2019 wine travel log #7: Margaret River, a unique wine destination

Margaret River felt like home. I grew up in Southern California in the 1960s and 1970s and the unspoiled surf lifestyle in Margaret River reminded me of my idyllic life as a child on the beaches of Malibu, Santa Monica and Newport Beach.

Besides that, the best wines of the region, particularly cabernet sauvignons and chardonnays, have a beautiful freshness and brightness underlying the tension and pure fruit that give them wonderful drinkability. This energetic profile has always been the hallmark of the wines of the region.

Plus, there are many new and fun natural and organic wines from sparkling chenins to teroldegos and nebbiolos. This all adds to the dynamic vinous panorama of the region. Margaret River may only be about 5,000 hectares of vineyards, about the size of Bordeaux’s Medoc, but it offers an attractive diversity of bottles.

We also tasted wines from other regions of Western Australia such as Great Southern and its sub-districts of Frankland River and Mount Barker. Great Southern delivers, as many people know, dense and intense rieslings that are dry and characterful. Many have an uncanny resemblance to top Alsace whites. But we were equally impressed with syrahs that show blue fruits and minerality that give a nod to France’s northern Rhone.

We will publish all the 465 wines we rated in Western Australia with the entire report on our #realaussiewine tour.

We invited a couple dozen winemakers to the house we rented near the Margaret River. And the conversation was refreshing and candid. They brought some old bottles of cabs from the early 1990s and 1980s that were still youthful and complex.

My personal favorite was a 1991 Cape Mentelle cab, which has all the finesse and complexity one could hope for in an aged red – St. Julien or Margaret River?

Vintners in Margaret River seem to be slightly frustrated that wines of their region are not better known in the world, but I am sure it’s coming, particularly with the rampant growth in Australia wine consumption in China and the rest of Asia. Australian wines now have 28 percent of the market in China.

Moreover, international direct flights may be coming soon to Margaret River, which would be a game changer – it takes more than three hours to drive down from Perth. I am not sure everyone wants thousands more visitors to the region, but it could really help increase the reputation of their wines.

The fact is that Margaret River is a fantastic wine destination. Wine producers there have an amazing asset in their hands. I can think of only a few places in the world with such natural seaside beauty that at the same time make wines with such verve and appeal. I only wish I had time to take catch a wave, fish or kayak more while we were there. We will be back next year for the wine and the vibe.

— James Suckling, CEO/Editor