Latest reviews

Margaret River

Chardonnay

The wines under this label have been quite a revelation in recent years. This one from the excellent '22 vintage is another cracker. It's a precise and elegantly crafted wine with a steely minerally core. Aromas of pear and quince paste with a little citrus tang. The palate has a slightly crystalline minerality with a lingering finish. Has a distinctive...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is predominantly cabernet but smaller percentages of petit verdot, cabernet franc and malbec contribute. Powerful and controlled cabernet displaying a lot of the black fruit character of this part of Margaret River. On the nose you get a terrific mix of bay leaf, black olive and varietal blackcurrant. There's a pronounced oyster shell minerality bursting through supported by a...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A wine that has move effortlessly into another zone in quality and style. It's a mighty impressive wine that has been handcrafted from the picking through into the cellar. The fruit is off some pretty old vines and it's been given 14 months in oak. Creamy stone fruit and even a touch of brioche and lemon rind, yet it retains...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A super classy cabernet demonstrating the quality and distinctiveness of this variety in the northern parts of Margaret River. Blackcurrant and black olive with the faintest hint of mint and dark chocolate. The palate is seamlessly integrated to creates an almost velvety cushion. A little bay leaf and oyster shell minerality add further The oak integration is sleek and precise....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a mighty impressive sparkling wine. It's from the 2019 vintage which produced excellent fruit for sparkling. Aromas of freshly baked bread and morning brioche with a lemon rind infusion. The palate has a creamy stone fruit character but held, as it should be, with control to create a long and linear expression.

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

The profound impact of partial barrel fermentation is evident immediately on the nose. It creates something quite different from your standard savvy sending it into another dimension. It's a generous wine of great flavour but the balance between the oak and pure fruit ensures it maintains its varietal integrity.

Margaret River

Muscat

This has been a long-term project for Kevin McKay over many years. There's some nice older material in here that's been blended with newer vintages to create a beautiful example of the style. Complex already with raisins, liqueur cumquat and dark chocolate with a caramel richness. The spirit has been beautifully applied to create a fortified style of concentration with...

Margaret River

Shiraz

This ticks all the boxes when you're looking for value for money in a Margaret River shiraz. In fact, it shows that this variety should never be overlooked from Margs. Spicy plummy fruit characters on the nose and palate are boosted and complemented with a restrained use of oak. Quite simply a lovely drink to get your gums around.

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

This is the style that became a benchmark for Margaret River back in the day. And it still has a place with its lively fresh as a daisy tropical fruit and herbaceousness providing appealing current drinking. It's fruity and pure with a zingy acidity.

Margaret River

Shiraz

This takes the Lifestyle shiraz up a notch or two. It introduces more savoury dark fruit characters which takes it through to another level in complexity and intrigue. There's a gravelly and slightly ironstone character that complements the juicer red fruits while a chalky tannin influence holds its line through to the finish.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a chardonnay that relies less on winemaking intervention and is designed to present the variety and region in their clearest forms. The rich stone fruit flavours are balanced with a deft touch of oak. It works well because the quality of the fruit is so good. Ideal to drink in the shorter term while all those primary characters...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

It's a slightly firmer and more angular cabernet than previously which can be attributed to the vintage. Yet it retains all that is good in classy Margaret River cabernet. Delivers a generous and powerful statement of blackcurrant and leafy black olive with a dollop of dark chocolate. The tannins are quite chalky and bring a degree of control to create...

Great Southern

Riesling

Talk about a great value high-class riesling, then this guy is right on the money. It comes from two vineyards, the 1975 planted Block 2 and the younger Highbury Fields. It’s distinctly talcy with a lemon zippy aroma that pokes into the palate. That talcy acid persists creating a wine of penetrating flavour with a nice palate pleasing texture.

Great Southern

Shiraz

A most stylish style in keeping with the cooler ’21 vintage. Sourced from vines dating back to that first vineyard planted in 1965. Floral aromas merge with dark spicy plum and a complex prune juice addition. The palate is quite plush though with a grainy chalky tannin influence to control and define. Subtle touch of mocha and ground coffee.

Great Southern

Riesling

This superb dry-grown vineyard was planted in 1975 and consistently delivers outstanding fruit. This wine manages to bridge the divide between the high tensile leaner style and the more textured and flavoursome. So you get a bit from each camp to create a thoroughly beautiful wine. Lots of spicy lemon peel and citrus in here with a penetrating palate of...

Great Southern

Riesling

This great wine has its genesis in the first vines planted at Forest Hill in the mid-sixties. It is characterised by its leaner tense palate profile with a fine wet slaty edge that is pure riesling. But, in good years you get a little more weight in the palate without compromising the integrity of the stye This one nails it....

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

The thing about Pym's wines is texture. And this super expressive savvy displays that character perfectly. It's a bright and punchy little number but not the modern fruit bomb. It's layered and loaded with a mix of tropical fruit delivered with a creamy rich palate feel. The finish shows a crunchy chalky minerality. This is the type of savvy I...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A stunning wine that captures the class of the great 2018 vintage in Margaret River. It's a powerful statement of Margs cabernet, yet as with all Pym's wines, it is regally elegant and stylish. Dark chocolate, oyster shell and mocha with a deep dive into blackcurrant. There is an effortless almost languid feel that belies its core strength and definition.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Pym sources this from a single Karridale vineyard. This was a very good vintage in Margaret River with the small volumes have tremendous power and fruit concentration. You can see that immediately here. There's a creamy nectarine combo working on the nose with deeper mealy complexity. It's been put through malolactic fermentation which seems to complete the entire package perfectly....

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is one of the best cabernets yet from Flametree. It also seems to be the most structured. Deeply concentrated ripe fruit is the basis. The aromas captivate with exotic violet, blackcurrant and a decent dollop of chocolate. The palate is intricately woven with that mix of fine firm tannins, fine-grained oak and opulent fruit carrying long. The palate has...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

One of the most powerful and generous of the Flametree chardonnays yet released. You start with the grapefruit and vanilla pod, light stone fruit crème brulee on the nose. Then the palate delivers with its powerful wave of intense fruit supported by excellent fine-oak. A little tick of saline acidity and lemon on the finish completes a very good wine.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This also gets a little contribution from malbec and petit verdot, so it's more a Bordeaux blend. Time in bottle is the key for the 2019 vintage and this one is the perfect illustration. The rich blackcurrant and plummy fruits have emerged with that extra time. It's an elegant and quite stylish wine of impeccable structure and great poise. Mighty...

Margaret River

Rose

These roses from Fire Gully have been excellent in recent years. This is made from shiraz and it gets about six months in oak. Has all those red fruits of strawberry and raspberry with a floral lift of roses. The palate is flavoursome and dry with a slight savoury edge to finish. Excellent food wine rose.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

One of the best chardonnays yet under the Fire Gully label. Good season together with precise winemaking have brought out the best in the fruit. Aromas of lime and quince paste with subtle notes of pear and pineapple. Has a creamy palate displaying a deft touch to deliver a wine of refinement and delicacy.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Sleek, refined and beautifully constructed cabernet from this cooler vintage. It's medium bodied with notes of chalky, seashell over deeper blackcurrant fruit. The oak integration has been beautifully handled to provide support and not dominate. Lovely perfumes and a palate that has structure and poise to carry through to a long finish.

Great Southern

Shiraz

Silky sensual and so, so slinky sublime. You get the picture. It’s a vibrant example of a cool climate syrah. Opens with a floral note of blue fruits with a liberal sprinkle of spices and a splash of chocolate. The palate is sleek and smooth with fine tannins working into the savoury fruit mx combination. Vibrant with energy and live.

Great Southern

Chardonnay

From the outset you know you are on to something of richness and power. The nose bursts with a hit of struck match, butterscotch and roasted nuts. Then the palate reveals a combination of the excellent fruit and the winemaker's art. Rich and textured with a lavish intensity that drives purposefully to a long finish. Score:

Great Southern

Shiraz

The effortless ease and power of Frankland River is evident immediately with this excellent syrah style. Perfumed aromas of spicy red and blue fruit with notes of plum and sage and just a little ironstone rust. The palate is deeply intense but delivers with poise and precision. Love the slightly earthy ironstone gravelly characters which complement the natural fruit sweetness....

Great Southern

Riesling

A super example of the vintage. So much intensity with aromas of lemon, a hint of musk and a trace of orange rind. It gets some time in old French oak and with the wild fermentation resulting in a riesling with texture and flavour while retaining he fine crisp acidity.

Great Southern

Chardonnay

One of the best examples of this wine I have seen. There is a beautifully crunchy mineral purity that strikes immediately. The nose is a mix of light citrus and sea spray. It's engaging. Then the fine and delicate palate really hits the mark. A linear yet intense flavour combo extends precisely to a long finish.

Great Southern

Shiraz

A most pretty and eminently drinkable shiraz. Sweet dark plum and blackberry fruits merge on the nose and palate. The palate is plush with a smooth richness and textural mouth feel. The tight chalky tannins and that regional rusty nail factor come together to deliver the finish.

Great Southern

Malbec

The 2021 was very good, but this one is so much the improved version. Vintage has played a big part. It captures everything you want in this variety, and then some. Vibrant juicy red fruits with a little rhubarb pie for a finishing dessert. BlackBerry and juicy plum bring further interest into the palate. The tannins are firm and chalky...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

What a year for this Swan Valley staple. Griffiths uses just free run juice, which is reflected in this delightfully crisp and crunchy example of the variety. Perfumed stone fruit ad cumquat with an orange zest lift. The palate packs more of the nectarine and citrus characters into the frame before releasing to a sustained finish. Just so much happening...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

This captures everything that is the Swan valley. Griffiths gets the fruit from his own, now mature, vineyard, and from nearby quality shiraz growers. It has everything. Deep plummy, black fruits on the palate with a dark chocolate and lightly red fruit influenced aroma. The palate is sublime. Soft and supple but with fine chalky tannins and perfectly weighted oak...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a mighty impressive chardonnay for this price. It a wild fermented and then spent 11 months in oak on lees before more time in stainless steel before bottling. Plenty of melon and light cashew with an understated stone fruit influence. Finishes with a twist of lemon. Great wine for drinking in the short term.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A fully ripe and juicy cabernet displaying all the blackcurrant varietal character of this variety. There's a little bay leaf and chocolaty back olive combination. The palate has good flesh which is supported by a firm core of chalky tannin and oak. A minerally graphite nuance completes the wine.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A wine that bridges that divide between power and elegance, delivering a wonderfully precise and finely focused wine. On the nose a trace of wild ferment struck match releases. The palate then takes charge with a fine chalky edge against a backdrop of grapefruit and cashew with a lift of pear. Has a crunchy saline character to finish. As good...

Margaret River

Shiraz

A mighty good partner to the cabernet from the same vintage. This is thick and densely concentrated with lashings of dark plum, fruit cake and rich dark chocolate. Yet there is restraint and refinement that comes with this cooler Margaret River vintage. Add to that some mulberry and savoury oak influences and you have an outstanding example of shiraz from...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Another outstanding chardonnay from the '20 vintage. Shows more obvious upfront fruit than the Reserve, yet this remains high class, sophisticated stuff. The crunchy vibrant fruit reveals a little struck match edginess with a typical ripe stone fruit character. The palate tightened by the oak and a slightly lemony lick and a final touch of sea spray.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Hard to beat this classic Margaret River combination in a very good year. It's more towards medium bodied and so stylish and poised as it drives effortlessly to a long finish. Aromas of graphite and bay leaf reveal immediately with very subtle olive tapenade in the background. The fleshy merlot fills the palate neatly while the cabernet adds those firm...