White

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Once again, this is a blend of clones, in this case, Gingin and Bernard, which contributes to its complexity and structure. It was fermented in a mix of French oak with wild yeast and then spent nine months on lees. It’s a linear expression of chardonnay, and yet there is good texture and richness throughout the palate as it extends...

Margaret River

Semillon

There are so many ways you can deal with semillon. In this case, it’s a mix of 25% new French oak and the rest in stainless steel with 8 months on lees. It’s created texture and richness while retaining the linear thread of fine acidity. Lemon scented with a slightly smoky backdrop. Has a clean and pure palate which extends...

Margaret River

Semillon

I bang on about semillon all the time, and yet here’s the reason. It’s wines like this. This is a cracking good example of what Margaret River can produce with this variety, an underrated variety these days. It’s had about 25% new French oak, and then spent eight months on lees, so it’s picked up a complexity and textural element...

Great Southern

Chardonnay

This is something of a breakthrough chardonnay from Denmark. It joins some other outstanding wines being produced in this subregion, but when you take in the price Nelson is making a real statement…and why not. It comes off the Karriview vineyard and was picked from selected vines with just enough to make one barrel. Basket pressed to oak and then...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

For a wine selling for around $20, there is a bit of class in this Margaret River chardonnay. Picked earlier to miss a lot of the heat. Fermented in French oak with lees stirring to add palate richness and complexity. Craem with subtle cashew and citrus characters. The palate is tightly held through the core but with ample flesh for...

South West

Chenin Blanc

It was a very warm year but this variety was ready early and missed much of the heat. Result; is a most beautiful example of this increasingly popular variety. Distinct lime, apple and pear on the nose with a little of the passionfruit varietal character. The palate is clean and crisp with a crunchy vibrant finish.

South West

Pinot Gris

Sourced from several vineyards throughout the South West. Opens with a mix of apple and melon with lychee honey and citrus. The palate is flavoursome but neatly restrained to deliver through to a long finish. Nice lift of spicey lychee on the finish with a lick of citrus tang.

South West

Riesling

There is a powerful intensity and drive here, in a riesling offering tonnes of flavour. Aromas of lemon citrus with a cutting lime component. The palate is intensely flavoured with a precise and very long finish. Ever so slight hint of residual sugar adds the piece for an enjoyable current drinking wine.

Margaret River

Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

A burst of tropical fruit with a lift of dried herbs, citrus and a little sherbet greet initially. This is a crisp and fresh young blend that offers plenty of current drinking. Has good intensity through the palate with a lingering satisfying finish.

Swan Valley

Verdelho

These old vines were planted in the Swan Valley in the nineteenth century and are among the oldest producing the State. Not the varietal punch of previous vintages but instead there is a fine minerally linear feel, still with palate depth and intensity. Has a zingy mouthfeel with a minerally citrus tang adding to the long finish. Give a bit...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

Remarkably, this vineyard was planted way back in 1895, and it continues to pump out outstanding fruit into these verdelhos. The striking feature is the balance. The fine acidity works seamlessly with the intensity of the fruit. This vintage looks especially strong for verdelho, and this wine captures it beautifully. Medium-bodied, with vibrant fruit intensity sustained by refreshing acidity through...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Mandoon's southern vineyard at Karridale is the source of this excellent chardonnay. Whole-bunch pressed into French barriques, with natural ferments, has contributed to a wine that is both texturally pleasing and preserves a fine linear thread. Light stone fruit and cream with subtle nutty quince-paste aromatics. The palate is delightfully vibrant, with zingy acidity lifting and sustaining the wine through...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

This old block of verdelho is now nearly 130 years old and it produces remarkably good and consistent fruit. And in this great Swan Valley year it ratchets up another gear. Bursting with tropical favours, which are intense but not overt. The acid is crisp and defining to carry the palate to an incredibly long finish. As good as any...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This comes from Mandoon's Karridale vineyard. It was a warm year, but the cooler Karridale region has ensured it retains its fine delicacy with a little more engine room intensity. Crunchy savoury fruit with a little chalky acidity creates a linear structure which extends with focus and precision through to a long finish.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

The cooler climate of the Mandoon’s Karridale vineyard has built in the fine elegance and refinement of this excellent chardonnay. The fruit comes from 10 rows on the vineyard and is then whole punch pressed followed by a natural ferment in oak. Aromas of light lemon curd, quince and a mix of spices engages immediately. The palate has a rich...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

In a hot year like ’24 it is very useful to have access to your own vineyard south of Margaret River at Karridale. A small part of this was fermented in new French oak and it becomes immediately apparent on the nose. It adds a nutty complexity to the primary punchy fruit aromas and then into the palate where it...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

The fruit for this excellent savvy comes from Mandoon’s Karridale vineyard, south of Margaret River. It’s all about freshness and vibrancy, but after the first ferment, a small portion was matured in new French oak. That certainly brought a complex weave and some noticeable texture into the wine. This is a savvy that offers much more than your traditional fruit...

Swan Valley

White Blend

This is a very tidy white from verdelho and sauvignon blanc showing excellent fruit intensity from what was a challenging very hot vintage. It shows what can be achieved. It has a refreshing tang and vibrant fruitiness lifted with a minerally acidity. Okay, not the raw punching power of previous years but still offering plenty.

Swan Valley

White Varietal

Pure, precise, lively Swan Valley vermentino. It comes from a single block right on the river. On the nose, you get a subtle combination of freshly squeezed lime and some light mango-like tropical aromas. Beautiful, crisp, fine flavours on the palate, with a little citrus and pear. Lovely balance and lovely drinking now.

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

Strikes immediately with complex and intriguing notes of faint struck match against a background of grapefruit, vanilla bean and tart nectarine. The palate texture has been created with a mix of oaks of different ages and formats with partial malolactic fermentation. Has a subtle cracked seas-shell character permeating against the dry savoury minerality. Shows the virtues of the Mount Barrow...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

You’re immediately struck by the complexity and intensity on the nose. After picking and whole bunch pressing, it was fermented and then matured with indigenous yeasts in a mix of small and large French oak. The nose shows minerally, slightly struck-match characters, with roasted cashew, distinctive lemon, and a hint of vanilla. On the palate, that crunchy, vibrant, steely minerality...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

A stunning example of chardonnay off this Mount Barrow vineyard near the Porongurup. All wild yeast fermented using small and large format French oak. It produces a wine that has a distinct point of difference reflecting this excellent cool site. It's quite a tough place to grow grapes, but the end result is something special. In this case, a fine...

Great Southern

Chardonnay

A delicately poised chardonnay from vineyards in the Great Southern. It goes through natural fermentation in a mix of new, one and slightly older French oaks before being kept separate on lees for 10 months with partial malolactic fermentation. Beautiful aromas of lime and grapefruit with a faint cumquat character. The palate is fine and slightly chalky with a deep...

Mount Barker

Chardonnay

Chardonnays from this hot season have emerged quite strong, and this is another fine example. From the Mount Barker region, it underwent some natural ferment before being matured for an extended period in older French oak to deliberately downplay overt oak influence. The result is a wine of brightness and elegance, with fine, pure minerality and light citrusy melon notes,...

Frankland River

Chardonnay

Beautiful example of Mount Barker chardonnay. Comes off the Mount Barrow Vineyard on the edge of the Porongurup. It's a mix of Burgundian clones with a smaller contribution from the richer more powerful Gingin. This cooler site and the clever winemaking certainly contribute to sustaining the purity and pristine character, creating a fine and elegantly designed chardonnay which is a...

Great Southern

Chardonnay

This is a classy chardonnay offering so much. Sourced from Mount Barker and then wild fermented before spending an extended time in oak. Has a savoury light stone fruit character with a richer almond meal and light lemon curd influence. The crystalline minerality lifts and extends the long palate.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A fully ripe and plush shiraz displaying typical dark fruit notes of plum and blackberry with a slightly earthy dark chocolate character. Has a smooth and seamlessly constructed palate with ripe supple tannins and a nice touch of oak. A restrained and quite pretty wine the benefits of the cooler climes.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Winemaker Mark Warren goes to the southern parts of Margaret River for the fruit for this wine. Aromas of lemon curd and creamy white peach with a meally grapefruit combination adding depth and edge. The palate has a lifted minerally feel with the fine shaft of acid sustaining the finish. Oak is seamlessly woven in.

Margaret River

White Varietal

Only one vineyard in WA has this unusual French variety. I’m glad someone decided to plant it, because it makes a thoroughly delightful wine with some characteristics not dissimilar to chardonnay. Dominant peach and apricot are distinctive with the racy acidity the key to sustaining a bright long palate. Such an easy wine to drink. Love it.

Margaret River

Chenin Blanc

This was a pretty warm season in Margaret River. The wine was created from two separate picks of the biodynamic vineyard, with the first run through retaining the high natural acidity to add some defining structure to the wine, while the second run produced the fruit that would fill the middle palate. In the end, it became a nicely integrated...

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

Now I do like this wine. After two picking runs to retain acidity and add fruit depth, the wine was whole bunch pressed and fermented in amphora and larger format oak with 10 months and partial secondary fermentation. The nose captures the fresh saline citrus characters of this variety with just a faint hint of green apple and sliced pear....

Margaret River

Chardonnay

There is a very strong influence of the soil and slope of this vineyard which has never been irrigated. The fruit comes off the top 8 rows at the top of the vineyard and there is also a section of UC Davis clones from another 8 rows in the middle, adding the richer pastry nougat characters. It's a rich and...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Like the other two in this marvellous triumvirate, it shows the distinctive character of the vineyard. This has less volume and obvious weight compared to previous vintages, yet the vineyard character is still evident. More stone fruit and cashew with the lemon scented lift on the nose. The palate is richer and denser with great concentration held precisely by the...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Just like the Calgardup Brook Vineyard chardonnay, this wine also expresses a distinctive vineyard character, and it has long been one of my favourite chardonnays. It shows greater intensity of fruit, and while some characters are a little more forward, the structure and fine balance remain classically chardonnay. This vintage shows a slightly more minerally, finer, grapefruity citrus character than...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is generally the more opulent of the chardonnays, and yet in this case it appears to have been made with a little more restraint, creating a wine that retains its tremendous fruit concentration but presents with a distinctly more linear, refined elegance. Aromas of white peach and nectarine dominate and traces of butterscotch add further complexity. Palate is so...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A wine with a pristine purity that is part of the vineyard DNA. There's a delightfully fresh pastry-like character without the butterscotch. It has a lip-smacking salinity which is from the vineyard. The short rows of the vineyard have super low yields and they are from cuttings off Leeuwin's famous Block 20, so the bunches are very small. The fruit...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

Traditionally the more delicate of the three top-tier chardonnays. This is a wonderful example of the vineyard and style. Fragrant and intense on the nose with floral grapefruit, cashew and light lemon curd influences. There’s a little of that limestone character as well adding to its crystalline feel. The palate is tightly wound and deeply powerful with a tight inner...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a wine that always shows the distinctive character of this vineyard. It’s a finer, tighter, and leaner style of chardonnay, but it still carries tremendous intensity and fruit concentration, perfectly harnessed. There’s a crisp, minerally, spicy citrus character, with a trace of lemon curd and grapefruit. A slightly salty sea spray note adds further complexity. An excellent wine.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

A wine that captures the vineyard character perfectly. This is always a finer, more linear style among the suite of McHenry Hohnen chardonnays. But in this year it’s got a little more weight and textural feel. Savory quince-like aromas. A little cashew. They’re all swirling through the nose. And then a palate which delivers with tremendous power and drive, held...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This has a lovely aroma of floral notes with some savouriness. This is very powerful and precise at the same time. Has a touch of breadcrust character which comes from the very small amount of malolactic fermentation. There is a lot of power and intensity in the middle palate but retains a vibrant crunchy mouth feel. Has a tart nectarine...