As a winemaker, weekends (and a lot of weekdays) are spent drinking wine from the region. With over 180 producers and close to 10,000 wines from Margaret River alone its not difficult to find a wine but can be difficult to choose something. These are the wines I would recommend to friends visiting the region. Some are classics, others obscure, all are delicious.
There is a reason most somm's in the Perth trade have this wine on their wine lists. This is the real deal. Organic/biodynamic fruit. Picked early, left on lees for 5 years in bottle before release. Super expressive, fine bead, touch of breadiness with a sense of readiness that says drink me with oysters. I would say its the best sparkling (with personality) from the region. Vasse felix is the other one of note which is more consistent and on a larger scale.
Very obscure variety. Often hung to dry and put in sweet wines. Not the case here. The credaro's are one of the older Italian families in the region. My guess is this variety was grown for home winemaking/consumption and then adapted to the modern drinker (could be wrong). Super fresh, light easy drinking, could drink this cold without an issue. Bright fresh strawberries scream at you in the glass. Super rare and only available at cellar door.
Who the fuck combines cabernet sauvignon and sauvignon blanc on skins and bottles it with the name of a polish witch? Ivo and Sarah from Si Vitners. Most winemakers would say it wouldn't work, that you would get a lot of tannin and overpowering green characters. Maybe its the spell of the witch but they create a bit of magic here. A consistently different blend, always fresh and delish. This wine is a conversation starter. Its got the best elements of both varieties, acidity from sauvignon blanc with red berries from the cab.
A Margaret River classic if there ever was one. Taste the history of Margaret River or maybe more accurately, taste its evolution. A wine that has defined the region as one of the best places in the world to grow Cabernet Sauvignon.
Vasse felix isn't a small winery. Its not 'big' but its one of the bigger fish in the Margaret River pond. So it always surprises me when they do experimental wines. Its not in the recipe book for corporate winemaking but this wine shows it should be. By providing an avenue for creativity and innovation you discover new flavours and methods and also keep winemakers happy as they get to do what they love. Make interesting wines and experiment.
This is skin contact sauvignon blanc done well. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.
73% viognier with 27% Marsanne. A unique blend from Margaret river that just works. Full bodied and full flavoured, silky smooth. I only purchased one bottle and after drinking it at dinner I wish I had left with a full case. Very low quantities produced, all sold at cellar door.
Fresh as fuck. Dylan (winemaker) know's what he's doing with this variety. He buys up half the states fruit. He creates a wine that is fresh, fantastic with food but also got a lovely element of complexity to it. The cellar door is always fun, hit it up.
A very unique vineyard. High density planted on the edge of Margaret River. I think its one of the closest vineyards to the townsite. The vines are trained very low to the ground as well, all gin gin and super low yields. Theo (winemaker) spends 90% of his time in the vineyard getting the grapes right and the winemaking is classic and speaks to site. This is an awesome chardonnay, a future classic from the region.
Woodlands makes a lot of cabernet and they do it very well. The cab has this depth to it that is unmatched in the region. I haven't listed a specific cabernet as they make a lot, and all of them are very good. A suggestion. Go to the cellar door and do a sit down tasting and go through the range. They have back vintages on offer too and some incredible cheese which can be eaten there or packed for takeaway
A controversial figure in the wine game. 100% natural wine, no adds, all farmed/made by Sam. I have tasted this wine now from 3 different vineyards which sam has farmed and each time its just so distinctive and so bloody good. Skin contact as whole berries pressed to stainless steel. Natural wine at its best.
CLASSICS TO TRY
-Pierro chardonnay
-Leeuwin Chardonnay
-Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon
-Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon/ Deep Woods Cabernet Sauvignon: these guys fight for the title of how many gold stickers they can stick on their bottles, but the stickers are there for a reason.
*Full discretion here, I am friends with most of the people who make wines on the list .
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