Margaret River
According to their signage Margaret River does breakfast at The Urban Bean, but our decision to head there for a day-starter was based on location in relation to the accommodation and the fact I'd spotted it the night before as it was on publicity material. The prospect of a big breakfast can be relied on to have Hughesy licking his chops in anticipation, but lack of an obvious lunch stop among the stops on the tasting trail meant I was inclined to go for breakfast and the big evening meal and hopefully survive on a light lunch.
In any case fuel would be needed since Madam was keen on visiting a limestone cave, had selected Lake Cave and indicated that Hughesy wouldn't be given a chance to chicken out. I'd seen a limestone cave some fifty years ago and while I was sure it would be spectacular I wasn't over keen on indulging in a major photo opportunity given my non-photographer status.
Once we'd paid our money and started on the tour things weren't improved when I found myself at the front of the party, leading the way down a set of stairs that may well have induced vertigo in a mountain goat. Hughesy doesn't like heights, prefers not to look down when faced with them, and wasn't keen on being there in the first place, but retreat wasn't an option so on I went.
Despite all the reservations I must admit that the cave itself was spectacular, the sense of time reduced to the drip, drip, drip of calcite was mind-blowing (a calcite straw with soot from a candle from fifty years before had grown about an inch) and that, had I been a photographer I'd probably have been in seventh heaven. However, having now seen two limestone caves I won't be queueing up to look at any more, thank you very much.
Back on the surface, I had to wait a bit longer before hitting the tasting trail, and things didn't look promising when we arrived at Leeuwin Estate and sighted a tour bus.
Fortunately, as I discovered when I made my way into the Cellar Door, the occupants were on a tour of the winery, the tasting area had a good lengthy bar that could handle a tour group plus unassociated tasters and the woman running the operation could maintain a couple of separate ongoing conversations.
One such conversation apprised me of the existence of a Museum Release of the Art Series Riesling, which has been a long-term favourite benchmark non-Clare/Eden Valley style at the very reasonable freight free price of $242. Remembering that the current vintage (the 2008) was going for that price anyway, a dozen comprising couples of the 2008 and the preceding five vintages was a foregone conclusion and an ideal way to build up the stocks of some very good bottle aged Riesling.
The tasting started with a sparkling Brut Pinot Noir Chardonnay (4/5, $33 or $181.50/6), a quite acceptable nicely yeasty drop in a style that doesn't turn up too often in Margaret River or in the Little House of Concrete sampling repertoire, then moved into Art Series territory with the Riesling (4.5/5 $22 $242/dozen) lighter on the citrus and minerality than the South Australian equivalents, but still quite excellent.
The 2009 Siblings Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (4/5, $23 $252/dozen) was one of the best expressions of the blend I tried in the area, while the 2009 Art Series Sauvignon Blanc (5/5 $30 $330/dozen) was unbelievably good and had me shaking my head at the continuing cut-price Kiwi Savalanche (think I'm joking? Halliday gave it 96 points and described it as an exceptionally fine and elegant rendition of sauvignon blanc).
It was a step or two backwards with the 2009 Classic Dry White (4/5 $17.95 $197.50/case) that was still great value for the price. The Cellar Door attendant described it as fruit salad in a glass, and wasn't far wide of the mark. I was also quite taken by the 2007 Prelude Vineyards Chardonnay (4.5/5 $31.50 $346.50/case) which was a great example of the direction Australian Chardonnay is taking, with pronounced grapefruit and pear notes on the nose but paled alongside its big brother, the 2007 Art Series Chardonnay (5/5 $89 $979/case) which was absolutely sublime. My tasting note reads Wish I could afford it by the case.
Given the stellar quality of the whites, the reds were always going to be a tricky proposition, but I liked the 2007 Siblings Shiraz as a value for money lighter everyday drinking style (4/5 $23 $253/case) while the 2007 Art Series Shiraz (4.5/5 $36.50 $401.50/case) and the 2005 Art Series Cabernet Sauvignon (4.5/5 $59 $654.50/case) were right up there with the rest of the Art Series range, the nose on the Cabernet being particularly delightful. I wasn't quite as taken by the 2004 Prelude Vineyards Cabernet Merlot (4/5 $28.50 $313.50/case) but that's probably as much about my reaction to the blend as the embarrassment of riches that preceded it.
Madam had spent much of the time I was in the Cellar Door prowling the spectacularly landscaped grounds for photographic purposes, and once we were back in the car on the way out I was quite willing to take it easy for the rest of the day, given the quality of what I'd just tasted and the visual riches that surrounded us. It would have been very easy to find the next stop anticlimactic, but once we'd headed down the road and turned into our next stop the eyes were set upon by an equally spectacular landscape in the grounds of Voyager Estate.
An initial glance had me thinking French chateau, but once I'd left Madam to the shutter action and found my way indoors I learned we were talking Cape Dutch, but that, in turn, has roots in Huguenot France.
The grounds, I learned, needed a full-time staff of seven gardeners, and there was the same attention to detail evident in the wines.
The 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (4.5/5 $24) was one of the best I'd tried, with the regular elements in the nose more pronounced and a pleasant acidity balanced in with the fruit on the palate. The 2005 Tom Price Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (5/5 $55) was an oaked style, and the difference the extra bottle age and the 50% barrel fermentation made was quite pronounced. Mileages would vary according to how much wood you like in your whites, but I was extremely taken by the style. The 2007 Chardonnay ($42 4.5/5 $42) was another refined new style Oz Chard, with an excellent mouthfeel and textured fruits on the palate. The nose wasn't bad either. It had been a while since I'd had a Chenin Blanc, and the 2009 Voyager Estate is probably overshadowed by the other whites but at 4/5 and $20 was a nice take on an overlooked variety.
They'd had reason to open a bottle of the 2003 Chardonnay (5/5 $60), which isn't usually available for tasting, and the extra bottle age produced a balanced style that was oakier than some recent examples I'd tried. Very much a style I like.
The reds were equally impressive, from the 2008 Girt By Sea Cabernet Merlot (4/5 $24) an interesting style that would handle a spell in the fridge through the 2007 VOC Collection Merlot (5/5 $55) a wonderful expression of varietal Merlot that I thought wasn't to be taken Sideways to the 2008 Shiraz (5/5 $34) a darkly fruity style that made a nice alternative to the big Barossa versions.
After Leeuwin Estate it would've been easy to be let down, but what I tried here was as impressive as what I’d tried at the preceding stop, and after two stops like that, you'd possibly be tempted to give things a spell, but the advance publicity about Stella Bella Wines suggested an operation that was firmly on the way up, and there was no way I was going to give it a miss.
The Cellar Door operation is new, but the girl who looks after it is another one of those enthusiastic types who'll have most visitors lining up for more. Knowledgeable, easy to talk to with a genuine interest in other regions and styles, resulting in another highly enjoyable tasting session. In the end, of course, it's all about the wines, but here again what was on offer was amazingly good, consistent across the range and represented good value for money.
That wasn't quite apparent with the 2009 Skuttlebutt Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (4/5 $18), a pleasant enough drop though I preferred the ones I'd tried elsewhere but the 2009 Stella Bella Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (4.5/5 $21 and a very classy little number indeed) and the 2010 Stella Bella Sauvignon Blanc (4.5/5 $24) offered fantastic value for money. You're going a bit up-market with the 2006 Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (5/5 $45) a fantastic little wine with great length on the palate. Halliday's a big fan, rating it a 96.
Dropping back in price the 2007 Stella Bella Viognier (4/5 $28) was a good example of the varietal style with plenty of apricot notes, while the deliciously creamy 2008 Stella Bella Chardonnay (4.5/5 $30) was a really good expression of the oaked style.
The reds started with the 2008 Skuttlebutt Rose Shiraz Merlot (4/5 $18), a sign that Hughesy's going to have some very tricky decisions to make regarding summer fridge-friendly reds, but unfortunately the similarly priced 2007 Skuttlebutt Otro Vino Tempranillo Blend, which I'd been rather interested in was all gone. I thought that the 2007 Skuttlebutt Shiraz Cabernet (4/5 $18) would make a rather pleasant lunch style, though I doubt I'll be able to fit it in to the order book, but on the other hand the 2007 Stella Bella Sangiovese Cabernet (4.5/5 $30) was a great style to go with Italian food, while the 2007 Stella Bella Tempranillo (4.5/5 $30) was a big muscular barbeque style that would go down a treat with chargrilled beef.
The 2007 Stella Bella Shiraz (4.5/5 $27) was another beauty, while the 2007 Stella Bella Cabernet Merlot (5/5 $32) produced tasting notes that read WOW! Great nose. The Benchmark for the blend. Definitely one I'll be looking to order.
Along the way I also tried the 2009 Skuttlebutt Savvy Sauvignon Blanc (4/5 $18) a low alcohol easy drinking style that'll attract its share of fans, though it didn't convince me.
That made three out of three for the day, and when we made our way back outside I wasn't optimistic about future prospects.
Lunch, however, beckoned, and given the fact that I needed a break from the tasting bit, we decided to try The Berry Farm, which turned out to be just the ticket on the tucker front, while Madam caught plenty of shutter action with the abundant bird life.
After lunch we had a diversion to Chalice Bridge, which I'd somehow neglected to note was only open by appointment, and our arrival was greeted by a large and extremely aggressive dog which ruled out investigation of the area just in case.
That meant we made our way back to Rockfield, which was pleasant enough without hitting the stellar heights I'd experienced earlier in the day. Lack of scribbled notes makes further comment impossible.
From there we took a drive out to the surf before making our way back to Cape Mentelle, where the palate tiredness kicked in big time. That's not to belittle the wines, which I thought rated very highly, particularly on the white side of the ledger. It's a place I probably need to go back to at the start of the day.
The 2010 Georgiana Sauvignon Blanc (4/5 $16) had a nicely varietal nose and was one to hit in the near future, as was the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (4.5/5 $25.50) a version of the region's prime white blend that was very easy drinking. The 2008 Chardonnay (5/5 $44), on the other hand, was a wonderfully complex barrel fermented style with abundant oak on the nose that didn't muscle its way into things when the wine hit the palate. Nicely structured, and I could be a big fan.
The 2006 Marsanne Roussanne (4/5 $28) on the other hand, while pleasant enough, paled in comparison to the Tahbilk take on the two Rhone varieties. Not for mine, and the apricot-heavy 2008 Viognier (3.5/5 $28) rated similarly.
Of the reds, the 2008 Marmaduke (4/5 $16) was a light soft spicy style, very much an immediate future or medium term prospect, and I quite liked the 2008 Sangiovese (4/5 $25) without looking at a purchase. As noted elsewhere I'd generally been underwhelmed by the Cabernet Merlot blends, and while the Trinders 2007 Cabernet Merlot (4/5 $29) had its strong points, particularly on the palate in the tannin department, there wasn't enough to overcome increasing scepticism about the blend.
We'd both been looking forward to trying the 2007 Zinfandel (4/5 $49) which turned out to be a muscular style with substantial layers of mixed notes on the nose, the sort of thing that demands attention and isn't for the faint-hearted. Interesting to sample, but....
Finally, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (4/5 $84) with a long finish and nicely structured tannins rounded things off nicely, and had me wandering outside convinced that I wasn't in the market to sample anything else for the day.
On reflection, Cape Mentelle was a repeat of the Vasse Felix experience the day before, a place where I desperately wanted to be amazed and impressed, but ended up underwhelmed. If we're back in the area I'll be revisiting both, and doing so at the start, rather than towards the end, of the day.
There was still a bit of daylight left, so we ventured out to the beach at the mouth of the Margaret River, where Madam snapped away and I was impressed by the lack of visible human structures. Most of the area between Cape Naturaliste in the north and Cape Leeuwin is National Park, and the authorities deserve credit for the care and consideration they seem to have exercised when excising bits of park for commercial and residential development.
There's a rugged beauty along the shores with their multitude of surf breaks that I don't recall seeing anywhere on the east coast. Not that I'm an I've been everywhere expert, but the human aspect was largely conspicuous by a conspicuous absence.
We made our way back into town for a spell, and a spell scribbling travelogue notes before heading back to the coast for the sunset across the Indian Ocean. It wasn't as spectacular as it could have been with better cloud conditions, but you can't have everything.
Madam wasn't in the market for a substantial dinner, so back in town I picked up a curry and that was it for the night. No way were we going to be walking anywhere, and after further attempts to fill in the backlog of banked up reminiscences I was in bed fairly early with substantially reduced plans for tasting on the last day in Margaret River.
