit we can.We then follow tried and tested protocols in the winery to produce a consistent high quality of wine.Hand plunging◆ What does the future hold at Moss Wood?Keith ―― Our fundamentals have always been small bunch and hand-plunged, and we are still doing that. We have upgraded a lot of our technology now, where Alex, Tristan and Hugh have been key. This has allowed us to fine tune the quality through the process through to the end. This has helped to enhance the complexity and intensity of the fruit by eliminating anything that might damage it such as oxidation.We are careful to make sure the wine we put in the bottle at the end of the process will enable the consumer to experience of what we did in that vintage.We are very traditional in lots of ways, and very technical in lots of ways - it’s a mix of both.Clare ―― We are proud how our vintages have been consistent - the effect of the weather on each vintage may not be the same, but we stand by our consistency and only ever seek to produce and sell to our customers the highest possible quality.We like to improve our efficiency in the vineyard, but we also like hands-on techniques. We know our limits, and our mantra will always be, “If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it well.”【 Brief History 】Moss Wood was first planted in 1969 by Bill & Sandra Pannell, which at that time, was just the second vineyard in Margaret River. Keith Mugford, fresh from Roseworthy College with a degree in Oenology, joined them in 1979 as their first full time winemaker.In 1984 Keith married Clare, and together they took over Moss Wood from the Pannells (who established Picardy Wines in Pemberton, south of Margaret River). They were joined in 2006 by Alex Coultas while he was studying Viticulture and Oenology at Curtin University, and became full-time in 2012. Their sons joined the winery, Tristan in 2018 and Hugh in 2019, both of whom graduated in Viticulture and Oenology from Adelaide University.The four family members and Alex all work in every aspect of the business from viticulture to winemaking to promotion.《From Village Cellars》We have bought Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon every year since 1994. Keith says nearly 90% of annual production will be consumed in the year it is released. However at Village Cellars, to meet the tastes of the Japanese market we store and age a portion of each vintage in our temperature-controlled cellar. Keith says it ‘will repay long-term cellaring to be as good as they can possibly.”