Latest reviews

Frankland River

Riesling

It's no surprise that winemaker Jeremy Gordon has turned to Frankland River to source riesling for this wine. It's a variety well suited to the region, and this was a great year. It was wild fermented and then just went into small stainless steel vessels. It shows the typical tight zesty minerality with a little flinty, tense wet pebble complexity....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This was a pretty warm season in Margaret River, yet the earlier ripening and maturing chardonnay has generally performed very well, and this is a very good example of that. The nose shows plenty of deep stone fruit and a white peachy nectarine character with some lifted florals. On the palate, the richness of chardonnay emerges but is controlled to...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This was a season that was as near as dammit to perfect as you can imagine, resulting in some marvellous wines throughout the state and this one is a wonderful example. It's a generous and full-bodied cabernet, but there is a typical vineyard and seasonal elegance that is captured here. On the nose, you get a light influence of black...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

These cabernets from Grace Farm all show wonderful refinement and polish, with the fruit deeply intense but generally presented with a medium to full body and creating an elegant expression of cabernet. This one's now had 6 years in bottle, and it's come together as you would expect quite beautifully. The nose shows those primary blackcurrant characters, some nice florals,...

Margaret River

Rose

Grace Farm Rosé 2024 ($35)This is a really neat little rosé with a colour that is pale salmon pink with a nose a sort of wild mix of watermelon and cranberry, with even a little citrus adding some additional interest. The palate is light-bodied, but it retains a nice texture with a fine crisp acidity providing a vibrant, lively finish....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

The chardonnays from this small family-owned winery located in the Cowaramup Brook Valley continue to impress. This one from the warm 2024 vintage has emerged rather beautifully. A little winemaking goes in here with whole bunch pressing, wild fermentation before fermentation and maturation in all French oak barriques for about 10 months. There are notes of lemon zest, cashew, and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a powerhouse Cabernet, sourced from Margaret River. It opens immediately with an intense and driving aroma of blackcurrant, black olive, and a little bay leaf. The palate is still quite tightly held, with the deep black fruits releasing with drive through to a long finish. It has a chalky, slightly minerally oyster shell thread, and the fine knit...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This has been part of the Snake + Herring portfolio since 2011 and has evolved from its original Bordeaux blend into a predominantly Cabernet wine with very small contributions from Malbec and Merlot. The aroma is immediately vibrant and alive with bright red fruit notes and a backdrop of blackcurrant and black olive. The palate has generosity but is more...

Great Southern

Pinot Noir

Throughout what was a very warm year, the fruit sourced from vineyards in the Great Southern—in this case, Mount Barker—has turned out pretty well for Pinot Noir. The colour is slightly translucent with a purply-red and crimson hue. The aroma displays a savoury, chalky sour cherry character with bright raspberry fruit. It's tightly knit with fine tannins and a subtle...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a wine that offers so much at a reasonable price. It comes off seven blocks within the region from a number of sub-regions, and this northern part of Margaret River towards Yallingup really delivers on that blackcurrant, black olive combination with a little savoury oyster shell minerality. This is a stylish wine of good structure and bright fruit,...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This has developed into something of a winner for Snake + Herring and is already well established as one of the better Chardonnays of Margaret River. It's sourced from Karridale, south of Margaret River, and immediately its power and intensity are evident, not surprising given it comes from a single block of the famed and powerful Gingin clone near Witchcliffe....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

I'd have to say this is as good as any Corduroy Chardonnays yet released from these guys. Of course, it comes from a very good year, which was well suited to the variety and from a vineyard at Karridale, south of the town of Margaret River. It has an engaging floral aroma with traces of brioche and cashew, with some...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

These guys make several Chardonnays, and this is a nice entry-level for them. It's all Chardonnay and it's all from Margaret River, but in addition to the famous Gingin clone, four additional Dijon clones have been used, and this seems to contribute to its slightly finer, chalky minerality to complement the richness and raw power of the Gingin clone. It...

Great Southern

Pinot Gris

This is largely Pinot Gris but with a small inclusion of Riesling from the Great Southern. It seems to have evolved over the years and is now a finer, tighter, more minerally expression of the variety, showing its lifted florals and persistent citrus characters. The textural element comes from a short time in 500-litre puncheons with time on lees in...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Snake + Herring Tainted Love Rosé 2023 ($33) This is a bright, fresh, and stylish little rosé that has been made very much in the European mould. So, it's finer, more restrained, and with less overt fruit, but it still has texture and flavour on its fine, persistent palate. It's all Syrah from a single vineyard in Margaret River. After...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Now a 10-year-old cabernet, and it’s just starting to enter that next phase of development, with subtle leathery spiciness emerging. The primary black fruits are now ceding to secondary characters of chocolate, mocha and bay leaf, with a gentle tobacco complexity. This was always an elegant and stylish vintage, and this wine captures that perfectly. Still has time ahead in...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A wine that strongly reflects a powerhouse vintage, with firm tannins a feature. The black fruits on the nose burst out of the glass, alongside subtle raspberry and brick-dust characters. The palate is tightly held by those tannins, but there is ample fruit to balance, and the oak treatment marries perfectly to complete the integration. There’s something classically Bordeaux about...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This vintage generally produced wines of less intensity and weight but with an elegance that makes them excellent medium-term cellaring propositions. The fruit characters are more blackberry and cherry, with oak notes of light cedar and bay leaf. The palate is medium to full-bodied with good structure and control, dry, savoury, and with a slightly oyster shell-like minerality to complete...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This was such a great season in Margaret River, producing wines of immense power and depth, yet with elegance and refinement in perfect balance. This is a beauty. It has a slightly lower cabernet component, probably a result of the vintage's power and structure, complemented by a little more merlot and malbec. Highly scented with notes of blackcurrant and violet,...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This was a sometimes underrated Margaret River vintage, yet every time I taste wines from this year, I’m impressed with the seamless elegance and graceful lines. It lacks the opulence of ’18 or ’20, offering instead notes of bay leaf, tobacco leaf and a mix of dried herbs. The palate reveals more red fruit succulence, with a juicy raspberry–cherry character....

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A short, sharp vintage at the start of COVID turned out to be one of the best, especially for red wines in Margaret River. This is a beauty. It's mostly cabernet, with smaller components of merlot and malbec. Highly fragrant aromas of perfumed violet and charry glazed fruits, with the savoury new French oak fitting in neatly. The palate is...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This wine was introduced to the portfolio a few years ago and is quite a departure from the usual Howard Park style. Primarily, it is the use of a significant portion of American oak to produce a distinctive style. Little wonder that this vintage is probably the best, as it strikes a great balance between the exquisite fruit and the...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This was a hot and very early vintage, but the vineyard location in the cooler Karridale area has helped control the speed of ripening, and the result is a mighty impressive chardonnay. It’s a concentrated and immensely powerful wine with great depth on the palate after an opening engagement, showing aromas of light cashew and brioche. There is something quite...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A medium-bodied cabernet from this slightly cooler vintage. It’s a most elegant and almost statuesque wine with its body of blackcurrant and bay leaf, with a little oyster shell minerally graphite evident. Supremely balanced and poised palate is held tight and controlled, but there is ample flesh and fruit concentration.

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

A wine that offers so much immediate pleasure. Opens with a strong and distinctive mix of blackcurrant and ripe satsuma plum with a richer dark chocolate backdrop. It’s a rich and supple wine with depth and fruit concentration. Nice tannin and oak structural input. Score: 92/100 Cellar: 7 years

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a most attractive Chardonnay from a vintage that produced a little more depth and concentration than the previous 2021. Lifted notes of brioche and stone fruit with a light cashew complexity. The palate is neatly woven with fine oak complementing some quality fruit. There’s a nice edge of cut lime and pear with just the lightest of struck...

Margaret River

Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

Oh boy, you get a decent hit of pungent herbaceous tropical fruits initially on the nose. Loaded with those nectarine and other stone fruit influences and a little lemony edge. There’s a nice mix of lemon and honey with the faintest of French oak touches to complete the textural feel. Terrific wine for the next few years.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is sourced from three different vineyards, each of which is more than 20 years old. A superb vintage has perfectly set up this fabulous example of Margaret River cabernet. It has it all, the power, blackcurrant, bay leaf, seamless integration and concentration. The aromas of floral over blackcurrant and red fruits are immediately compelling. Into the palate and the...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

The season started late, but oh my, it produced some exceptional wines. This powerful and structured cabernet from this vineyard just south of Margaret River town is a masterful wine. The colour is so brilliant and bright and then the aromas reveal a marvellous combination of red and black fruits with typical bay leaf and minerally graphite. A wave of...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Stunning wine displaying elegance and power in a perfectly structured and presented frame. Aromas of typical pear, florals and a little slaty minerality emerge immediately. The palate is slick and precise but with a deep complexity revealing a combination of citrus, grapefruit and a slightly saline pebbly character. It’s a result of the best barrel selection, and the brightness and...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Such a delicately structured yet still powerfully intense chardonnay from this outstanding vineyard, which in a good year like this, positively shines. The nose opens with typical light stone fruits, a slice of pear and a trace of grapefruit. But the palate is the thing. It is both textured and linear with deep stone fruit, minerally saline and citrus. There...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

The warmer vintage is certainly reflected immediately in the bright golden colour. This is a rich and textured chardonnay from the Ribbon Vale vineyard. Honeycomb and light cereal characters emerge on the nose and palate. There’s an underlying savouriness that sustains through to the very long finish. Beautifully balanced with a crisp acidity controlling the finish. The higher altitude vineyard...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

Warmer year equates to a wine of rich, deep flavour. Typically, bright aromatics, but I find the texture and mouthfeel captivating in this latest Elsa sauvignon blanc. Floral stone fruit and lightly grassy tropical characters on the nose. The palate then reveals a subtle honeysuckle and light butterscotch, almost like a chardonnay, with a cute beeswax character. Richly layered palate...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This was a very good vintage in Margaret River after the slightly more challenging ’21. This has the refined elegance and prettiness that is the Moss Wood DNA. The colour is quite pale compared to some previous vintages, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is some shrinking violet. Violets, yes, but plenty more in an engine room that is...

Geographe

Malbec

Here is a malbec with plenty of character. It comes from a high part of the Ferguson Valley in Geographe. A gentle approach to the fermentation, including extended skin contact, has built texture and richness while capturing the smooth succulence of this variety. Bright red juicy fruits with a subtle spicy lift.

Blackwood Valley

Tempranillo

Fits snugly into the classic mould for this Spanish variety. It comes from the Blackwood Valley and displays smooth and flavoursome fruit exhibiting a mix of raspberry, vanilla essence and mulberry. The palate is soft with slightly chalky tannins adding structure. The oak is lightly applied, allowing the soft and supple fruit to express itself.

Pemberton

Pinot Noir

A thoroughly beautiful, fresh and vibrant expression of pinot noir designed for drinking in the short term, but with some medium-term options. Comes from the Bellarmine Vineyard at Pemberton, and after 30% whole bunch in the fermentation, it was only lightly touched by oak. Fragrant strawberry and confectionary raspberry notes. The palate is light-bodied, but there is structure with a...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

There are many expressions of chenin blanc, from the highly tropical fruity drink-now styles through to wines of more complexity with oak or lees use. In this case, the Margaret River fruit was pressed straight to older oak for wild fermentation and regular stirring. A further 9 months in oak has added textural feel and complexity. Retains the citrus and...

Geographe

Riesling

A first-rate riesling that was unaffected by the extreme heat of the vintage. It’s crisp and pure with a refreshing flavour profile, but there is texture here, resulting from adding some solids and a two-month period of lees stirring. Even the pressings were fermented. So, this is riesling with some real character.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Consistently one of the best cabernets from WA. It’s designed to express its best qualities as a young wine, with its brightness and energy immediately apparent. It’s a blend of cabernet with a small amount of malbec, an important variety at Vasse Felix. Smooth and seamlessly structured with a sublimely elegant expressive palate. It’s medium-bodied with a fine boned structure....