Latest reviews

Swan Valley

Shiraz

A most attractive shiraz from these old vines planted in the Swan Valley nearly 70 years ago. A supple and generously fleshy shiraz loaded with deeply concentrated plush plummy and slightly spicy fruit. Aromas of plum and mulberry with a trace of mocha. The palate is rich and plush with the French oak and chalky tannins holding it to a...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This comes from Mandoon's Karridale vineyard. It was a warm year, but the cooler Karridale region has ensured it retains its fine delicacy with a little more engine room intensity. Crunchy savoury fruit with a little chalky acidity creates a linear structure which extends with focus and precision through to a long finish.

Swan Valley

Verdelho

This old block of verdelho is now nearly 130 years old and it produces remarkably good and consistent fruit. And in this great Swan Valley year it ratchets up another gear. Bursting with tropical favours, which are intense but not overt. The acid is crisp and defining to carry the palate to an incredibly long finish. As good as any...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Another excellent chardonnay. It's had the treatment with wild yeast fermentation and battonage to develop palate richness and feel. The nose reveals a mealy almond aroma with a trace of savouriness. The palate is richly textured but with a tight acid line that controls and drives through to the finish. Nice spicy touches add further complexity and interest.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A wine which manages to express this slightly cooler vintage in a most impressive way. Roma of black olive and bay leaf, underpinned by a layer of blackcurrant. There's a little minerally oyster shell adding another dimension. The mix of new and older French oak has been well-weighted to allow the fruit to express. Fine chalky tannins provide support and...

Margaret River

White Varietal

This is a variety that really excels in good vintages. This is probably the best version of this wine I have tasted. It's a white wine yet on the nose you get red characteristics of cherry and raspberry with a little spicy pear and cinnamon. The palate is a slippery deliciously fine thing offering plenty of flavour intensity. A slightly...

Margaret River

Zinfandel

If you're chasing one of those big brutish zins, then this is not for you. But if you want a zin displaying the typical varietal characters of liqueur cherry, raspberry and rich chocolate, but delivered with a more medium bodied expression then this one might be for you. It has the zinfandel alcohol, but the fruit sweetness and intensity holds...

Margaret River

Rose

A rose that shows how good this Italian variety can be in a light and dry rose. Shows the varietal cherry and light raspberry characteristics on the nose and palate. Nice fruit purity with a vibrant and lively mouth feel. The touch of dried herbs on the finish says this is a serious version of rose.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Never disappoints when you're seeking a value for money easy drinking red, with just that little bit of extra class. This one is medium bodied with a mix of dark fruits and a light touch of oak to complement. Flavoursome through to a complete finish.

Margaret River

Shiraz

A delightfully fragrant and highly perfumed medium bodied Margaret River shiraz. It's from a cooler year and this has contribute a little to the finer more elegant style. But there is excellent spicy plummy fruit with a dab of oak to complement. Nice wine for the next five years.

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

Crunchy and alive savvy, a variety that Leeuwin have always handled very well. There's a pineapple stone fruit character in here. Has a dry finish. It's punchy high energy savvy that is best drunk in its early years. It's quite a wine for the price. Has excellent depth of flavour. Sits within the herbaceousness and tropical characters without either really...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

You have to pinch yourself when considering that this is Leeuwin's second level chardie. Fact is, it's very good. The last couple of years have seen slightly more richness and palate intensity restored after dabbling briefly with a finer style. It's minerally with a spicy pear and nectarine character. The palate is layered and rich. This is as good an...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Excellent small volume season contributed to the structure and power of this cabernet. It's quite a firm serious statement of the variety with a thread of steely tannin and oak supporting powerful dark fruits with a little minerally black olive influence. Palate is loaded with dark fruits and a chocolate richness that sustains to a very long finish. Serious stuff...

Margaret River

Shiraz

The team at Leeuwin have been putting a tremendous amount of work into developing a Northern Rhone influenced shiraz. And it's paying off. The aim is to get a high-end aromatic influence on the nose and a seamless and integrated medium bodied palate without excessive oak. In fact, the oak now is in large formats, so it's obvious influence is...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

This is quite a tightly framed sauvignon blanc showing excellent textural and flavour. There is clearly some barrel fermentation character in here contributing to its highly textural feel, which is held with admirable restraint. This has a more traditional European feel. There's 30% barrel with more one-year-old Bordelaise coopered oak. Some battonage works on the power and concentration of the...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This really shows some vibrant juicy sweet red fruit character which is a product of the vintage. The tannins have a firm astringency on the finish. There's a raspberry red cordial character here with vibrant high energy fruit flavours. A very pretty wine of lifted perfumes. Minerally graphite and perfumed. It also contains a small but important amount of malbec...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A lot of things happening in the making of this super chardonnay. Initially fermented in a mix of quartz amphorae, which provides some complex influences on the fruit. Then about 20% was fermented in new oak. There is a lancing minerally pristine character here with the intricate weave of stone fruit, lime and a tickle of flint. But you go...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

If you love chenin blanc you are going to love this take on the variety. Natural fermentation in barriques and amphorae. It then had regular lees stirring which is reflected in the palate texture. The process takes much of the varietal tropical fruit characters out, but then you get other notes of vanilla bean, cashew and subtle savoury characters. And...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

From a cool year Peterkin has managed to coax so much from the fruit for this impressive cabernet. The colour is deep for a start and the nose reveals fruit characters in the cherry and plummy spectrum rather than the usual varietal blackcurrant. The palate comes to life with a chalky oyster shell minerality combining with the dark fruit flavours....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

As the name suggests the fruit was sourced smack bang in the middle of Metricup in Margaret River. This is about as classically conformist as a Nick Peterkin wine can be. It was all naturally fermented in barriques after which regular lees stirring came into play. It is an engaging wine with notes of lemon curd lemon and sea spray...

Margaret River

Rose

Peterkin has grabbed Burgundy by the scruff of the neck with the use of dominant pinot and about 15% chardonnay and then given this his own tweak and spin. The result is mighty good. The varieties were treated separately with wild ferments in oak. I love its delicacy but at the same time its texture and flavour with a pomegranate...

Margaret River

Red Blend

Made as a ready to drink red wine. It's a cabernet dominant blend with the firm varietal core driving the structure of a pleasing and flavoursome red. It's medium bodied with a dark fruit combination displaying a little bay leaf and black olive,

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

The vineyard planted in 1973 is one of the oldest in Margaret River. It's a wine that makes a serious statement about Wilyabrup and old vines. It was a great year, and this is reflected win the powerful combination of concentrated blackcurrant and dark chocolate fruit dominating the palate. The nose shows more minerally oyster shell and subtle graphite. A...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This comes from a vineyard planted down south at Karridale in 1997. The cooler climate vineyard has been further influenced by the cooler vintage. It's the result of best barrel selection. The nose of lemon rind and grapefruit with a subtle almond mealiness is appealing. The palate combines texture with a defined linear feel, accentuated by a chalky acidity and...

Margaret River

Fiano

Juniper has been championing this variety most famous for the wines it produces in Southern Italy and Sicily in particular. Has a creamy, nutty, and slightly citrusy character with a complex lift of lemon rind. It's textured with a crisp acidity providing precision and direction through to the finish.

Pemberton

Pinot Noir

The Kosovichs source this from their Pemberton vineyard. It's an effortless wine of structure and poise. Cloves and spices with a dark liqueur cherry character on the nose. The palate is plush but there is a firmish core to support. Balanced and intense with a long finish.

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

One of the great producers of this Swan Valley staple. In this case special care has been taken with hand picking and bunch sorting of the fruit taken from the oldest chenin vineyard, planted in 1962. Not the punchy overt tropical fruit but there is still a fruit freshness, livened with a mix of florals and spices. Tremendous mouth feel....

Margaret River

Fortified

Wonderful example of the fortified style that was previously called Vintage Port. In this case the logical choice of fruit was Swan valley shiraz. The ripe red fruit with its traces of spices and chocolate has been beautifully fortified with excellent spirit. The result is a wine with natural sweetness but with the controlled linear structure for the style. Seamless...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

A bright and vibrant shiraz cabernet blend from the Swan valley. Generous ripe fruit aromas on the nose with a spicy plum and chocolate combination. The soft supple influence of the Swan Valley emerges on the palate which is soft and generous with good fruit intensity. Has the structure to handle cellaring.

Swan Valley

Shiraz

A velvety smooth and seamlessly plush shiraz from the heart of the Swan Valley. Captures all the plum and mulberry flavours of the variety and delivers with an effortless almost languid palate. It's a wine that builds and opens up with breathing so make sure you decant it first. Thoroughly engaging shiraz.

Swan Valley

Merlot

A wine which shows the versatility of the Swan Valley. It's a soft and supple merlot displaying nice fruit sweetness balanced with a fine tannin thread. Plenty of dark berry flavours fill the palate with that slightly chalky character providing balance and poise.

Swan Valley

Cabernet Sauvignon

The soft and generous palate feel of the Swan valley has its DNA all over this appealing medium bodied blend. Leafy black fruit with a spicy plum character. The palate sings the Swan Valley with its smooth seamless structure and soft plush fruit. The fine chalky tannins and light cedary oak complete an impressive young wine.

Margaret River

Merlot

Blackwood Valley has proved to be one of the better regions for merlot. This is merlot with structure and poise reflecting both season and region. It's still tightly held with a firm cover of tannin and oak capturing the fruit, which shows a slightly gravelly grainy character. Needs a little more time open up.

Great Southern

Malbec

The extra time in bottle has certainly helped this Frankland River sourced malbec start to show what it's made of. The aromas are a combination of blue and red fruits with some nice leafy lifts. The palate is soft and beautifully supple showing excellent fine tannin and subtle oak integration. Captures the variety really well.

Swan Valley

Grenache

The Swan valley was one of the better regions for this cooler vintage and ideally suited to grenache. Perfumed red fruits of raspberry and rose petal on the nose with an earthy nuance. The palate is soft and warm with a smooth interaction of oak and tannin allowing the fruit to express its virtues perfectly. Lovely smooth mouth feel.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

From the sleeper vintage comes this very good example of the season. Starting to knit together rather well. Lift of leafy black currant and minerally graphite on the nose with dark black olive nuances. Neatly integrated oak and tannin add structure to the fruit. Effortlessly long.

Swan Valley

Shiraz

This deeply concentrated and plush shiraz carries more weight and sweet fruit intensity than the Reserve version. Plum and blackberry fruit aromas with notes of licorice and liqueur chocolate. The palate is super ripe and intense but at the same time the supple gentle generosity of the Swan Valley takes control. A wine that will definitely benefit from cellaring.

Perth Hills

Shiraz

A delightfully fragrant and elegant shiraz that comes from the Perth Hills. Red plummy fruit with a little vanillin oakiness evident. It's smooth with plenty of rich ripe fruit in the medium bodied zone. A combination of plush plummy fruit cake with a chalky tannin thread. Easy current drinking.

Blackwood Valley

Merlot

A neat red wine that offers plenty for this price. It comes from the Blackwood Valley and has that slightly earthy edge to the vibrant red fruit flavours. Strikes a nice balance of chalky tannins and sweet oak. Has a light pudding and chocolate combination delivered in a smooth velvety fashion.

Western Australia

Chardonnay

A fragrant light bodied wine with just a faint edge of oak adding complexity. Has a nice lemony, melon character on the palate with a clean crisp finish. Ideal current drinking wine.