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One of the most vibrant and popular wine destinations in Australia, the Margaret River has an exceptional range of restaurants, accommodation and tourist activities. After a much-publicised birth in the early 1970s prompted, in part, by Professor Harold Olmo's research but, more importantly, that of Dr John Gladstones in 1965, the region briefly lost its momentum in the late 1980s before emphatically regaining it in the 1990s.
Initially regarded as a producer of powerful yet elegant Cabernet Sauvignon, the region has since also forged a great reputation for its white wines notably Chardonnay and a Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend. However, it is capable of producing all the classic varietal wines with the possible exception of the continental varieties, Pinot Noir and Riesling.
More than any other major Australian region, as might be expected in one surrounded by the sea on three sides, Margaret River has a strong maritime climate. With the lowest mean annual temperature range of only 7.6°C (45.68°F), it also has, for good measure, the most marked Mediterranean climate in terms of rainfall with less than 25 percent of its annual rain falling between October and April. The low diurnal and seasonal temperature range means an unusually even accumulation of warmth. While spring frosts are very rare and highly localised, lack of winter dormancy and salty winds during spring can cause problems that are unique to this region. In terms of warmth, the overall climate is similar to that of Pomerol and St. Emilion in a dry vintage hence the quality of its Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and others.
The varied landscape is given character by the abundance of small creeks and gentle valleys as well as the profusion of native trees, shrubs and flowers. In physical terms, a degree of protection from winds blowing in from the ocean is the most important factor. The principal soil type is that of the ridge which runs from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin; it is predominantly gravelly or gritty sandy loam that has formed directly from the underlying granite and gneissic rock. The soils are highly permeable when moist but moisture is quickly shed from sloping sites. Overall water capacity is low, placing additional emphasis on the need for irrigation.
Wineries
Abbey Vale Estate, Adinfern Estate, Alexandra Bridge Wines, Allison Valley Wines, Amberley Estate, Aquila Estate, Arlewood Estate, Ashbrook Estate, Beckett’s Flat, Bettenay Wines, Bramley Wood, Brookland Valley Vineyard, Brookwood Estate, Brown Hill Estate, Cape Grace Wines, Cape Lavender, Cape Mentelle Vineyards, Chalice Bridge Estate, Chapman’s Creek Vineyard, Clairault Wines, Cullen Wines, Deep Woods Estate, Devil’s Lair Wines, Driftwood Estate, Eagle Vale, Edwards Vineyard, Evans & Tate, Fermoy Estate, Flinders Bay, Flying Fish Cove, Gralyn Estate, Green Valley Vineyard, The Grove Vineyard, Hamelin Bay, Happs, Harmans Ridge Estate Winery, Hay Shed Hill, Hesperos Wines, Higher Plane, Howard Park-Margaret River, Hunt’s Foxhaven Estate, Injidup Point, Island Brook Estate, Juniper Estate, Knee Deep Wines, Leeuwin Estate, Lenton Brae Wines, Maiolo Wines & Vineyard & Wines, Marybrook Vineyards and Winery, Minot, Moaning Frog Vineyard, Moss Brothers, Moss Wood Winery, Olsen Wines, Palandri Wines, Palmer Wines, Pierro Margaret River Vineyard, Preveli, Redgate Wines, Ribbon Vale, Rivendell Wines, Rockfield Estate Vineyard, Rosabrook Estate, Rosily Vineyard, Sandalford Wines, Sandstone, Saracen Estate, Serventy Organic Wines,, Settlers Ridge Organic Wines, Shelton Wines, Stellar Ridge Estate, Suckfizzle/Stella Bella, Swallows Welcome, Tassell Park Wines, Thornhill, Treeton Estate, Vasse Felix, Vasse River, Virgin Block, Voyager Estate, Watershed Premium Wines, Windows Margaret River, Wildwood of Yallingup, Willespie, Wills Domaine Vineyard, Wise Vineyards, Woodlands Wines, Woodside Valley Estate, Woody Nook Wines and Xanadu Wines Margaret River.
If you would like to have your winery included in this list, please email awbc@awbc.com.au.
Wine Notes
Chardonnay
One of the pioneers of Chardonnay in the region, the Leeuwin Estate is, by the reckoning of many, one of Australia's greatest examples of Chardonnay if not the greatest. But Leeuwin is by no means the only producer of outstanding Chardonnay, which seems to acquire an extra dimension that stems from and is unique to the Margaret River region. It is more concentrated, more complex, more viscous and tangier, yet does not cloy or become heavy. The voluptuous fruit lends itself to the full range of winemaking techniques and the region's winemakers do not shirk from using them.
Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon
The permutations of these two varieties seem endless, whether they are used as single varietals, or as blends with one or other component dominant or supplemented by Chenin Blanc to produce a regional specialty often called Classic Dry White. But in most vintages the region welds the two varieties together in a way which no other area does: the Semillon and even Chenin Blanc acquire a pleasantly herbal, grassy cut which imperceptibly shades into Sauvignon Blanc. Intensity and elegance similarly coalesces in wines that are seldom less than distinguished.
Cabernet Sauvignon
This is the wine upon which Margaret River's reputation was founded and in no small measure upon which it rests today. Virtually every winery produces a Cabernet although Merlot is an increasingly common blend component. The style has evolved over the decades, with a cross-hatch of winemaker and viticulturist inputs giving rise to a number of distinctive and stylish interpretations of Cabernet and Merlot. The common threads are physiologically ripe grapes for a sweet core to all the wines, which are never leafy or herbal and often with slightly earthy or gravelly tannins. These latter characteristics are very much a product of the local terroir, which needs to be controlled, but which also provides complexity, authority and structure.
Vital Statistics
Margaret River is an important region with distinct influences from Geographe Bay, the Indian Ocean and indeed the Southern Ocean – in other words, northerly, central and southerly weather patterns. Three sets of statistics are therefore given.
| Yallingup (northern part of region) |
| Altitude | 80 m (262 feet) |
| Heat degree days, Oct-Apr | 1629 (estimated by Gladstones and adjusted for vine sites) |
| Sunshine hours, Oct-Apr | 1685 (Gladstones) |
| Annual rainfall | 1083 mm (42.6 inches) |
| Growing season rainfall | 232 mm (9.1 inches) |
| Mean January temperature | 20°C (68°F) |
| Relative humidity, Oct-Apr, 3 pm | Average 59% |
| Harvest | End Feb - Mid Apr |
| Willyabrup (central region) |
| Altitude | 90 m (295 feet) |
| Heat degree days, Oct-Apr | 1601 (estimated by Gladstones and adjusted for vine sites) |
| Sunshine hours, Oct-Apr | 1661 |
| Annual rainfall | 1138 mm (44.8 inches) |
| Growing season rainfall | 253 mm (10 inches) |
| Mean January temperature | 20.2ºC (68.5ºF) |
| Relative humidity, Oct-Apr, 3 pm | Average 57% |
| Harvest | End Feb - Late Apr |
| Margaret River (southern part of region) |
| Altitude | 90 m (295 feet) (south) |
| Heat degree days, Oct-Apr | 1557 (estimated by Gladstones for vineyards close to, and to the near south of the town as far as Witchcliffe and adjusted also for vine sites) |
| Sunshine hours, Oct-Apr | 1626 |
| Annual rainfall | 1192 mm (46.9 inches) |
| Growing season rainfall | 274 mm (10.8 inches) |
| Mean January temperature | 20ºC (68º F) |
| Relative humidity, Oct-Apr | 56% |
| Harvest | Mar - Early May |