Touring wineries in Western Australia

From the airport, the drive to Dunsborough was alternately amusing and frustrating, because both the GPS navigation app, and the Google maps had not been updated to know about the new highway. So it took a little while longer to reach Dunsborough than originally planned, and we missed our flight from Melbourne to Perth (but were able to board the next one, 1.5 hours later, thank you Qantas!)

The Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park is varied, although most of it is coastal. You can walk from one lighthouse to the other, but it is recommended that you take 10 days to complete the hike! The national Park includes several impressive (but smallish) caves, a little in from the coast line.

The beaches along the coast (Indian ocean) are pristine, sparsely populated, and gorgeous. The towns are small, and the shops close early. There is a fantastic sourdough bakery hidden away in the back streets of Yellingup - look for the hand-drawn sign of a flame, which may or may not be placed on the main road.

The Margaret River wine region has a range of excellent wines, available from winery cellar doors, and a small collection of boutique beers. Some of my preferred ones will be described below. We went on an excellent group tour and an even nicer, tailored individual tour with the Taste the South<, a wine and brewery tour company (which sadly, no longer exists).

The Margaret River Dairy, a chocolate company, an excellent ice creamery, and a few olive oil plantations are some of the other attractions in the area. We stayed out of the towns though, so I do not know what other retail shops are in the area.

The trip back was with Tiger airlines, and thanks to the overtly rude check-in staff and flight attendants (and the fact the a tiny bottle of water costs $3 during the flight), we will not be flying with them again.

Someday I would like to return and do the cape to cape walk in spring, to see the Western Australian wildflowers in full bloom, but that will likely no longer happen, now that I’m living in Germany!

Wine notes

I am not an experienced taster, and I certainly do not know or use the wine-tasting terminology. The notes below are my thoughts on the wines I tasted, you will most likely think something completely different!

Adinfern

Name	Year	Notes
Shepherds Rhapsody	2009	Semillon sauvignon blanc, very drinkable, not too sweet or dry.
Sauvignon blanc	2009<	Citrussy and dry, with a strong tang. Not my style of white.
Merlot	2006	Dry and strong, would age well.
Cabinet sauvignon	2005<	Dry, strong and very acidic. I didn’t like this one.
Shiraz	2005	Drinkable, only slightly acidic.
Shepherds Serenade	2009	Autumn semillon - light, drinkable and would work well with Thai.
Shepherds Harmony	2009	Autumn cabernet sauvignon Shiraz, chilled. Nondescript, not sure how it would age.
Shepherds Fanfare	2009	Sparkling sauvignon blanc, with an interesting cork. Drinkable, not so dry and slightly fizzy. Yum!

Bettanay

Name	Year	Notes
Semillon sauvignon blanc	2008	Slightly dry but drinkable.
Sauvignon blanc	2009	Smoother than the 2008 blend, and very drinkable.
Sweet dreams	-	Sweet, light, fresh, fruity and must be well chilled. Excellent!
Cabernet merlot	2006	Light for a cabernet merlot and not so dry.
Shiraz	2007	Warm finish, very dry. I didn’t like this so much.
Cabernet sauvignon	2007	Good, even better with food!
First blush	-	With a light infusion of chilli. Mildly warm, I know people who’d like this.
Hot flush	-	Strongly infused with chilli, not as sweet as first blush, and hot!

Edwards

Name	Year	Notes
Sauvignon blanc	2008	Dry smell, strong taste but less dry than expected.
Semillon sauvignon blanc	2009	Dry, strong and acidic. Not my type of white.
Sauvignon blanc semillon	2009	(Tigers tale) Not a nice aftertaste, but a nice smell.
Chardonnay	-	Complex flavour, smooth and a nice aftertaste.
Shiraz	2007	Smooth for a shiraz, easy drinking.
Cabernet sauvignon<	2007	Interesting start, but not a smooth finish, and very dry.
Cabernet sauvignon merlot	2007	Much drier than previous wines, very acidic finish and a lingering aftertaste. Chocolate would go well after this.

Happs

Name	Year	Notes
Muscat (pink)	2009	Sweet, but not overly so. Very drinkable, even by people who don’t normally drink sweet wines.
Tintanello	2005	Drinkable, not too dry.
Three Hills Merlot	2007	Fairly drinkable, but would benefit from aging for longer.
Pale Gold	2009	Sweet, light, would work well with lime and ice.

Hayshed Hill / Pitchfork

Name	Year	Notes
Sauvignon blanc semillon	2008<	Vineyard series, characterless, boring.
Block semillon sauvignon blanc	-	(Barrel) Bit drier and not a good finish.
Pitchfork semillon sauvignon blanc	2008	Bit drier again, but a much nicer finish. Needs to be partnered with interesting food.
Block 6 Chardonnay	-	Fresher than usual for a chardonnay, dry finish. Not my style.
Pitchfork pink	2009	Not overly sweet, yum!
Hayshed Hill shiraz tempranillo	2008	Dry, tasty and has character. Would go well with a BBQ.
Hayshed Hill tempranillo	2007	Smoother and less dry. Not my favourite.
Cabernet merlot	2008	Dryish, not my choice for a first bottle, otherwise drinkable.
Vineyard series cabernet sauvignon	2008	Strong, smell and taste, acidic and lingering finish. Pair with chorizo rissoto.
Cabernet franc	2008	Lighter, drinkable but boring.
Muscat	-	Lighter muscat, not so sweet, drinkable. In between a liqueur and a sweet wine. I’m not sure how I feel about this one.

Howard Park / Mad Fish

Name	Year	Notes
Mad Fish reisling	2007	Dry, strong, typical reisling.
Sauvignon blanc semillon	2007	Drinkable, but otherwise uninteresting.
Premium white	-	Meh - I didn’t like this one.
Rose	2008	Chilled, and tasted like weak cordial.
Late harvest reisling	-	Surprisingly sweet, and not my style.
Moscato low alcohol chilled spritz	-	Weak - tasted like lemonade, but extremely sweet. Yuck!
Pinot noir	2008	Slight chill, average taste, have had much more impressive pinots.
Premium red cabernet merlot	-	Odd, smokey, peppery and dry.
Shiraz	2005	Dry, acidic, and not worth it.
Carnelian hybrid	2007	Drinkable with food.
Howard Park leston shiraz	2004	Smooth, subtle, rounded with a nice aftertaste.
Howard Park muscat	-	Excellent - sweet, but not overly so, complex with a beautiful scent.

Lenton Brae

Name	Year	Notes
Semillon sauvignon blanc	2009	Drinkable, smooth with a nice aftertaste, but not that strong a flavour.
Chardonnay	2008	Nice finish.
Rose	2009	Fresh, but dry for a rose
Cabernet sauvignon	2006	Bad weather, drinkable, but not good.
Cabernet sauvignon	2007	Medal winner, but still I didn’t like it.
Late harvest semillon	2008	Sweet, and moderately drinkable. Not my style though.

Mongrel Creek<

Name	Year	Notes
Sparkling shiraz	-	Not tasted, but recommended.

Pallandri

Name	Year	Notes
The Estates Sauvignon Blanc Semillon	2008	Smooth, and good for hot days.
Baldivis classic dry white	2008	Dry and nondescript.
Cabernet sauvignon merlot	2005	Very drinkable, dry finish followed by a well rounded aftertaste.
Cabernet sauvignon	2005	(Vita novus) Drinkable, dry, plenty of tannins. Good with food.

The Growers

Name	Year	Notes
Rose	-	Not sweet, lightly sparkling, very drinkable.
Cleanskin cabernet merlot	-	Perfectly drinkable, innoffensive.
Moscato (Peppermint Grove)	-	Excellent! A sweet but clean finish - loved this wine!
Cackleberry tawny port	2009	Smooth, but has a much stronger smell than taste.

Willespie

Name	Year	Notes
Verdelho	2000	Odd but interesting and smooth - I enjoyed it.
Sauvignon Blanc	2002	No character, uninteresting
Semillon Sauvignon	2002	No character, uninteresting
Merlot	2005	Would be good with food, less dry than most merlots, but with a dry finish.
Cabernet blend	2002	Flat, uninteresting, boring.
Cabinet Sauvignon	2001	Mild, smooth, slightly acidic finish. Not my style.
Black Jewel (port)	2002	Excellent, very fresh.
White gold (verdelho)	2000<	Chilled, amazingly smooth. Yum!