WA Wine Review 2027

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

An elegantly crafted medium-bodied cabernet, putting this wonderful vintage on display. On the nose, the blackberry and blackcurrant combination strikes immediately, but then there’s a lift of bay leaf and muted black olive. There’s energy and drive through the palate, with a slight minerality supported by some grainy tannins and neatly applied oak. Everything fits together so neatly.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is such a good chardonnay, displaying wonderful fruit and very astute winemaking to get the best of it. All hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed, and then barrel fermented with plenty of time on lees to build texture, richness and flavour intensity. Beautiful aromatics of lemon meringue, crème brûlée and light citrus notes. The palate reveals deeper concentration within a quite...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A wine sourced from the estate vineyard, which is now quite mature and yielding wonderful, concentrated fruit. It was a warm year in general, but the early varieties like chardonnay performed really well. After whole-bunch pressing, it was barrel fermented and then matured on lees for about nine months. It's a wine with wonderful melony, lemon meringue and light cashew...

Western Australia

Cabernet Sauvignon

Beautiful contemporary style of modern cabernet. It's medium-bodied, but there are oodles of black fruits, with a cherry, plummy, blackberry combination well to the fore. The palate is medium weight but with generous flavours, as dark fruits with a little bay leaf lift and subtle creamy vanillin characters provide a compelling combination. Retains its bright red fruits through to the...

Western Australia

Chardonnay

This is a generous, flavoursome, young chardonnay, loaded with pristine melony citrus fruit. Notes of light cashew and stone fruit on the nose, and then a palate that has a crunchy, juicy feel to it. Strikes a great balance between subtle oak and the intense fruit as it extends with ease through to a long finish.

Western Australia

White Blend

Hits the mark for a lively, fresh and highly drinkable combination, displaying all the lifted tropical citrus fruits that you want. Presented on a bright and zingy palate. Has a crunchy, minerally acidity that lifts through to a long finish. Succulent and crunchy with a delicious palate. Ideal for drinking in the short term.

Margaret River

Semillon

Here's a wine that takes semillon into a heady new zone. After hand-picking, the fruit was whole-bunch pressed and then fermented using natural yeasts. It's resulted in a wine that is texturally pleasing and loaded with intense varietal characters. It has a slightly creamy, buttery character, but it's ever so slight, and it's complemented by the zingy lemon zest lift....

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

I have to say, this is one of the best whites I've seen from Stormflower. It was partially barrel fermented, and this has provided a nice textural and aromatic addition to the nose and palate. It has a creaminess about it, but there's still a racy, energetic mix of tropical fruits and edgy lemon zest, with just a little red...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

This is a lovely example of sauvignon blanc. To a degree, it's understated and subtle, but it has some lovely fruit intensity. The nose shows a gentle, creamy, tropical character, with a fine, spicy citrus edge. The palate is creamy and smooth, with a light lift of citrus tang. It has such a pristine and pure feel about it, and...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

Here's another example of the versatility of chenin blanc. In this case, making a delightful sparkling wine. It was partly barrel-fermented and then bottle-fermented in a largely méthode traditionnelle way. It's created a wine of freshness and vibrancy, with beautiful fragrant fruit aromas and a palate that is dry, clean, crisp and almost refreshing. It has a lovely, fine, lingering...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

Plenty of punch and tropical passionfruit on the nose with this excellent savvy from this excellent season. A little barrel fermentation and further maturation have introduced a degree of textural complexity and mouthfeel that sets this apart from your normal run-of-the-mill savvy. Beautifully bright and energetic. A little drizzle of citrus, and it all hangs in there to produce a...

Pemberton

Pinot Noir

A vibrant and bouncy fruit-driven pinot from this excellent season. Dominated by red fruits on the nose, with a little cherry and strawberry, but then a subtle mushroomy, funky, earthy character intervenes, creating complexity. The palate is soft and smooth and medium to light-bodied. There's a spicy, vibrant red berry character that really lifts and sustains through to the finish....

Geographe

Riesling

This is riesling, but riesling with a difference. It was all wild fermented in oak, and it's created an altogether different expression of this variety. You're not getting those lively, edgy citrus and floral notes, but instead you're getting slightly more savoury, spicy influences. And the palate delivers with more textural complexity. It shows the versatility of riesling and how...

Geographe

Riesling

Here's a riesling distinctly influenced by the classic wines of Germany. It opens with the normal citrusy, lemon-scented characters on the nose. But then the palate is quite delicate, with a little residual sugar and lower alcohol contributing to its lively, keen lines. It has a nice slatey, minerally edge running through it. And the flavour is quite beautiful. It's...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This was a cooler year in Margaret River, and like so many of the cabernet sauvignons from this vintage, it's taken a while for this to come together. But it's now drinking in its ideal zone, but of course with cellaring potential. Blackcurrant, graphite and dark chocolate nuances dominate the nose. The palate is seamlessly integrated, with fine-grained tannins, and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Quite simply one of the finest cabernet sauvignons yet released from Cape Grace in its long history. It was a very early season in Margaret River, but the wine shows remarkable elegance and stylishness normally associated with cooler years. There's a black-fruit, leathery combination on the nose with a leafy lift. It's generously proportioned but delivers with elegance and medium...

Margaret River

Malbec

I've always liked these malbecs from Cape Grace. And this is a small-production wine of low-yielding vines, made in a traditional way, but then aged in 50% new French oak. The oak in no way intrudes and allows the fruit, with its blue and black fruit characters and a little mulberry, to fully express itself. There's a bright red-fruit lift,...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

What an excellent example of this combination. It's a 50/50 split, and it was made in a traditional way with open fermentation, hand plunging, basket pressing and then maturation in some French oak. It's medium weight, beautifully perfumed and stylishly composed, with a fine thread of chalky tannin and just subtle oak intervention. It's a great value-for-money wine too. Ideal...

Margaret River

Cabernet Franc

The most beautiful and pretty cabernet franc from this season, which, with its cooler, longer ripening period, certainly suited the variety. Aromas show some nice perfumed red fruits, raspberry and cherry. And then the palate is so seamlessly soft and supple, with finely integrated chalky tannins and neatly understated oak that allows the fruit to fully express itself. Finishes with...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

There's an immediate crunchy purity and vibrancy about this chardonnay. Certainly one of the best yet from Cape Grace. The aromas are dominated by a punchy peach, nectarine and slightly brioche combination. And then the palate, which is gently influenced by a third new French oak, reveals a complex minerality presented with elegance. A little butterscotch adds further richness, and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

From the very early, ripe 2020 vintage is this exceptional cabernet that's emerged from Willy Abrah. The aroma's classically Margaret River, with blackcurrant, dark chocolate and black olive tapenade, all swirling through an immensely complex aromatic mix. Has a smooth, supple, although well-structured palate, supported with fine, firmish tannins and some really well-laid oak. Has that slightly dried, savoury, oyster-shell-like...

Margaret River

Tempranillo

I reckon Matt Bowness has really nailed this variety, which, of course, is native to northern Spain. In this case, it was naturally fermented with some whole bunches and a mix of stainless steel and French oak. The aim has been to create a joven style, youthful, fresh burst of red fruit. It's been achieved in spades. Nice black fruits,...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This takes the standard Fairbrossen chardonnay up a notch. In fact, it takes it up a couple of notches. This is a first-class wine that comes off the Fairbrossen Witchcliffe dry-grown vineyard. To me, it's something of a breakthrough wine for this small producer and shows the immense promise it has. Whole bunches and wild ferments with about 40% new...

Margaret River

Rose

A dry, savoury, but still quite textured wine made from tempranillo and cabernet. Had a brief period in larger oak. Colour is a pale pink. The nose is a burst of red berry and redcurrant. The palate is crisp, light-bodied, but with good intensity and flavour. An excellent all-purpose rosé. Ideal for summer drinking.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Excellent chardonnay. They're using the Gingin clone. Whole-bunch pressing has given it certainly some palate presence, and then wild fermentation in larger-format French oak. Twelve months on lees have built texture and richness, but at the same time, it retains a fine linear minerality, giving it poise and precision. It's a chardonnay of richness and flavour, and imminently appealing.

Margaret River

Fiano

Bit of a fan of this famous Sicilian variety out of Margaret River. Fruit is always quite generous, certainly in good years like '26, creating a lovely textural feel on the palate. This one has a dry savouriness, which introduces a subtle degree of complexity: slightly nutty, a bit of citrus, even lemon meringue. Lovely, balanced and completely engaging example...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A wine rich in concentrated and powerful fruit flavours. Evident immediately on the nose, with a lovely mix of black and red fruits, bay leaf and black olive. A fine graphite-like character adds further intrigue. The palate is still quite firm, as you might expect, as this is a young cabernet, but there is warm, rich flesh wrapped around the...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Delivers a burst of bright red fruits on the nose, combining with the deeper, darker blackcurrant influences. Some nice florals with red-fruit lift. The palate is quite tightly woven, with a firm thread of tannin and oak surrounded by some plush fruit. A most complete and harmonious wine.

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

The excellent quality of chenin has been maximised with this specific take on the variety. Wild fermentation in French oak, 10 months on lees and regular stirring have built in complexity, texture and added richness. The variety has excellent natural acidity, and that gives it the fine backbone on which the richer, plush stone fruit characters are based. A little...

Margaret River

White Varietal

This is such a versatile grape that Churchview has been working with for some time now. You can make it lean and mean if you like, but in this case, they've built some structure, texture and richness into the wine to great effect. Whole-bunch pressing into a mix of stainless steel and older puncheons has given it some structural integrity....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a wine that always delivers with plenty of punch and power. In this case, the season produced beautifully ripe fruit, and it's been worked with wild fermentation and a mix of new and slightly older oak, with 10 months' maturation and regular lees stirring. This produces a wine rich in complex characters of butterscotch, stone fruit and slightly...

Frankland River

Grenache

This grenache has been sourced from Frankland River, which produced some very tidy grenache from this vintage. It's medium-weight with a lovely light mouthfeel, but there's plenty of flavour in there. Notes of red currant and rose petal on the nose, a faint hint of lavender, and then a palate that is supple, bright and with abundant flavour. Really designed...

Western Australia

Rose

Here is quite a beautiful example of grenache expressed through the rosé lens. The colour is a pale salmon pink, with a little copper tone. The nose has some delightful red currant and crunchy watermelon notes. But the palate is the feature. It's textured with a lovely flavour combination, balanced with a dry savouriness. Beautiful long finish. This is my...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Here's a wine that shows how good the warm '24 vintage could be in the right hands. It's been masterfully crafted, displaying quite beautiful, vibrant black and red fruits on the nose, with even a hint of blue-fruit complexity. The palate is deeply concentrated and intense, harnessed with chalky tannins and the right touch of oak to produce a seamless,...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Like the Corduroy chardonnay, this wine is also sourced from Margaret River. But it is a distinctly different style, providing a tighter, leaner, slightly tenser expression. All compacted with control and focus. Lemony meringue, light stone fruit and cashew notes on the nose. The palate is quite precise, with some lovely oak and slightly chalky tannins bringing it all together,...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A most consistent and distinctive chardonnay from Snake + Herring. It's a wine that delivers plenty, with some lovely smoky bacon, stone fruit and subtle quince paste notes on the nose. A little marzipan. And then a palate that delivers texture with a deep intensity. The finishing flourish of savoury notes sends it through to a beautiful long finish.

Great Southern

Pinot Noir

A bright and youthful pinot noir showing good varietal characters. A little sour cherry and raspberry with some very subtle earthiness underpinning. It's a light-bodied palate, but there's good flavour intensity supported by a tight core of fine-grained tannins and very subtle, gentle oak. It's an excellent entry-level pinot delivering some lovely varietal characters.

Western Australia

White Blend

This has always delivered a most attractive example of pinot gris from the Great Southern. The colour is a slight copper-toned hue, which is very much synonymous with the variety. The nose is typical of the apple crumble, grilled pear-like characters that you get. It's clean, crisp, with a fine, persistent palate sustained by a lovely little acidity. Excellent current...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This wine has that elegance of modern chardonnay, but it still retains the richness and complexity that comes with the original wine-making style, which revolves around wild fermentation and maturation with regular stirring in French oak, all designed to bring in complexity and depth within a textured framework. The aromas lift with typical nectar and stone fruit-like subtleties. A little...

Margaret River

Shiraz

A rich and quite powerful expression of Margaret River shiraz, loaded with ripe berries, dark plum and subtle spices. The tannins are quite chewy but work well with the opulent fruit. There's a subtle liquorice-like character lurking within the palate, and just a dollop of dark chocolate, combining into something that is eminently enjoyable drinking.