Cabernet Sauvignon is the King of the Margaret River wine region.
More than any other varietal, it has propelled the region into the consciousness of wine drinkers around the world. Bordeaux is the cradle of Cabernet, but Margaret River is part of a select band of west coast wine regions across the world that excel at Cabernet.
Ask a winemaker or a local here to talk about Cabernet and you should prepare to settle in. We did just that, catching up with some of Australia’s most respected makers of Cabernet. Once we got them talking it was hard to get them to stop. Here’s a taster of what they had to say.
The release of the 2021 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon marks 50 years of Margaret River Cabernet. Made at Vasse Felix every year since 1972, each vintage of this historic Cabernet embodies a faithful pursuit of excellence, purity and wine artistry. The original Vasse Felix vineyard planted by Dr Tom Cullity in 1967 and the site of Margaret River’s oldest vines, features enhanced sea breeze exposure and lean, well-draining gravel loam soils — the perfect conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon.
“Most great Cabernet in the world is grown with a maritime influence, close to the sea where you have that breeze. But Margaret River also has a Mediterranean climate where we have that warm dry summer and a beautiful long dry season. We’re not under pressure to harvest our grapes early because of rain, because of disease, because of rot; all the things that winemakers are under pressure to harvest for. The beautiful sea breeze is what buys us weeks of ripening. It keeps the berries intact and means they come in as a perfect round berry without any shrivel, without any issues, so you end up with a beautiful soft tannin ripened until the end of the season where the tannin profile is perfect.”
Born from a love of Bordeaux Cabernet blends, and the dream to create a stellar red wine of their own, David and Heather Watson established Woodlands in 1973 within the Wilyabrup Valley. Woodlands vineyard now covers 10 hectares and is certified organic.
“Our family has always believed Cabernet is the best grape we produce. When the grapes come in the Cabernet ferment always smells the best. I think the best wines are the wines that have the least amount done to them. Everything we do as winemakers I like to think is supporting the fruit characters from the vineyard.”
The flavours are beautiful ripe red berry, dark berry characters that are really soothing. They make you feel like you’ve come home and sat by the fire.
“Cabernet likes to be straight. It likes to be pure. So when you make it you’ve got to reflect that. So you just get into the vineyard and that’s where the craft comes from. If you get the picking date wrong you really are going to have a wine that’s out of balance. And Cabernet will show that when that happens. So it’s really the variety where you have to think about your expression; if you’re painting it, you’ve got to be painting with the finer brush. You can’t be mucking around. Cabernet knows the way it wants to be made and you have to make it that way. In red wine, the things that refresh you are the tannin levels. The tannin of Margaret River Cabernet is fine, sometimes more gravelly in the south and more plush in the north. The flavours are beautiful ripe red berry, dark berry characters that are really soothing. They make you feel like you’ve come home and sat by the fire.”
After nearly three decades working closely with producers in Margaret River, renowned winemaker Bruce Dukes launched Domaine Naturaliste – his own range of highly acclaimed wines. An homage to the region where he honed his craft, Domaine Naturaliste is a space for Bruce to demonstrate his mastery of the classic Margaret River varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Applying decades of international and local knowledge spanning terroir, fruit selection, palate and aroma, Bruce’s wines are balanced, complex and delicious.
“The typicity of Margaret River Cabernet comes through the beautiful vivid red and black fruit characters and particularly the characters of mulberry and cassis, and it’s how those beautiful red and black fruit perfumes interact with silky velvety tannins that coat your mouth and give a really beautiful textural experience. To me that’s the epitome of Cabernet from Margaret River.”
Cabernet Sauvignon is woven into the DNA of Howard Park; it was one of the first two wines they produced at their inception and has been a constant in their production ever since. Leaders in Cabernet Sauvignon clonal research in Western Australia, their trial program made accessible to the industry in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development.
“Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the undoubted jewels in the Margaret River crown. Why is it so good? Well, to be reductive, Cabernet is like Goldilocks. It doesn’t like to get too hot; it doesn’t like to get too cold, it doesn’t like to get wet feet, and it doesn’t like bears. So that is why it grows so well in Margaret River. Like most of the great global Cabernet regions, it is hemmed by the ocean, which moderates the climate and keeps it just right to retain vibrant black and blue fruit flavours balanced with vibrant acidities. The best Cabernets in the region are grown on free-draining, iron-rich gravels that allow the rain to pass through and not pool around the root zone, keeping canopies naturally balanced with concentrated, low-yielding fruit. Our Cabernets are beautiful, complex, vibrant, medium-bodied wines with a fine tannin structure that rewards those who have the patience to age them. They are also a natural repellent to bears.”
Farming the Yungarra vineyard organically and nurturing the vines to produce fruit that is true to region, variety and site, allows Dormolina to produce wines with no interventions to bottle, expressing the purity of the grape. Jo was the first in the region to import and use amphoras from Spain, Italy and Georgia, which are used for one of their highly acclaimed Clayface Cabernet. All the above features contributed to Jo’s recognition as the Young Gun of Wine award winner in 2013 and 2016.
“The Cabernet vines are delicate with defined leaves. Walking the rows pre-harvest gives you energy. Watching the little black berries grow feeling like you are a true Gummi Bear at heart. Once harvested in the winery, it’s like black silky caviar across the sorting table. With all this in my mind, I treat my Cabernet with the uttermost care not building it up with new oak nor stripping its joys with tannins. Cabernet is medium body fruitful red wine that has delicate pretty aromas with a structured gentle palette.”
Grown in deep gravel loams on a south-facing hill draining down to the Wilyabrup Brook, Fermoy Cabernet ripens in conditions beautifully moderated by the nearby Indian Ocean. Planted in 1985, the finest rows are handpicked and matured for 18 months in tight-grained French oak barriques, making for an elegant and perfumed Cabernet. It’s not by chance that Fermoy has won the prestigious Best in Show at the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards for their outstanding Fermoy 2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
“To have our Reserve Cabernet recognised as the very best is not only a win for Fermoy, but it shines the light once again on Margaret River being a consistently world-class producer of Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Amato Vino delivers a different approach to the typical Margaret River style — soft, supple tannins, medium-weight wine, juicy and savoury without the big structure.
Whilst many in the region seek to harness the power and structure of Cabernet Sauvignon, Amato Vino are forging a path to softness, highlighting the pretty and delicate fruit flavours of the variety, without the big oak and tannin structure.
“At Amato Vino, we seek to highlight the perfumed aromatics of Cabernet which can get lost sometimes in the search for power and weight. We’re still retaining flavour concentration, but the wine is rounded out with very fine pencil tannins that don’t get in the way.”
Wayfinder Wines is a new player in the Margaret River region, focusing on single-varietal wines grown on a certified organic vineyard and produced sustainably. Their 2021 vintage was produced from a single, low-yielding block of Houghton clone Cabernet, planted in 1998. Quite discrete on the attack, but gaining in-depth, intensity and vigour, this example of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon is more about purity and elegance than plushness.
“The appeal of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon is undeniable. This region can produce incredibly savoury, dark-fruited, earth-driven wines. There’s violet, cassis, wet earth, and gravel. They can be beautifully structured and understatedly powerful wines. And it’s a great variety to make. The pedigree comes from the vineyard, but the winemaker can have real influence in sculpting the texture and feel of the wine.”
Fraser Gallop is among the top producers of Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon. Their Palladian Cabernet Sauvignon is a pure expression of this beautiful variety, as it’s not a blend, and comes from the same 10 rows, same winemaking and same cooper every year. 100% Cabernet and 100% New Oak, barrel fermented on skins for 40 days then back in barrel for 18 months.
“Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the fussiest grape varieties in the world when it comes to growing conditions and where it will ripen to make an excellent wine. A maritime climate similar to that found in Bordeaux is what is required; however, Margaret River has an even greater advantage as we have the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ (sea breeze) blowing every day to reduce humidity and disease pressure; as a result, the Cabernet grapes we see here at Fraser Gallop Estate arrive at the winery in pristine condition which allows the winemaker to craft an outstanding Cabernet wine style. Flavours of red and black fruits explode on the palate that melds beautifully with the velvety tannins and fine oak flavours to finish.”
Flavours of red and black fruits explode on the palate that melds beautifully with the velvety tannins and fine oak flavours to finish.
Award-winning Lenton Brae is nestled into the hills of the premium Wilyabrup region, where loamy gravel soils provide excellent constitution and drainage. A stone’s throw from the Indian Ocean, their 8 different clones of Cabernet benefit from a mild and consistent Mediterranean climate. Exclusively sourced from their Wilyabrup vineyard, their beautiful Wilyabrup Cabernet Sauvignon is hand-crafted from start to finish and highlights the culmination of everything they have learnt since the first release in 1987.
“Cabernet was first planted at Lenton Brae in 1983. Since that time we’ve continued to explore, and research Cabernet in its various clones and now have 8 different Cabernet clones planted on the estate. Each clone brings a different characteristic to this king of varieties. Combined with vintage variations and the influence of the growing conditions we get to see how beautifully complex and poised this variety can be through these different clones. We are not looking for one particular character but instead want to be able to celebrate the fine textural components of the tannins, combined with the beautiful red and blueberry fruits that sit together so well. Elegance personified in a bottle.”
Cape Mentelle has a rich history of exceptional quality and consistency with Cabernet Sauvignon, from a pioneering producer in Margaret River in the early 1970s to a benchmark winery today. Their Heritage Cabernet Sauvignon is the culmination of an intensely detailed approach to their vineyards and grape selection. From their vigour and soil mapping techniques to the identification of select parcels and hand harvesting bunch by bunch, they ensure gentle handling through every stage of production.
“Our 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is a magnificent testimonial to our heritage vineyards, consistently delivering power, elegance and opulence.”
Passel Estate is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Cabernet Sauvignon wines this winter. Unusually, both Passel Estate Cabernet Sauvignons are 100% cabernet sauvignon, not blends, from their single block of 30-year-old vines at the estate, promising a pure expression of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon.
“Our Passel Estate Vineyard is in the northern Cowaramup precinct of Margaret River, about 6 km inland from the Indian Ocean. Our soils are decomposed granite, which is perfect for our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. The intersection of these soils, the climate and our 30-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon vines yield fruit with high-level mulberry and boysenberry aromatics, silken tannins, and succulence. Our winemakers Bruce and Remi capture these pristine characters of the fruit in our wines via classical and thoughtful winemaking.”
