The Woodlands Margaret is, true to its name, a realisation of all that is great about Margaret River, arguably Australias home of the Bordeaux style. Sourced from the Woodlands Vineyards in Wilyabrup this is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 8% Malbec. Considering the price of the Watson familys flagship, the Margaret offers truly outstanding value.
This wonderfully elegant Shiraz shows intense, pristine, blackberry fruit and ripe, silky tannins. It almost has a Pinot Noir elegance to it and, luckily, the quality of future vintages will only be getting better too as Voyager's new clones come on line.
Representing the pinnacle of any given vintage, the Deep Woods Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the very low yielding original vines on the estate in the Yallingup region of Margaret River and a single growers vineyard in the Yallingup hills. The palate is layered with complex and generous varietal flavours, supported by interwoven French oak characters and a savoury complexity. This is an exceptional Cabernet that will age gracefully will careful cellaring.
Margaret River is a world renowned Chardonnay producing region and Pierro can rightfully stake a claim as to why. Incredibly complex, it is a tangle of fine-boned acid, lees complexity, pristine fruit and the most detailed use of good quality oak. Extremely enjoyable now, but will benefit from short to medium term cellaring.
Concentrated and complex with cocoa, currant, cassis, bay leaf and dusty gravel. There is an underlying violet perfume, which is all wrapped up in savoury-cedar oak. Medium bodied with a long and seamless palate. There are ample fine grain tannins, which gently coat the mouth and will help to age the wine gracefully. Again, the palate shows a good balance between fruit and complex characters, with cassis, mulberry and currants well integrated with bay leaf, cocoa and dusty gravel. A concentrated and complex wine that will gain further complexity with age.
An elegant more mid-weight Pauillac, Chateau dArmailhac is classically structured claret that is slightly earlier drinking than some of its Pauillac counterparts. The grapes are handpicked, de-stemmed and vinified using traditional methods before undergoing maturation in 30% new oak and 70% second fill barrels.
The grapes used to craft Credaro 1000 Crowns Chardonnay were handpicked and whole bunch pressed. The juice obtained was directly run off into barrels, and wild fermented with yeasts. This led to the creation of a pale straw coloured wine with a deep green rim. The perfumed nose exudes scintillating aromas of white peach, pear, nougat and citrus. This delightful Chardonnay is smooth and juicy on the palate, brimming with flavours of stone fruit, grapefruit and citrus blossom. The aromas and flavours are supported by a fine and delicate layer of mineral acidity, offering a creamy texture and a lingering finish. This medium to full bodied white wine has the potential to be cellared for 5 to 8 years from vintage, tasting wonderful with grilled fish, pumpkin pie and creamy camembert cheese.
Penfolds Bin 389 is the classic South Australian red! Often referred to as 'Baby Grange' or 'Poor Man's Grange', Bin 389 was the wine that helped to build Penfolds' solid reputation with wine drinkers around the world. A magnificent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from the very best regions and vineyards available to Peter Gago and his team, the robust nature of the Cabernet grape give structure and body to the wine while the opulent Shiraz fruit provides suppleness and intensity. A true icon of Australian wine first created by the legend himself, Max Schubert, Peter Gago is quoted as saying 'Through thick and thin, across all vintages, Bin 389 always delivers - benefitting from over half a century of practice!