WA Wine Review 2027

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A firm and structured cabernet from Margaret River. The aromas have an engaging plummy cherry nuance, with more typical varietal blackcurrant and dark chocolate notes. The palate is deep, dark and structured, with firm tannins ensuring it has the capacity for further cellaring. The oak is neatly applied, and as the wine opens up, its elegance becomes more evident. Neatly...

Margaret River

Shiraz

Plenty of concentrated fruit in this wine, but it presents with more medium weight and, as a result, is a stylish expression of the variety from Margaret River. Aromas of slightly earthy red fruits with a subtle gravelly minerality. Neatly integrated oak and chalky tannins give direction and focus.

Margaret River

Shiraz

The colour in this Margaret River shiraz is so deep and dense, but there's a real vibrancy and brightness about it. This is a deliciously succulent, rich, generous shiraz with loads of dark plum and liqueur cherry fruit, with a nice spicy element. The palate has a slightly chewy feel, which is most appealing, and a little liquorice-plummy nuance that...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2025 vintage in Margaret River has proved to be a very good one. It was certainly warmer, but the resulting wines have a lovely elegance and refinement, and this wine certainly captures that. Loads of dark fruits on the nose with a little liqueur cherry complexity, and then a palate that is fine, integrated and effortlessly long, with a...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This really is quite a beautiful wine made from the classic Bordeaux varieties. It's a wine that's been elevated to the top tier of Aravina, and with good reason. Massive and concentrated aromas of blackcurrant and olive tapenade, with some minerally oyster-shell complexity before a lift of floral notes. The palate is generous and powerful, with a tight core of...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a cracking good chardonnay that provides both palate weight and concentrated richness, and at the same time, a linear tension that gives it such precision and poise. On the nose, a fairly typical mix of grapefruit, stone fruit and some lightly roasted cashews. The palate reveals more light butterscotch and creamy peachy characters. But there's a fine savoury,...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

This single-vineyard chenin from old vines on this property has been a strong suit for Aravina for a while. This seems to have been brought back a little with some restraint, but it's certainly lost nothing in intensity and flavour. Plenty goes into it with handpicking, whole-bunch pressing into oak puncheons, and then six months of further maturation. The nose...

Margaret River

Grenache

The colour is a pale onion-skin pink, classically rosé. This is made from handpicked grenache, which was whole-bunch pressed into older oak puncheons, where it spent three months after fermentation. All designed to build complexity, texture and enhance flavours. To this end, it's done it beautifully. Lovely floral notes, a little kumquat, cherry and even a touch of apple skin....

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a multi-regional blend made from fruit from Margaret River, the Swan Valley and Frankland River. It's an elegant medium-to full-bodied wine with great fruit generosity, loads of dark fruit characters initially on the nose with a lifted bay leaf edge. The palate is seamless and supple with a slightly grainy tannin influence.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

An impressive wine from this warm vintage in Margaret River. Comes off vines that are among the oldest in the region, and it is remarkably stylish and elegant given that this was a very warm vintage. But these old vines have clearly worked their magic. Lovely aromas of blackcurrant and dark chocolate with a little black olive tapenade. The palate...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

This is such a pretty and quite beautiful shiraz from vines that are approaching 100 years of age. It does show the Swan Valley softness and suppleness well to the fore. And with those soft tannins and gentle hint of oak, it really does cuddle the wine. Nice mix of sweet cherry and raspberry with little coffee grounds and liquorice....

Frankland River

Shiraz

Here's a wine that captures very much the regional vineyard character in Frankland River. It comes from the Swinney Vineyard, which produces some of the best shiraz in the state. Lovely exotic aromas of plummy cherry and cracked peppercorn. And then a palate which has a delightfully grainy, textured feel about it, that threads through the vibrant, plush red fruits,...

Frankland River

Shiraz

An exceptional shiraz that comes off the famous Swinney Vineyard in Frankland River. Beautiful perfumes of cherry and plum, with a little peppery, graphite-like character. The palate has such beautiful weight and vibrancy. You can see it in the colour, which is reddy crimson. And then that complex weave of graphite and plummy cherry characters builds relentlessly before driving to...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

Wonderful floral, perfumed white-petal notes on the nose announce this as Swan Valley chenin blanc. In a warmer year, the aromas and flavours are certainly well to the fore, but they're well controlled, with freshness retained by the crisp, lively acidity. The palate has lovely texture and richness, but there's also a purity and pristine character as it fires through...

Margaret River

Cabernet Franc

Perhaps not the aromas and perfume you might expect from cabernet franc, but in this warm year, it's resulted in a wine of richness and power that provides another expression of this variety. Red and black fruit notes with a little Cherry Ripe-type influence. The palate is generous and concentrated, and slightly medium-bodied, so it's a wine of elegance and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Yet another example of how, despite the very warm conditions in '24, wines have emerged with some class. Blackcurrant, bay leaf and chocolate notes on the nose. Harold, this is Margaret River cabernet. It's a bright wine of energy and purpose, with slightly chalky tannins and a liberal supply of oak feeding into the core to drive a very long...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A wine of purpose and power from this very early, quite warm vintage. The extra time in the bottle is bringing it together quite beautifully. Masses of dark fruit on the nose with blackcurrant, a swirl of dark chocolate and plum, and that slight bay leaf, black olive nuance that adds an intriguing complexity. The palate is concentrated and intense,...

Margaret River

Semillon

A balanced and textured example of what Margaret River can do with semillon. There's richness here, but it's balanced with a fine, precise and defining acidity. I love the purity and freshness evident on the nose. There are some slightly toasty characters complementing the vibrant lemon fruit characters. A rich and flavoursome palate brimming with plush fruits, complemented by a...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A wine which captures the fruit intensity and power of the '25 vintage in Margaret River. Aromas of subtle oatmeal, brioche, a little marzipan and lemon zest. And then a palate which is slightly creamy but threaded with a fine, balancing limestone-y acidity with a cutting lemon zest edge. It's a richly textured wine, with good flavour intensity and a...

Porongurup

Pinot Noir

Gosh, there are some excellent pinots coming out of the Porongurup. It's a small region, but it makes a big statement with this variety, and this is another one. Such a beautifully seductive, perfumed aroma to open. This is classic pinot. The light-bodied palate is absolutely seamless and harmonious, with a fine weave of silky tannins, gentle oak and that...

Porongurup

Chardonnay

A beautifully expressive, powerfully intense and ultimately precisely defined chardonnay from the Porongurup. Aromas of meal and grapefruit with a little pithy lemon rind nuance. The palate is beautifully framed with a creamy texture, a little oatmeal and stone fruit influence, and fine acidity to support its structure and length. Just the faintest hint of struck-match complexity, which is most...

Porongurup

Riesling

Oh yeah. You just have to love Porongurup riesling. The 2025 vintage, albeit slightly warmer, worked really well as a vintage in the cooler climes of the Porongurup. There's tremendous intensity initially on the nose, with a lemon rind and slightly pithy emerging character. A little spice and bath salts, and then a palate that is deeply intense, with good,...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This comes off the original plantings of 1985 at Fermoy. And those old vines are really pumping out some high-class, powerfully balanced fruit. Aromas that are a mix of blackcurrant with some almost juby red berry influences, providing a nice contrasting balance. A little bay leaf and black olive nuance adds further complexity. The palate has brightness and purity, but...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A wine with quite pretty aromatic nuances, showing delightful floral perfumes and more in that red currant, cherry zone. It's a bright and most elegant expression of Margaret River cabernet from a vintage which was actually very good. Fine-grained tannins, gentle oak infusion, and that seamless yet powerful fruit. Has lovely weight on the palate, and that highlights the long,...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

Right on the button for this style of current drinking, approachable, soft and supple red wine. It's from a very good vintage and it shows. Everything is so harmoniously balanced and poised. It's a lovely integration of fine tannin and oak working with the plush red berry and slightly blue-fruited nuanced characters. There's a nice savoury, slightly oyster shell minerality...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This emerged a few years ago as one of the stars in Margaret River, and with this vintage, it clings to that mantle easily. In many ways, a slightly tighter version of the standard chardonnay, but with tremendous depth and concentration. Similarly, it was whole bunch pressed into French oak and wild fermented, getting a further nine months in oak....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is consistently a first-rate chardonnay delivering way beyond its price point. It's wild fermented and then gets nine months in French oak barriques. Typically, it shows some quite beautifully rich fig and stone fruit characters with a little lift of lemon zest and some nice light roasted cashew. The palate is beautifully rich and textured, as much a result...

Frankland River

Mourvèdre

Introduced a few years ago into the Swinney suite of wines, and it's been a highlight rosé ever since. Comes from bush-vine mourvèdre plantings, in this case from what appears to be an excellent vintage. The aromas are lovely red raspberry fruit, with a slightly minerally note, ironstone and then some delightful florals. The palate is quite beautiful. It's textured...

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

Shiraz

This vineyard has proved highly successful for shiraz, or syrah, over the years and now, in the hands of Swings & Roundabouts, it is making some mighty fine wine. It has been made in a way that accentuates the medium-weight fruit, releasing vibrant, bright and quite punchy berry characters while retaining structure and poise. The larger-format French oak puncheons have...

Margaret River

Tempranillo

The warm, ripe 2024 vintage seems to have suited this variety, which is a combination of tempranillo clones from Yallingup. The colour is brilliant and bright, while the aromas show cherry, liquorice and bright raspberry characters. The palate is supple, with plush, soft fruit delivering a balanced and thoroughly enjoyable drinking experience. Super wine for drinking over the next few...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is from the vineyard Swings acquired a few years ago and they have really maximised the potential of what was an excellent site. This is a finer, tighter and more linear style than the Backyard Stories. On the nose, white peach, cut pear and lime characters are quite dominant, with slightly spicy vanilla bean and brioche complexity. The palate...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a wine that has really elevated in quality over the past few years and is now consistently excellent. It is made in a specific style, rich, textured and flavoursome, with lovely toasty oak complementing the melony stone fruit richness and slightly creamy texture. It is certainly a full-bodied, flavoursome wine, with a fine mineral and savoury edge providing...

Margaret River

White Varietal

One of an increasing number of excellent vermentino being made in Western Australia. This has the characteristic cut pear and scented orange notes of the variety, with some lovely floral touches. The palate is crunchy, vibrant and slightly saline, making it a particularly salivating and enticing summer drink. Lovely palate feel.

Western Australia

Red Blend

A cute name conjured from the varieties shiraz and tempranillo. This is thoroughly enjoyable and delicious, with bright raspberry and cherry cola-like characters and a lift of spice that adds the final flourish. The colour is brilliant and luminous, with purple-crimson hues, and the whole thing is about immediate drinking pleasure. Ideal served a little chilled. Should be a must...

Geographe

Tempranillo

Goodall and Jarvis get the fruit from Ferguson Valley, a region that has proved highly successful for this famous Spanish variety. Everything has been designed to enhance its soft plushness and supple fruit qualities. Wild yeast ferments, hand plunging and gentle pressing, with maturation in French oak barriques, have created a wine of medium weight but tremendous fruit flavour. It’s...

Margaret River

Pinot Noir

The colour is as pale as a pompon blonde, with just the faintest copper and onion-skin blush. It’s become one of my favourite rosés, and I think whole-bunch pressing and wild fermentation in seasoned oak have been the key. Sure, it gets just a little skin contact, but that’s the textural influence that sets this apart and shows that even...

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

Here’s a chenin blanc with a little bit of panache, made by wild fermentation in barrel with granite stones. That adds plenty of intrigue and complexity, from the initial take on the nose through to the crisp, minerally palate. Slightly nutty, with light stone fruit notes. The palate is textured but retains that linear precision from the natural acidity of...

Margaret River

Cabernet Blend

This is a masterful example of what can be achieved under this banner. In this case, it's a combination of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec and cabernet franc. Sure, the cabernet sauvignon takes the dominant role, but the other varieties complete the seamless palate, bringing a lift of vibrant red fruits. Lovely combination of plummy blackcurrant, a little spicy cedar and...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

Wonderful example of the quality of Margaret River Cabernet in 2023, and this one is right up there with anything that winemaker Jeremy Gordon has produced over the years. It's such an elegant and stylish cabernet, yet there is real power and poise here. Lots of black currant, black olive characters, a little dark plum, and even mulberry. And then...