WA Wine Review 2027

Perth Hills

Shiraz Blend

From the first take on the nose to the initial sip on the palate, this indicated it might well be the best example of this wine yet. Further examination simply confirmed it. The year was very good, and it's captured perfectly in this lovely soft, supple wine. Viognier is just 3%, but it does add that spicy floral lift. It's...

Perth Hills

Viogner

Millbrook remains one of the relatively few exponents of this famous Rhône variety. Over the years, it's been tightened to an extent to harness those obvious apricot and lychee-like characters of viognier, producing a wine that is more finely linear while still retaining the gingery apricot characters that are fundamentally part of the variety. Delightful floral aromas of honey and...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

Captures the very essence of Swan Valley chenin blanc. This is a lovely wine from this slightly warmer year, so the fruit is generous and intensely flavoursome, but it retains the crisp, natural acidity of chenin, even from the Swan, producing a quite beautiful drink. Lifted aromas of citrus and apple with a slightly Sherbert character. The palate is slightly...

Margaret River

Fiano

This fiano is sourced out of Margaret River and has a lot going for it. It's a variety that's really found a home in many places in Western Australia, and Margaret River in particular. The nose has a slightly lemony citrus character, with fresh sea foam minerality. The palate, though, is quite intense with a nutty lemon zip about it.

Perth Hills

Shiraz Blend

This is all estate-grown shiraz and merlot from Millbrook's Perth Hills vineyard. The colour is the palest of pale pink and onion blush. The nose has some delightfully light, fragrant red berry nuances. And then the palate is fine, crisp, with a refreshing zinginess about it. It also has texture, which makes for such a lovely mouthfeel and completes what...

Margaret River

Cabernet Franc

There's plenty of punch in this cabernet franc that comes from smack bang in the heart of Wilyabrup. Perfume notes of the variety are well to the fore with lifted red fruit, floral notes. The palate is beautifully structured. This is no simple cab franc. This is a cab franc with poise, polish, and structure. A fine thread of tannin...

Margaret River

Shiraz Blend

The colour is an almost impenetrable reddy black. The fruit comes off the long-established Redbrook Vineyard. So even in very warm vintages like '24, it comes in balanced and ready to strut its stuff. Ripe, plummy blackcurrant and blackberry notes with a little dark chocolate and cedary oak. Palate is rich, textured and almost lavish in expression. Rolling effortlessly towards...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

An elegant and finely structured single vineyard wine from Wallcliffe. The aroma is quite captivating with its distinct minerally citrus edge. A touch of oyster shell and sea spray providing a lift. Palate is tightly woven with a light, fine, chalky acidity. Well-managed oak which sits comfortably within, and that distinctly linear fruit line carries through to the finish. There's...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A distinctly fruit-driven style of early-drinking chardonnay. Aromas of light cashew and melon with a squeeze of citrus provide an enticing opening. And then the palate, which is neatly balanced and a suggestion of light oak, but it is really about the fruit, which is harnessed by a crisp, fine acidity and carries easily through to a long finish. Ideal...

Swan Valley

Grenache

This grenache was sourced out of the Swan Valley, a region that contains some of the best grenache vines in the country. This has a slightly earthy, dusty aromatic working with the riper primary black cherry and plum notes. And then a medium-bodied palate starting to build a deeper complexity with layers of fruit, revealing ripe blackberry and spices.

Western Australia

Red Blend

As you might expect with this combination from a quite opulent year in Western Australia, it packs plenty from the start. The aromas of blue fruits with liqueur cherry, spices and pepper, and dark chocolate, and then flavours that build with sweet, plummy richness, supportive oak and a plummy vanillin complexity. It’s a generous wine but expresses itself with a...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

A beautiful example of Swan Valley shiraz from this warmer season that produced excellent fruit of balance and poise. Spicy plum and clove with a little cedar on the nose, and then a supple, soft, generous palate of typically medium body from the Swan, but displaying great depth of fruit and a pure, sustained finish. Excellent wine.

Swan Valley

Grenache

A terrific expression of a soft, approachable, medium-bodied grenache, displaying all the lovely perfumes and florals at the outset. Some nice lightly plummy cherry characters on the palate, supported by well-integrated oak and fine, quite subdued tannins. It all balances neatly into a most appealing wine for drinking over the next few years.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Pretty happy when you can still find a 10-year-old Margaret River cabernet at an affordable price. This one’s terrific. It’s a rounded, full-bodied and generous style of cabernet, exhibiting the firmish tannins which earmark the vintage, but supported with great depth of fruit, displaying the blackcurrant, dark chocolate and slightly minerally oyster shell characters that you might expect. It’s now...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Designed as a friendly and approachable young chardonnay, bursting with abundant fruit characters from the outset. Classical stone fruit with nectarine and white peach on the nose. Then a palate that’s creamy, rich and flavoursome, with a nice oak and acid balance to the fruit sweetness. There’s a subtle lemon curd and honeycomb character that adds further complexity on the...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

There are eight different clones available to the winemakers at Idée Fixe, but in this case just one has been chosen to best capture and express the southern Margaret River region. This is a blanc de blancs style, with a savoury, spicy combination on the nose and a palate already displaying tremendous richness and complexity. There’s a touch of gunflint...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a tremendously exciting sparkling wine from Margaret River that has now benefited from age, yet still retains its vibrancy and energy. The extra bottle age has added another layer of complexity and intrigue, initially on the nose and then into the palate. Spicy stone fruit and lightly yeasty notes provide a compelling aromatic opening, while the palate delivers...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a combination of chardonnay and pinot noir, producing that lovely copper-toned, onion-blush colour of this rosé style. Deeply intense and meaty, with light strawberry notes on the nose and a little lifted, controlled stone fruit. The palate has a rich, creamy, meaty character with tremendous energy and verve. This is a complex rosé style.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a blanc de blancs style made from 100 per cent chardonnay from Margaret River. There’s some real power in this wine, and to me it’s probably the best example of it yet. Creamy, lightly stone-fruited characters on the nose, with a little lemon curd and brioche. The palate brings it all home with intensity and drive, supported by...

Porongurup

Pinot Noir

A fitting tribute to founders Angelo and Wendy Diletti. It’s a combination of the best batches of fruit which Rob Diletti believes best express what this quite special site is all about. Immediately, a characterful aroma is complexing and intriguing. Notes of dark fruits, mushroom and savouriness, and then a palate that is both plush and structured, with an essential...

Porongurup

Pinot Noir

This wine takes things up a notch. Typically handpicked and then whole-bunch fermented, it’s a wine of both aromatics and structure and remarkable poise. The nose is immediately more complex, with less of the primary fruit aromatics and more interest from the savoury, slightly earthy notes that emerge. There’s tremendous structure and definition here, but all delivered with impeccable balance,...

Porongurup

Pinot Noir

Here’s the deal. If you think pinot is not your thing, you’ve really got to get into these wonderful wines from Castle Rock. This sort of entry-level expression is just superb. Fairly typical floral notes of strawberry and slightly savoury, spicy notes on the nose. The medium- to light-bodied palate conceals deep intensity and structural power as a core of...

Porongurup

Riesling

In this wine, Diletti has honoured the efforts of his parents, Angelo and Wendy, who started Castle Rock way back in the day. It’s a wine that builds on the natural purity of Porongurup riesling, but with the addition of whole-bunch pressings adding some further structure and phenolic tension. It is a marvellous example of what can be achieved without...

Porongurup

Riesling

This is a sort of entry-level riesling, if you like. An immediately approachable wine with soft acidity but wonderful fruit characters exhibiting on the floral, minerally nose, and then the finely balanced, pure, crisp palate. Has an absolutely beautiful mouthfeel with a slightly talcy bath-salts character emerging. If you’re wanting to get into your rieslings, this one is right on...

Porongurup

Riesling

This is such a beautifully complete and expressive riesling from the Porongurup. Diletti is a master of his craft, and in this finely balanced, deeply intense riesling, those skills are well to the fore. The palate has a spicy, minerally, citrus combination which leads into a wine that is fine and linear, with a high degree of tension but wonderful...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Yet another prime example of why Margaret River should never be ignored for syrah or shiraz. This is a wine of structure and purpose, yet at the same time, it's loaded with warm, fleshy fruit. The use of stalks back in the fermentation has contributed both structurally and to the slightly more savoury elements. It sits in the medium bodied...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Seamless, elegant, refined. This is high class Margaret River cabernet. The intensity of the fruit has clearly handled the 45% new oak where it spent 15 months. Loads of blackcurrant fruits with a subtle cedary, slightly gamey character adding complexity. The palate has real power, yet it's presented with a degree of elegance. There's richness here as it extends through...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This comes off the original 1976 plantings at Clairault planted by Ian and Ani Lewis. This is so classically Margaret River, with its combination of blackcurrant, bay leaf, oyster shell, and dark chocolate on the nose. And then a palate which is so fine and seamlessly structured, with loads of dark fruits, controlled with fine, slightly chalky tannins and supported...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A stylish and expressive cabernet from this excellent year. On the nose, a leafy blackcurrant, dark cherry, and dark chocolate combination strut their stuff. The palate, which is more medium bodied, displays lovely red fruits and is supported by fine grainy tannins and well managed oak. It's bright as a button, balanced, and long.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Another mighty good chardonnay, which comes from specific blocks on the Clairault vineyard. An intense aroma of grapefruit and pear, with a little oatmeal complexity. Palate is quite finely crafted but with deep, powerful expression of the variety, revealing a mix of grapefruit and nectarine. A subtle smoky, gun flint, struck match character provides the final touch.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This comes off a now very mature chardonnay vineyard in Margaret River. It's a powerful statement of chardonnay, with a wave of fresh cut pear and lime, a little grapefruit, and a subtle minerality adding to the complexity of the nose. Palate embraces the variety, with a little stone fruit, brioche, and lemon curd combination providing richness while being held...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

There is so much to like about this cabernet. It started life with fermentation in amphora before maturation in French barriques for about five months. This technique has clearly had an influence because this is a quite exquisitely presented cabernet, seamlessly integrated, finely structured, and supremely refined. Aromas of blackcurrant, very subtle bay leaf, and black olive. And then a...

Margaret River

Shiraz

A generous and opulent shiraz from this very warm season that shows what can be achieved with clever vineyard management and then empathetic treatment in the winery. The nose is a lovely combination of spices and blackberries, with a plummy dark chocolate overlay. The palate has a certain firmness about it through the core, yet there's a plush wrap of...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A restrained and yet flavoursome chardonnay. Displaying some engaging aromas of oatmeal and stone fruit on the nose, with a little brioche like character. The palate shows a complex weave of brioche and lemon meringue, with an edgy grapefruit zing on the finish. Strikes a nice balance of fruit and oak, with a palate that is distinctly linear.

Margaret River

Rose

The colour is a quite brilliant pale pink copper tone. A fresh and fragrant light bodied wine. Capturing all the zing of modern rosé. On the nose, some delightfully fragrant strawberries. Watermelon characters dominate, while the palate delivers clean, crisp flavours lifted by a bright acidity and carried through to the long finish. Has a crisp zippiness about it.

Margaret River

White Blend

Crunchy, vibrant, juicy, flavoursome. These are just some of the terms you might use to describe this delightfully friendly blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon. On the nose, the passionfruit, gooseberry, citrus thing is so engaging, and then the palate has a real zingy crispness about it, slightly crunchy, with a clean, crisp, refreshing finish. Ideal to drink now or...

Great Southern

Chardonnay

Has quite a deep colour. But it is quite bright and lustrous. Initial aromas of stone fruit, meal, and nougat emerge. The palate is where it really starts to deliver. It's rich and textured, but at the same time, refined and quite linear. Has a nice lemon meringue, grapefruit pithiness providing deep complexity. Finely focused finish completes what is an...

Great Southern

Shiraz

This warmer vintage, which was tempered ever so slightly by the southern location, has produced a quite beautiful example of cool climate shiraz. The colour is deep and dark, with reddy black hues. The nose is beautifully fruity, with a plummy, black pepper and slightly licorice character. And then the palate kicks into gear with rich, lavish flavours, dark chocolate,...

Great Southern

Red Blend

This is a racy little blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot. Revealing an engaging combination of dark plum and blackberry on the nose. While the medium bodied palate delivers soft, supple, yet still generous fruit flavours, supported with a neat touch of oak and refined tannins. Ideal as an immediate drinking wine.

Great Southern

Pinot Noir

The colour is a palish crimson garnet. The nose is exotically perfumed, with a violet, dark cherry combination and a little raspberry red fruitiness. The palate, though of light body, has excellent structure, with a core of fine, ever so slightly firm tannins and some neatly infused oak, handling the intensity of the fruit admirably. There's a slightly dry savouriness...