Regions

Margaret River

Chardonnay

There is a God, when you can get a wine of this quality selling for less than $50. Okay, great vintage, yes, but it's then been really well handled in the winery. Aromas of stone fruit and butterscotch with a little of that primary grapefruit worked in. The palate is a powerhouse yet defined and refined with a keen savoury...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A highly fragrant and pure chardonnay that opens with that varietal mix of grapefruit and peachy nectar notes on the nose. There's a touch of vanilla pod and butterscotch adding further complexity. The palate is more light to medium-bodied but with good texture and complexity. A nice stone fruit, butterscotch, and lemony combination sustains and threads through to a nice...

Margaret River

Tempranillo

The tempranillos from Oates Ends are consistently some of the best in the State. This one from the warm '22 vintage is yet another. The riper vintage has resulted in bright plump juicy fruit which is what you want with this variety. Cherry and raspberry notes with a dusty earthy influence. Great current drinking and if you want to chill...

Margaret River

Tempranillo

One of the best and most consistent tempranillos made on this State. The vibrant burst of raspberry leads other red fruit nuances from the outset. A light sprinkle of dried herbs brings another deft touch. The palate is medium bodied with soft supple fruit but supported by a fine chalky tannin thread. Scrumptious wine for pasta or the like.

Margaret River

Tempranillo

Pretty smart little rose made from tempranillo, a variety that always seems to work well as a rose base. Bright red fruits with raspberry and strawberry nuances emerging with some intensity. It’s light bodied but with texture and mouth feel.

Margaret River

White Blend

This is a blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon and chardonnay, a sort of great white blend, which also has a connection with winemaker Cath Oates close encounter with a Great White shark. This is a zingy little number with the lively SBS supported by the power of Margaret River chardonnay. Gets just a smidgeon of oak add further interest. Leaves...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A most approachable blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon and chardonnay with just a light touch of oak to brings some palate complexity. The name is reference to winemaker Cath Oates close encounter with a Great White. It's an appealing with excellent flavour and a defining acidity to sustain the finish.

Margaret River

White Blend

A clever blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon and chardonnay, lightly oaked to give the final flourish to a neatly made wine. GWB stands for Great White, a nod to Cath Oates’ close encounter with one some years ago. It has a crisp, grassy edge, a creamy rich palate and light passionfruit tropical notes. Still tight now, but it will evolve...

Great Southern

Red Blend

A smooth and easy drinking medium bodied blend from the Great Southern. Lots of ripe red fruits on the nose with a lift of lightly cedary oak. There’s a subtle lift of leaf on the nose with a trace of milk chocolate. The palate has a dry savoury thread through the sweet red fruits. Balances nicely.

Great Southern

Sauvignon Blanc

Almost in a tropical fruit overload. Huge hit of passionfruit, melon and ripe gooseberry on the nose. Into the palate it comes alive with punchy vibrant fruit delivered pure and clean. Right on the money.

Great Southern

Shiraz

It was a tough vintage with Covid rearing its ugly head but the wines turned out mighty fine. This is all plump, plush and plummy fruit aromas and flavours A little Great Southern blueberry characters emerge with a decent hit of spices and black pepper. Ideal early drinking style.

Great Southern

Tempranillo

A wine that screams ‘drink me’. It captures the variety rather well. Dried herbs float across the nuances of raspberry and cherry with subtle savoury influences. The palate is medium weight with a mix of sweet ripe fruit and dry savoury characters. It is aimed squarely at current drinking with Mediterranean dishes.

Pemberton

Chardonnay

This Pemberton chardonnay from Bill and Dan Pannell really does capture so much about this vintage and this region. It has all the delicacy and refinement you expect from Pemberton, but there is a gradual build-up of intensity, which is clearly evident on the palate. Lightly fragrant floral nuances on the nose, with very subtle cashew nuttiness and a faint...

Pemberton

Pinot Noir

The Pannells always thought that the 2024 vintage, which of course was very hot, was actually pretty damn good in Pemberton, and here is a compelling, overwhelming example that supports that claim. This is a beautifully presented, supple, generous, medium-bodied pinot, displaying all the virtues of the Pemberton region. There's a nice cherry, subtle, earthy, spicy note on the nose,...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A stylish and generous cabernet from the '18 vintage. The extra time in bottle has allowed things to settle down nicely. Dark blackcurrant with a pronounced minerality of oyster shell and bay leaf merged with some regional black olive. The palate is tightly coiled but with good flesh and fruit intensity. Support comes from the fine powdery tannins and that...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This was a year that produced beautifully elegant wines of slightly less body, but no less flavour. Loads of leafy blackcurrant aromas with a liberal dose of dark chocolate and edgier black olive. A faint hint of brick dust adds a further level of complexity. The palate is seamlessly woven, with fine sinewy tannins, oak and fruit all laced together....

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

I had to do a double take to check the vintage when I saw this wine. So it's now six years old and it's really benefited from that extra time in bottle. This was in the COVID year, which you might remember was quite warm and very early, but produced wines of intensity and power. The extra time in bottle...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Impressive young chardonnay from this ideal cooler vintage. Aromas of peach and spices with a little grapefruit. The palate is neatly crafted with the light flavoursome fruit supplemented with fine-grained oak. Has a creamy lemon curd palate with a little almond meal richness. An excellent chardonnay offering plenty.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a beautifully precise and elegantly structured chardonnay. It shows a little winemaking influence with a faint struck match complexity working seamlessly into the powerful palate revealing traces of grapefruit, cashew and a little brioche. A fine chalky acidity heightens the dry savoury finish. Impressive wine. Score: 94/100 Cellar: 8 years

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a first-rate chardonnay from this excellent season, and it may well be the best yet from Passel Estate. On the nose, you open with what is fairly typical of the region, with its strong grapefruit, cut pear, and lime nuances, then a nutty, spicy character adding immediate aromatic complexity. It's a textured wine with good weight in the...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Bright, juicy, youthful chardonnay. Displaying true varietal essence on the nose at the outset. Mix of citrus and lightly roasted cashew, and a hint of lemon rind and grapefruit. Palate has a distinct minerally purity about it, with light, bright white peach and nectarine held close with a keen acidity and cut lime edginess. Quite beautiful current drinking chardonnay with...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

There are plenty of chenin blancs being turned into sparkling wines these days, and this is certainly one of the best. I particularly like the expression of the fruit, which has a purity and pristine qualities that highlight the traditional and typical melon-like tropical fruits and crisp acidity that are part of the variety. It also has texture and flavour...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This was one of the great Margaret River vintages, and it's great to see a wine that's now got 7 years of age being released. It meets every expectation I had. It's rich, dark, and powerful, and yet it is supremely elegant. In fact, I suggest the extra time in bottle has really fine-tuned it, and it is now drinking,...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is the pick of the litter, if you like, with the contributing parcels carefully chosen and handpicked. It was whole bunch pressed and matured in barriques for 10 months. The striking thing about this wine is its impeccable balance. It draws together the power and intensity of the fruit, but then expresses it with a degree of subtlety and...

Margaret River

Syrah

A vintage primarily remembered for Covid also produced exceptional red wines in Margaret River. They are wines of tremendous fruit intensity and good balance. This refined and sophisticated wine of great elegance captures the essentials of the vintage. Blackcurrant laced with a little bay leaf and minerally oyster shell plus a nuance of black olive tapenade. The tannins have a...

Margaret River

Shiraz

There have been some excellent examples of this wine over the years, and yet this one from a cooler vintage is certainly one of the best, producing a wine of elegance and poise with a sublimely silky smooth palate. Interestingly, after hand picking, 40% whole bunches were fermented and matured for 16 months in larger format French oak. The result...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Nice to see a wine with five years of age being released from this fabulous 2018 vintage. It's from a special plot which produces exceptional fruit, as is the case with this outstanding wine. Plush and concentrated with dark fruit sitting among a host of complementing flavours of chocolate, plum and mulberry with ab earthy savoury nuance. It gets 16...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

This is an exquisite savvy that gets a little oak treatment to add another layer of texture and rich mouth feel. Yet, it retains all that bright fresh gooseberry, nettle-like fruit that skips across the palate to a long crunchy finish.

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

The key to this style using oak in the fermentation, is to strike the right balance. In this case it’s been nailed. The small amount of Frenc oak fermentation has added a dimension of richness and texture, while not getting too carried away. There is a neat blend of spices and herbs with a citrus, nutty, cream character. The palate...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

It's fair to say that sometimes sauvignon blancs can be consumed just a little early, and in good seasons like 2023, when the fruit has balance with lovely pure, pristine acidity and all the fruits you want, a little extra time in the bottle will improve it immeasurably. In this case, it has done just that. On the nose, there’s...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

This has developed into something of a winner for Passel Estate over the years. It's based on some quite beautiful fruit, which retains a fresh, limey, citrus tang and wonderful vibrancy. And in this case, it's been supplemented with additional oak influence, handled with a deft touch, so the balance is retained and the vibrancy ensured. Has a lovely, juicy,...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Loads of bright vibrant plummy fruit dominate initially on the nose. Then look deeper to the mix of spices and dried herbs with a dark chocolate mocha-like character emerging. The palate is soft and silky smooth brimming with bright plump fruit and supported by some nice oak. Chewy and delicious.

Margaret River

Shiraz

This little vineyard has emerged as one of the best in Margaret River for shiraz. The wines always show excellent fruit intensity and balance. In this case, it ticks all the boxes. Savoury and slightly dried herby influences on the nose lift off the generous notes of dark plum. Lightly savoury spicy palate displays a balance of fruit, oak and...

Margaret River

Shiraz

More proof, if proof were needed, that Margaret River can produce high class shiraz, syrah, when the seasons are right. '22 was one of those years, and this is an excellent example of Margaret River syrah. It is a totally seamless, velvety smooth, and beautifully composed wine that draws together the spicy, plummy, dark chocolate fruit intensity with the support...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

There’s an awful lot of wine crammed into this cabernet malbec that Conti sources from Margaret River. The colour is deep and dark with aromas of red berries, a leafy mint lift and light oak influence. The palate reveals a pool of dark plum, black olive and blackcurrant with a lift of bright rhubarb-like red fruit. Tannins are assertive but...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

This captures everything you want in this variety, sourced from Conti’s Carabooda Tuart Block. It’s a generous chenin with plenty of tropical fruit flavours and a trace of citrus cut by fine, delicate acidity. Clean and flavoursome, with a slightly tropical pineapple character adding to its appeal.

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

The Contis have been making chenin blanc for a long time, and they know a thing or two about it. In this case, they’ve turned some excellent fruit into a lovely sparkling wine. It retains the vibrant natural acidity that defines the variety, while time on lees has introduced a creamy richness to the palate. Fragrant, lively and fruit-driven, with...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

Gee, this is a good example of the sparkling chenins being made in Western Australia these days. It's made using the traditional méthode champenoise, with early picking that accentuates the natural acidity, and then time on lees to build a creamy complexity. Has a lovely fruity aromatic. And then a palate that is quite soft and fluffy, but with tremendous...

Margaret River

Malbec

This neat little malbec comes from Conti’s vineyard near Cowaramup in Margaret River. Captures the plush fruit characters of this excellent variety really well. Spicy plum and subtle rhubarb aromas with a deep richness of mulberry. The palate is so soft and supple yet there is excellent structure from the chalky tannins and a little oak. What sensational value.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Poised, balanced and thoroughly delicious medium bodied blend from Margs. Tonnes of red fruits merge with darker blackcurrant. There's a little of the regional black olive and bay leaf. Oak has been lightly applied and it works perfectly. Super value for a Margaret River wine.