Margaret River: slender Cabernet and saline Chardonnay
14 bottles, from blanc de blancs to Cabernet for ageingA cabernet sauvignon that keeps its line, a chardonnay that keeps its salt: that is what you come looking for at the south-western tip of Australia. The Indian Ocean to the west, the Southern Ocean to the south, a narrow strip of land between two capes, and the nearest city three hours away by road. The climate there closely resembles that of Bordeaux, with more regular seasons.
The section follows three houses: Vasse Felix, which planted the first vines in the district, Cullen, which runs its plots under certified biodynamics, and Idée Fixe, which takes chardonnay by way of bubbles.
Vasse Felix - Filius Chardonnay 2021
A precise and energetic Australian Chardonnay, where freshness meets a subtle touch of oak.
Idee Fixe - Premier Brut Blanc de Blancs 2021
A precise and vibrant Australian blanc de blancs, which combines oceanic freshness and elegant effervescence.
Cullen - Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2022
A biodynamic cabernet-merlot from Margaret River, precise, elegant and carried by maritime freshness.
Moss Wood - Ribbon Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
A deep, classy Margaret River Cabernet, driven by black fruit, cedar and elegant freshness.
Moss Wood - Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
A great Margaret River Cabernet, deep, refined and built for ageing.
Moss Wood - Amy's 2022
A Bordeaux-style blend from Margaret River: deep, fresh and delicately spiced.
Moss Wood - Chardonnay 2022
A great Margaret River Chardonnay, at once sunny, taut and deeply elegant.
Vasse Felix - Filius Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
A precise and structured Margaret River cabernet, combining maritime freshness and fruit intensity.
Vasse Felix - Tom Cullity 2018
A great red wine from Margaret River, combining depth, finesse and maritime tension.
Cullen - Kevin John Chardonnay 2023
A precise and saline biodynamic Chardonnay from Margaret River, where the purity of the fruit meets an elegant woody complexity.
Vasse Felix - Premier Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
A Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River combining aromatic precision, firm structure and maritime freshness.
Vasse Felix - Premier Chardonnay 2022
A precise and elegant Australian maritime Chardonnay, where freshness, finesse and complexity are harmoniously balanced.
Cullen - Diana Madeline 2022
A Margaret River cabernet of great precision, combining freshness, finesse and aromatic depth.
Cullen - Moon Opposite Saturn Harvest - Sauvignon Blanc 2018
A complex and tense Sauvignon Blanc, made from biodynamic farming
From blanc de blancs to Cabernet for ageing
Two colours share the region, and each one ranges from the midweek wine to the bottle for the cellar. Here are the styles present in the selection, with the exact grape varieties of each cuvée and the price per bottle.
| The style | The grape varieties | The profile in the glass | The bottle, price per bottle |
|---|---|---|---|
| The sparkling blanc de blancs | Chardonnay alone | Second fermentation in bottle, lemon and apple, fine bubbles and a saline finish | Idée Fixe Premier Brut Blanc de Blancs 2021€48 per bottle, sold individually |
| The everyday Chardonnay | Chardonnay alone | Clean citrus, a light touch of oak, an energetic, straight palate | Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2021€22.10 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
| The estate Chardonnay | Chardonnay alone, plots in Wilyabrup and Wallcliffe | Whole-bunch pressing, native yeasts, fine, long substance | Vasse Felix Premier Chardonnay 2022€34.90 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
| The single-vineyard Chardonnay | Chardonnay alone, biodynamic plots in Wilyabrup | Barrel fermentation, density, marked salinity, great length | Cullen Kevin John Chardonnay 2023€150 per bottle, sold individually |
| The entry-level Cabernet, a broad blend | 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Cabernet Franc | Blackcurrant and graphite, clean fruit, firm tannin that is already approachable | Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon 2020€22.10 per bottle, by the case of 6 |
| Cabernet on its own | Cabernet Sauvignon alone | Aged in French oak, straight structure, ripe fruit and a fresh finish | Vasse Felix Premier Cabernet Sauvignon 2020€42.80 per bottle, in a set of 3 |
| The Cabernet and Merlot duo | 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot | The Merlot puts flesh on the Cabernet's frame, a round, fresh palate | Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2018€37.90 per bottle, in a set of 3 |
| The great Bordeaux blend | 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec | Whole bunches depending on the plot, gentle punching down, a silky and deep tannin | Cullen Diana Madeline 2021€133 per bottle, sold individually |
| The Cabernet from the founding plot | 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Malbec | Long maceration, new barriques, density and maritime tension | Vasse Felix Tom Cullity 2018€144 per bottle, sold individually |
Sauvignon blanc and semillon, vinified together in varying proportions, form the region's second white signature: a herbaceous, lemony dry wine, cut out for seafood, to be followed on the sauvignon blanc and semillon pages. To read the section by grape variety, cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay can be followed from one country to the next.
What this coast shares with Bordeaux
The comparison comes up as soon as you open a Cabernet from here, and it holds on several points: the temperate latitude, the sea close by, the grape varieties planted. It parts company on two others, the reliability of the weather and the age of the vineyard.
| The marker | Margaret River | Bordeaux |
|---|---|---|
| The location | A strip of land between two capes, ocean on three sides | The hinterland of an estuary, the Landes forest as a screen to the west |
| The climate | Temperate maritime, mild, rainy winters, dry, windy summers | Temperate oceanic, rain spread throughout the year |
| Consistency | Seasons that repeat themselves, the sea breeze the main hazard | Contrasting vintages, spring frost, hail, rain at harvest |
| The soils | Gravel and clayey sand over a granite base, natural drainage | Deep gravels on the left bank, clay and limestone on the right bank |
| The reds | Cabernet Sauvignon leading, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc | Merlot in the majority overall, cabernet sauvignon king of the gravels |
| The whites | Chardonnay on one side, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon blended on the other | Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon blended, with a little Muscadelle |
| The age of the vineyard | First plantings in the 1960s, after a climate study | Commercial vineyards documented since the Middle Ages |
| Cabernet in the glass | Ripe, open fruit, mint leaf, a firm but slender tannin | Blackcurrant, cedar and graphite, a youthful austerity that needs time |
Serving guidance: the blanc de blancs and the Chardonnays at around 10 °C, the Cabernets between 16 and 17 °C, with an hour in a decanter for the youngest vintages. As for ageing potential, allow one to five years for the Filius Chardonnay and the Premier Brut, five to ten years for the Premier Chardonnay, the Kevin John, the Filius Cabernet and the Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot from Cullen, ten years and more for Tom Cullity, Diana Madeline and the Premier Cabernet Sauvignon.
One craving, one bottle
Ways into the south-western tip, from the midweek white to a Cabernet for the cellar.
Start the region with a white
Gentle pressing, fermentation in French barrels and native yeasts: citrus, a fine touch of oak and an energetic palate. The white for grilled fish.
Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2021 · €22.10 per bottle, by the case of 6Taste the local Cabernet
Grapes from Wilyabrup, Wallcliffe and Carbunup, vinified lot by lot. Blackcurrant, graphite and maritime freshness, with an already supple tannin. Perfect with a leg of lamb.
Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 · €22.10 per bottle, by the case of 6Step up a notch on Chardonnay
Whole bunches pressed, straight to barrel, partial malolactic. Margaret River Chardonnay in its finest and most saline version.
Vasse Felix Premier Chardonnay 2022 · €34.90 per bottle, by the case of 6Discover Cullen's biodynamics
Hand harvesting, open vats, native yeasts and pumping over by hand. The Merlot rounds out the Cabernet's structure, the sea keeps the wine fresh.
Cullen Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2018 · €37.90 per bottle, in a set of 3A pure Cabernet for the cellar
Gravel and clay hillsides, fermentation in stainless steel then long barrel ageing. Straight structure, ripe fruit, a decade of ageing ahead of it.
Vasse Felix Premier Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 · €42.80 per bottle, in a set of 3Open a meal with bubbles
Whole-bunch pressed Chardonnay, second fermentation in bottle: lemon, apple and a fine effervescence. The aperitif of the west coast.
Idée Fixe Premier Brut Blanc de Blancs 2021 · €48 per bottle, sold individuallyPut a great bottle on the table
The estate's cuvée for ageing, certified biodynamic: Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant, long ageing in barrique, silky tannin and remarkable depth.
Cullen Diana Madeline 2021 · €133 per bottle, sold individuallyExplore the whole continent
Barossa Shiraz, Hunter Sémillon, Yarra Pinot Noir: the rest of Australia's vineyards, region by region.
Section page · Australian wines
An agronomist's report, and a region springs up
In 1965, the agronomist John Gladstones published a study on the wine-growing climates of Western Australia. His conclusion fits in one sentence: the coastal strip between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin offers the conditions closest to those of Bordeaux anywhere on the continent. Two years later, the cardiologist Tom Cullity planted the first vines there and founded Vasse Felix, the oldest estate in the region.
Kevin and Diana Cullen followed immediately, on the gravels of Wilyabrup. The estate is run under certified biodynamics, harvested by hand and fermented with its native yeasts. An entire wine region has grown out of those few hectares in some sixty years.
How do you choose
We taste every cuvée before listing it, and here we look at two things. Structure first: a Cabernet from this coast must keep its straight line despite the ripeness of the fruit. Then legibility: the oak accompanies, the fruit and the salinity stay in the foreground. A bottle that rests on its oak alone stays in the cloakroom.
The Wine Wanderer Team
What we are asked about Margaret River
Why are these bottles often sold in sets or by the case?
The estates of Margaret River ship their cuvées by full cases from the other side of the world, and keeping that packaging holds the price per bottle tight. The price shown is always the one for a single bottle, with the sales format right beside it. Several cuvées remain available singly, from Cullen, from Vasse Felix and from Idée Fixe.
Are Shiraz and Syrah the same grape variety?
Yes, one grape under two names: Australia kept the spelling shiraz received in the 19th century, France writes syrah. The word mainly announces a style, sun-filled on one side, peppery on the other. Margaret River, for its part, plays cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay. Both spellings are found on the syrah page.
Does the Cabernet here really resemble a Bordeaux?
The kinship comes down to the climate and the grape varieties: the same maritime influence, the same Bordeaux varieties blended together. The glass differs all the same. The fruit arrives riper and more open, the tannin stays firm but slender, and the bottle opens up earlier. The comparison table above sets out each marker. See also the cabernet sauvignon page.
Which bottle should I start with?
Take the Filius range from Vasse Felix to set the style of the region at a contained price: the Filius Chardonnay and the Filius Cabernet Sauvignon, both at €22.10 a bottle in cases of 6. Open them side by side and you hold the two faces of the region in a single meal.
What does biodynamics change at Cullen?
The estate is certified biodynamic, works its soils, preserves the native forest around the plots and harvests by hand. In the winery, fermentation starts on native yeasts and the extractions stay gentle. The result reads in the fineness of the tannin and the clarity of the fruit. The biodynamic wine page brings this family of wines together.
Is the Chardonnay from this region very oaky?
The oak is there, but it keeps in the background. The wines are pressed as whole bunches then fermented in barrel with their native yeasts, with a measured share of new barrels and a malolactic that is often partial. The result keeps the citrus, the tension and a saline finish. The chardonnay page allows the comparison.
How long do these wines keep?
The Filius Chardonnay and the Premier Brut Blanc de Blancs give their best between one and five years. The Premier Chardonnay, the Kevin John, the Filius Cabernet and the Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot hold for five to ten years. Tom Cullity, Diana Madeline and the Premier Cabernet Sauvignon go beyond the decade and gain in cedar and spice.
Why is this wine region so recent?
Because it was born of a study rather than of a tradition. An agronomist demonstrated in 1965 that this coastal strip offered a climate close to that of Bordeaux, and the first plantings followed as early as 1967. In some sixty years, the region has risen among the most sought-after signatures in the country, as the text above recounts.
Which dishes should you serve with these bottles?
The blanc de blancs opens the meal on oysters or a fish tartare. The Chardonnays go with grilled fish, poultry in cream sauce and mature goat's cheeses. The Cabernets call for a leg of lamb, a rib of beef or a roast rack of veal. With the cuvées for the cellar, serve a simply grilled piece of meat.
Are there Australian sparkling wines?
Yes, and the west coast provides a fine example. Idée Fixe makes its Premier Brut Blanc de Blancs from Chardonnay alone, with the second fermentation in bottle, at €48 a bottle and available singly. The sparkling wine page brings together bubbles from every origin.