Margaret River
Margaret river
Maritime Margaret River is a beautiful mixing pot of nature, surf and wine. It’s a rare place in that it produces some of Australia’s most stylish and prized Chardonnays as well as some of our most elegant and complex Cabernets. On paper it sounds like a lovechild between Bordeaux and Burgundy, but in reality it’s not.
A few hours south of Perth, Margaret River is home to some of Australia’s greatest wineries – Cullen, Vasse Felix, Leeuwin, Moss Wood and Cape Mentelle. In terms of newcomers, we take our hats off to Nocturne, Dormilona and Flametree.
Chardonnay, semillion and sauvignon blanc lead the charge on the white grapes. Oak is favoured in the premium styles which complements a rich core of nectarines, peaches and orchard fruits. For reds, cabernet is the chosen one, and is often blended with merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. These red blends personify elegance and ageability.
The wines of Margaret River fly the flag for modern Australian wines, a beautiful balance of fruit and workmanship.
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The Margaret River wine region (some 240km south of Perth) is the most important region, alon with the Great Southern in Western Australia. Its viticultural history began in the nineteenth century on a very small scale when the grandfather of Dr Kevin Cullen, founder of Cullen Wines established vineyards at Bunbury in 1890, though the vineyard site has now been absorbed by Bunburys unban suburbs. Contemporary Margaret river viticulture began in 1967 when Perth cardiologist Tom Cullity - inspired by papers written by John Gladstones from the University of WA which suggested Margaret River was a good place to grow grapes - planted the first commercial vineyard at Vasse Felix. Moss Wood, Cape Mentelle and Cullen soon followed and since then Margaret River has grown to become regarded as one of Australia's, and the world's great wine-producing regions and today there are nearly 5,500 hectares under vine and over 120 wine producers in the region.
Though warm, Margaret River's proximity to the Indian Ocean provides a moderating effect ensuring a temperate dry climate which is often likened to Bordeaux, in part due to the moderating influence of its proximity to the ocean and also due to the marked similarities between the average growing tempreture in Margaret River and Bordeaux in a dry vintage. These warm even growing conditions allow for the cultivation of a number of diverse grape varieties, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc (often blended together) does well here, producing fresh textural white wines best condumed in their youth. However, the real heroes are the world class Chardonnays (headed by Leeuwin Estate and Cullen) and Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet blends, Cullen and Moss Wood, that have done much to propel both the region and it's star performers on the world stage. Vasse Felix, Voyager Estate, Cullen, Moss Wood, Lenton Brae, Pierro, Fraser Gallop and Woodlands are just some of the benchmark producers.
Sources:
The Wine Atlas of Australia, James Halliday
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Deep Woods Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2023JAMES HALLIDAY'S TOP 100 WINES 2023
There's a special bond between place and variety here that creates a style unmatched elsewhere in Australia. The partial barrel ferment of a richly flavoured mix of snow pea, citrus and passionfruit has a refreshing undercarriage of polished acidity. (95) JAMES HALLIDAYSPECIAL VALUE - It oscillates between showy and bright with varietal flavours of snow peas, lemon balm, lemon-lime juice and passionfruit pith. A neat slip of texture with some creamy lees and slightly sticky phenolics JANE FAULKNER
2022sauvignon BlancAustralia432$26.00 As low as $23.40 -
Higher Plane 'Time for Heroes' Malbec 2024SPECIAL BUY - A seriously gorgeous dark purple colour – tooth staining, but who cares? Youthful and vibrant, smelling of violets, warm bitumen, black pepper and woodsy spices, while flavours of blueberries, boysenberries and black cherries fill the light- to mid-weighted palate. It’s not all upfront fruit – there’s some earthiness/savouriness in the mix with poppy red cherry acidity and raw silk tannins. (93) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion2024MalbecAustralia432$29.00 As low as $26.10 -
Voyager Estate Chenin Blanc 2024Fruit for the Chenin Blanc comes from three organically farmed estate blocks on the Voyager Estate property. Voyager has some of the oldest Chenin Blanc in the Margaret River region, with some of the vines planted as far back as 1978. The vineyard soils are mostly gravelly loams with stony clay subsoils, providing excellent drainage and good moisture-holding capacity. The resulting fruit has exceptional balance.
One of the better chenin blancs from Voyager Estate to date as it has flavour and richness but stays neatly in the dry spectrum. Poached pears and quince, lemon balm and lime curd with an intriguing waft of lanolin and the tug of phenolics add to the palate's shape. There's refreshment throughout but also depth. Lovely. JANE FAULKNER, wine companion2023Chenin BlancAustralia432$29.00 As low as $26.10 -
Voyager Estate Sparkling Chenin Blanc 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023Chenin BlancAustralia432$32.00 As low as $28.80 -
Woodlands 'Margaret' Cabernet Blend 2017 375mlDeep, dark red/purple colour, with a profound bouquet of dark fruits, violets, dried herb and dried floral notes interlocked with blackberry, layered with ample tannins and lasting very long on the follow-through. Superb flavour and structure. A statuesque cabernet blend. Margaret seems to build gravitas with each succeeding vintage. (96) HUON HOOKE, The Real Review
Inky, brooding style red, deep, dark berry fruit flavours, warm, brown spice notes, twiggy wood, good sense of tension between acidity and tannin rolled in. Satisfying, savoury-leaning red with earth, truffle and dusty notes creeping in. Good sense of elegance and charm. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front2017Cabernet BlendsAustralia432$37.00 As low as $33.30 -
Fire Gully Chardonnay 2023A wine that has continue to evolve over the years and now has a distinctive style that is all about friendly expression of fruit with a little subtle unobtrusive oak inclusion. Nice melony cashew characters with a gentle hint of stone fruit adding richness. It's a light bodied style that screams out for drinking in the next few years. Crunchy lemony zip on the finish heights the crisp acidity.
RAY JORDAN, WA Wine Review 2025
2023chardonnayAustralia432$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Xanadu Chardonnay 2023Aromas of nougat, nectarine, grapefruit, white flowers and nutty oak. The flavours are mouth-filling, textured and creamy. There's a drive of just-ripe white stone fruit and citrus and the tangy acidity delivers plenty of cut and shape AARON BRASHER, The Real Review2023chardonnayAustralia432$42.00 As low as $37.80 -
La Kooki Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 2020More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2020Cabernet SauvignonAustralia432$45.00 As low as $40.50 -
Cullen Cabernet Merlot 2024More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2024Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, MerlotAustralia432$48.00 As low as $43.20 -
Walsh & Sons Hamish Chardonnay 2023Named for Hamish David Walsh, and as it happens, my brother is David Arthur Walsh. A blend of Burnside Chardonnay (raised in anfora) and Osmington (three year old oak).
Well, this is a wild one for sure. It’s kind of sweaty and clove spiced, oyster shell, white mushroom, lime and cape gooseberry. It’s saline and savoury, powdery and dusty in texture, some cashew cream in the mix, with a curry leaf finish of good length. It’s kind of dirty, and yet, I find it strangely compelling. Hard to rate, interesting to drink! GARY WALSH, The Wine Front
2023chardonnayAustralia432$50.00 As low as $45.00 -
Walsh & Sons Hamish Chardonnay 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021chardonnayAustralia432$51.00 As low as $45.90 -
Idee Fixe Blanc de Blancs Premier Brut 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021Sparkling WineAustralia432$55.00 As low as $49.50 -
Cullen Metricup Chardonnay 2024Floral with notes of white flowers, elderflower and concentrated fruit, Fresh picked nectarines, sweet chamomile, nashi pear, quince and citrus rind. There’s an abundance of bound ripe fruit, Anjou pear, yellow peaches, red apple skins and citrus curd. Fresh acidity and gentle phenolics envelope around the rich fruit core of the wine. It’s elegant in style, showing a fresh and clean finish. The wine is supported by mineral characters of crushed seashells and coastal salinity that are, for the time being, gently hidden beneath the rich fruit power of the wine, waiting patiently to expand as the wine evolves in the bottle. CULLEN2024chardonnayAustralia432$56.00 As low as $50.40 -
Cullen Cabernet Merlot 20232023 was a brilliant year for Cabernet Sauvignon and proved perfect ripening for Cabernet Sauvignon and merlot and Cullen vineyard. Made from 100% bio-dynamically certified fruit a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot,1% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec has created a wine of great depth supported by delicious fine grained tannins.
The wine was matured in barriques of which 20% were new. CULLEN
2023Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, MerlotAustralia432$56.00 As low as $50.40 -
Voyager Estate Chardonnay 2023Tim Shand has made such a profound impact since taking over as winemaker in ‘22 and while it’s early days, gee what’s on offer looks very, very good. Vintage ‘23 is his first complete harvest. Already subtlety is apparent, although plenty of flavour here with stone fruit and citrus, wafts of lemon verbena and celery seed. It’s flinty, spicy and creamy with nutty lees. This is moreish and the savoury edge comes through in tandem with tangy and juicy acidity, and almost a pop of saline tang to finish. Impressive. (95) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion
One of the most common misconceptions in wine is that every wine is as absolutely good as it can be. Most wines, rather, are made to their price point, or to their position in the winery’s range of wines. I’m not sure if it’s relevant to point this out here – it may not be – but I loved it when winemaker Tim Shand said this week that he had re-positioned Voyager Chardonnay to simply be “the best wine that it can be. It’s seventy bucks and it has to be worth that, wringing wet, every day, every time.”This is the best Voyager chardonnay in yonks. It’s all by degrees of course but every degree in wine is hard won. This wine has flavour and texture but it’s the length that gets you going. It shows smoke characters, grilled peach, lemon curd and a jasmine element. There are flint notes here, as a whisper – which is interesting, because Voyager Chardonnay generally doesn’t or hasn’t shown flint characters in the past. It works here. 2023 was Shand’s first full vintage in charge of Voyager’s winemaking and if this wine is an indication, we’re in for a ride. (95) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front
2023chardonnayAustralia432$70.00 As low as $63.00 -
La Kooki Wines Boya Margaret River Chardonnay 2021More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021chardonnayAustralia432$72.00 As low as $64.80 -
Deep Woods Reserve Chardonnay 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2023chardonnayAustralia432$87.00 As low as $78.30 -
Xanadu Stevens Road Chardonnay 2022It has all the hallmarks of the site – Block 2, off Stevens Road, obviously, all Gingin clone, whole-bunch pressed to French oak, wild fermentation. And while there’s lees stirring throughout its nine months in barrel, there’s no mlf. It’s still a little frisky from youth as the acidity holds sway, yet in-between pink grapefruit and lime juice, zest and pith, too. There’s some depth and texture via lees input and the oak, yet all well placed and adding extra dimensions to this enjoyable wine. (95) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion
Some years I prefer Stevens, and in others, the Reserve. This year, Mr Stevens takes the tray.Has a slight struck match character, along with lime, grapefruit, white peach, some fennel, light spice and almond nougat. Medium-bodied, lively acidity with plenty of fine flinty texture, green olive , a little parmesan rind, citrus, white peach, and again that lovely almond gloss to temper the wine. Finish is lively and long. Balance between freshness and flavour is excellent here. Lovely wine. (95) GARY WALKSH, The Wine Front
2022chardonnayAustralia432$100.00 As low as $90.00 -
Pierro Chardonnay 2023WHITE WINE OF THE YEAR. This will sit alongside anything Peterkin has made in more than four decades as one of the finest winemakers in the region. It is a cracking good wine delivered with precision and power with a degree of delicacy and finesse that makes it so appealing. Incredible intensity on the nose with aromas of white peach and grapefruit with a little muted butterscotch in the background. The palate is powerful and drives with urgency through to a remarkably long finish. The oak is neatly interlaced, and the fresh acidity adds another dimension with its savoury chalky character. (98) RAY JORDAN, WA Wine Review 2025
Pierro Chardonnay be what Pierro Chardonnay be. But there’s a smidgen more finesse in this year’s release and, combined with Pierre’s trademark fruit power, the effect is quite the sensational. Pierro is one of the original (as in, it was the first) close-planted blocks in Margaret River, at 6000 vines per hectare.
Power up front; finesse through the finish. This makes well and truly sure that it has your attention and then it shows that it has both depth, and style. Pears, yellow peaches, grilled nuts and a creamy, smoky, nougat character. There’s an element of quartz to this wine, or of something stony, and it’s a part of its glory. This is a noted wine in noteworthy form. It finishes long. It’s compelling throughout. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front
2023chardonnayAustralia432$125.00 As low as $112.50 -
Xanadu Reserve Chardonnay 2022The reserve shines this vintage, coming across all superfine and linear, yet layers upon layers of flavour. Ginger florals, lemon balm and all manner of citrus charm. Ultra-refreshing with a live wire of acidity gathering all the elements and taking them on a joy ride. There’s a millefeuille effect of lees, fruit, oak and spice so this turns out moreish, savoury and complex. But above all, just a great drink. (96) JANE FAULKNER, Halliday Wine Companion2022chardonnayAustralia432$135.00 As low as $121.50 -
Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2021One of Australia’s great cabernets. This from a cooler season highlights and accentuates the typical bright red fruits and blue fruit mix, especially on the nose. It’s aromatic and perfumed with an African violet scent. The palate as always is so exquisitely balanced and refined. Since 1989 the cabernet has been augmented with the floral bright fruit of cabernet franc and the darker robust black fruits of petit verdot. The palate delivers with a gentle restraint yet there is power deep within. The chalky tannins define a long and focussed finish. A deceptive medium bodied wine that will cellar for many years. (98) RAY JORDAN
2021Cabernet SauvignonAustralia432$165.00 As low as $148.50 -
Cullen Diana Madeline 2022Deep bright purple-red colour leading into a stylish bouquet of sweet mulberry and other berry fruits, violets and cassis, succulent and mouth-filling, with masses of fine emery-like tannins that run the length of the palate adding authority, structure, length and refreshment to the aftertaste. Concentrated, superripe blackberry, cassis and mulberry flavours; oak tucked discreetly into the background. (98) HUON HOOKE, The Real Review
Really delivers as you might expect from this excellent concentrated and powerfully frame vintage in Margaret River. It’s dominant cabernet with smaller portions of merlot, cabernet franc and malbec. Typical of this wine since switching to biodynamics, it is bright and brilliant with a nervy tense energy to drive the palate. The succulent fruit is harness by fine chalky tannins and neatly played oak of which 55% was new. A wine of extraordinary elegance and poise with a few of many decades. (98) RAY JORDAN
Needless to say, Margaret River enjoyed another superb vintage with the 2022 season. Slightly cooler, Cullen report that it was a vintage of “immense perfume and texture”. The wine is a wonderfully vibrant purple in colour. The nose gives up plums, cassis, spices including nutmeg, chocolate, mocha, bay leaves, cigar box notes – think a freshly opened box of Cohiba Siglo VI – and near perfect oak integration. This is finely balanced and exhibiting immense length on a palate that sees the emergence of aniseed, mulberries and coffee beans. An alluringly supple texture with the silkiest of tannins, though plenty of them – there really is some grip here. This will easily sail through fifteen to twenty years in a good cellar. (98) KEN GARGETT, Wine Pilot
2021Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, MerlotAustralia432$180.00 As low as $162.00 -
Cullen Diana Madeline 2021Diana Madeline. The name evokes a lot of emotions, for what the woman stood for then and what the wine stands for now. The 2021 vintage equals 50 years of cabernet sauvignon plantings at Cullen. When released in early 2023, it was on what would have been her 100th birthday. It’s a wine that can come from nowhere else, so strong is its sense of place. Expect to swoon over aromas of roses, violets and mulberries doused in baking spices, a ferruginous quality as much as detailed if persuasive tannins. It’s complex, complete and structured. Gosh, what a wine. What a woman. The perfect combination. (97) JANE FAULKNER, James Halliday2021Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, MerlotAustralia432$180.00 As low as $162.00 -
Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay 2021Light straw colour with a reserved lemon/grapefruit aroma, fresh and penetrating, the palate brisk and bright with vibrant acidity and intense grapefruit/lemon flavours that persist the full length of the very long palate. Superb vitality and balance. It promises to reward cellaring too. Tremendously concentrated and compact, with extreme drive and massive persistence, it positively vibrates with energy. Very cellarworthy, too. (98) HUON HOOKE, therealreview.com
Remarkably complex aromas of dominant stone fruit like nectarine with less of the pear and cut lime character you expect. An intense and powerful wine with a distinctive chalky limestone influence on the palate… Continues the subtle move to Burgundian styles. This is one of the most delicate of Art Series chardies. Elements of the 2017 yet there is more power and intensity within its tight frame. Has slightly more phenolic character. The minerally cracked seashell character is clearly evident here. It is pure with an almost shimmering acidity and precision through to the long finish. One of the more individual of the Leeuwin chardonnays to date. (98) RAY JORDAN, rayjordan.comThe 2021 Art Series Chardonnay leads with a distinctly floral nose: jasmine and white garden rose, wisteria and lemon blossom… On the palate, the wine is powerful and savory-it leans heavily on exotic dry spice and cracked honeycomb, with hints of salted butter on fresh white bread, beeswax and salted pink grapefruit. Stylistically, it is not dissimilar to the 2017; however, the dovetailing of acid and fruit feels seamless and well matched here. The wine is piercing and structural, tightly coiled and almost rigid, in the best of ways. It's an impressive wine, one that, at this stage of its life, is defined by its penetrating acid line. Sealed under screw cap. (97+) ERIN LARKIN, robertparker.com
2021chardonnayAustralia432$185.00 As low as $166.50 -
Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay 2022This seems, at least to me, to hark back to what might be called a more 'old school' classic LEAS style. And that will make many people very happy, no doubt.
Pear, grapefruit, Teddy Bear biscuits, cedar, vanilla, clove and ginger oak laying it on pretty thick, though the fruit power is there to take it. It's juicy, honey drizzled pear, citrus, a firm chalk dust grip, with a lively grapefruit cut of acidity, some lime and lime rind richness here too, with a bold and savoury finish of excellent length. It's wine of power and presence, and some warmth, not immediately approachable, but very good. GARY WALSH
A chorus of spiced nectarines, roasted fennel, nutmeg, crushed rocks and baked quinces brings the house down. It's a riot of aromatics, willing you in. On the palate, a surge of flavours gushes; spiced stone fruits, cardamon, and baked apples taper off into a savoury and tangy tail of wet earth and petrichor. A chiselled streak of acidity energises the flavoursome and powerful core. The winemaker work is clever and respectful, fruit is the queen of the show. It's not like the Leeuwin's in the past, some of which were a little too round and voluptuous yet it's not a skeletal racy style either. It's the Goldilocks, just right. This has loads of appeal for top chardonnay and Burgundy lovers. GABRIELLE POY
Concentrated and intense, the nose shows a fruit core of nashi pear, finger limes and Lisbon lemon, with delicate complex layers of nougat, brioche, chamomile, galangal, sesame praline, macadamia and heightened notes of wattle blossom, jasmine and lime flowers. The palate is detailed and ethereal. Pear greets nectarine, white peach and lemon curd. Woven and harmonious, it unfolds to a graphite and mineral thread, with a touch of sherbet, aniseed and cardamom. Gentle textures open through the mid-palate with vibrant natural acidity, amidst a black tea, talc and chalk-like finish featuring characteristic length. LEEUWIN ESTATE
2022chardonnayAustralia432$190.00 As low as $171.00 -
Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2023More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2020chardonnayAustralia432$205.00 As low as $184.50