Vintage 2023 | A Warm Welcome to Vintage 2023

As is tradition, we welcomed the 2023 vintage crew and what marks the start of the picking season at our annual barbeque on Monday morning, christening the beginning of vintage with an egg and bacon roll. The team includes some specialist winemakers who have joined us from around the world, alongside our longstanding winemaking and viticulture teams.⁠ The action began with the first overnight harvest at our Adams Road Vineyard on Monday night, followed by the first hand harvest of our Gibraltar Chardonnay blocks with teams continuing to pick throughout the week.⁠

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the all-important job to help us handpick the grapes this season. We look forward to sharing more behind-the-scenes vintage action over the coming weeks.

Heytesbury, "A Benchmark Australian Chardonnay"

It was a delight to read two stellar articles by Julia Harding MW on Jancisrobinson.com, in which she named the Heytesbury "a benchmark Australian Chardonnay", while also delving deep into the winemaking detail that aids its distinct flintiness.

Julia delved deep into an exploration of the Heytesbury Chardonnay, detailing technical aspects of both the viticulture and winemaking that have influenced the style and evolution of this wine, championed by Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock.

Read on to discover her tasting notes as she worked her way through a vertical tasting of nine vintages.

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Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2021 Margaret River - 17 ++
Hand-harvested. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 553 NTU. Aged 9 months in French oak, of which 56% new. Six months in tank after blending. TA 6.8 g/l, pH 3.14. Bottled June 2022 but not released until October 2022. Winemaker Virginia Willcock always worries about how fruity the wine tastes (what she referred to as ‘devastating fruit) for the first 6–12 months after bottling, before it starts to show its more savoury, smoky/mineral qualities. She would like to keep the wine longer before release but they are always sold out of this wine for around 6 months of the year. This vintage is likely to be released in the first few months of 2023. Beautifully and discreetly spiced by the oak with – at the moment – very little struck-match sulphidic character, though it shows a little more with aeration. Marked mineral stone-dust character even with all this youthful fruit. Extremely tight, not lean, but textured, with a chalky feel. Crisp, bone dry, the citrus a little sweet-sour on the finish for now but already showing that lovely creamy texture, just. As it warms and opens in the glass, and going back to this after the older vintages in the line-up, the fruit is really intense, more tropical but still shot through with lime. It would be a great shame to drink this too young.

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2020 Margaret River - 17.5 ++
A warm vintage with low yields. Hand-harvested 5–12 February. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 600 NTU. Aged 10 months in French oak, of which 62% new. Seven months in tank after blending. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.14. Bottled July 2021. Winemaker Virginia Willcock always worries about how fruity the wine tastes (what she referred to as ‘devastating fruit’) for the first 6–12 months after bottling, before it starts to show its more savoury, smoky/mineral qualities. She would like to keep the wine longer before release but they are always sold out of this wine for around 6 months of the year. Powerful and tightly wound vintage. High alcohol and high acid. A little more smoky than the 2021, but firmly mineral in its smokiness not oak toastiness. Oak is beautifully subtle, but really present. Clean-cut lime fruit and lime marmalade, outstanding freshness and length. Very very young but already integrated. Opens up to be really powerful and more toasty/smoky. ‘The powerhouse that our icon wine should be’, suggests winemaker Virginia Wilcock. 

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2019 Margaret River - 17.5
Cooler than 2020 and labour-intensive. Hand-harvested 21 Feb to 8 March 2019. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 500 NTU. Aged 9 months in French oak, of which 61% new. Five months in tank after blending. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.14. Bottled May 2020. Winemaker Virginia Willcock always worries about how fruity the wine tastes (what she referred to as ‘devastating fruit’) for the first 6–12 months after bottling, before it starts to show its more savoury, smoky/mineral qualities. She would like to keep the wine longer before release but they are always sold out of this wine for around 6 months of the year. A little more toasty on the nose than the 2019 and starting so show more of that creamy/leesy character as well as the more flinty aroma. More lemon than lime at first with a light smoky herbal note. Wonderfully dry tension thanks to the acidity and the texture, which is key to the impressive and mouth-watering finish. Fine grip/friction and great length. (JH) 13%

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2018 Margaret River - 18.5
Hand-harvested 8 Feb to 8 March 2018. Whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 630 NTU. Aged 9 months in French oak, of which 42% new. Seven months in tank after blending. TA 6.8 g/l, pH 3.19. Bottled June 2019. According to winemaker Virginia Willcock, everyone loved this vintage – the winemakers in particular because the fruit was so healthy and the weather so good that the viticulturists were not pressuring them to harvest. Seductively smoky struck-match aroma but so beautifully done that it doesn’t obscure the fruit. Fragrant with both citrus and a light floral note and yet steely/mineral too – quite an achievement to have both. Creamy, so finely textured with a very slight tannic grip adding to the freshness. Immense length and depth of fruit. Great power and distinction. Mushroom risotto needed for this, or roast chicken. 

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2017 Margaret River - 17
Hand-harvested 1–17 March 2017, three weeks later than usual. A small proportion was machine harvested because they like to have some skin contact in cooler vintages in order to get more flavour. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 550 NTU. Nine months in French oak, 53% new, two months in tank after blending. TA 6.3 g/l, pH 3.14. Bottled January 2018. Much more herbal than the younger vintages, dusty more than smoky. Leaner and more cedary on the palate, less creamy, still balanced but less giving. Lighter weight because it was the coolest vintage in 15 years. Long and stony/mineral. ‘More like Yarra Valley’, suggests winemaker Virginia Willcock. In cooler vintages they avoid 100% whole-bunch pressing because it might be too ‘stemmy’, giving unripe flavours. I’ve been far more conservative with my suggested drinking dates but the ageing trajectory of the Heytesbury can be surprising. A pretty good result for such a cool vintage. 

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2016 Margaret River - 17.5
Hand-harvested 30 Jan to 24 Feb 2016. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 519 NTU. Nine months in French oak, 57% new, two months in tank after blending. TA 6.5 g/l, pH 3.17. Bottled February 2017. Much more toasty than the younger vintages and just a little bit honeyed but not at all oxidative. Starting to get a woody/cedary character on the palate, lime and lemon fruit really standing proud over the oak, deep and long and just a little creamy. Less distinctive than 2017 and 2018. 

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2015 Margaret River - 18
A low-yielding vintage due to inclement weather, cold night-time temperatures and rain during flowering and berry development. Hand-harvested 4–13 Feb 2015 and whole-bunch pressed but a small proportion was machine-harvested in order to have some skin contact in the press for those whole berries. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 530 NTU. Ten months in French oak, 57% new, two months in tank after blending. TA 6.8 g/l, pH 3.19. Bottled February 2016. The percentage of malolactic conversion was lower here, leaving 1.89 g/k malic acid – the highest in this line-up. More steely than when they started using a little more malo from 2016. Really complex nose, far more tertiary character here: cedary, wild herbs, and just a touch of honeyed richness, but still with a smoky/mineral side of the younger wines, still steely. On the palate, deep and gently chewy, lots of fresh citrus remaining and the acidity and the subtle tannins give great shape to the fruit. 

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2014 Margaret River - 18 
A ‘text-book vintage in Margaret River’, according to Vasse Felix. Hand-harvested 11–19 Feb 2014 and whole-bunch pressed Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 590 NTU. Nine months in French oak, 64% new, two months in tank after blending. TA 6.75 g/l, pH 3.19. Bottled February 2015. Quite smoky on the nosy but smells so young. No honey, all crushed stones with a hint of cedar and herbs. A perfect demonstration of cool minerality balanced by creamy texture. Hard to believe this is 2014. It has a richness of texture that pairs perfectly with the underlying if no longer primary fruit weight and ripeness. Struck-match aftertaste. Silky and scented by that smoky/stony quality more than by the fruit, though the fruit is the anchor. 

Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay 2013 Margaret River - 17.5
Warm to very warm in January and February, warmer than usual at night. Hand-harvested 6–24 Feb 2013 and whole-bunch pressed. Spontaneous fermentation in barrel with very high solids. Average 620 NTU. Nine and a half months in French oak, 75% new, two months in tank after blending. TA 6.7 g/l, pH 3.11. Bottled February 2014. This smells smoky and ‘volcanic’ (I guess that means a little bit sulphidic since there are no volcanoes in Margaret River ...) – rather like some wines from the Azores. So youthful, with pure citrus as well as all that smokiness. Tight, super-fresh, dry and not as creamy as the 2014. Remarkably youthful and elegant. 

A Warm Welcome Back to Wine Paradise

 

Margaret River is buzzing in a big way. The Cellar Door team share some of their favourite things to do in the region this season.

Commonage Coffee Co. Yallingup

COFFEE

Grab your morning brew from local roasters, Commonage Coffee Co. in Yallingup. Try one of their specialty roasts or grab breakfast from the cabinet and enjoy the picturesque surrounds. Best of all they are dog friendly. In a hurry? The Red Feather drive in, Cowaramup, roasts its own single origin blends - the perfect pit stop.

 

Margaret River Rivermouth at Prevelly Beach, Tourism WA

BEACH TIME 

With no shortages of pristine coastline to take in, Prevelly is one of the most stunning dog friendly beaches in the region. The beach is humming with families and all sorts of four-legged friends. For something more secluded, Guillotine Beach Juniper Road, Gracetown (4WD access only) is spectacular.

 

Rotary Park Heritage Trail, Tourism WA

HIKE LIFE

Margaret River Heritage Trail at Rotary Park is roughly two kilometres and takes approximately 30 minutes. In Spring and early Summer you are surrounded with an array of wildflowers and birds, keep an eye out for forest fairies - the Blue Wrens! Quinninup Falls on the Cape to Cape track never fails as a stunning hike either; beautiful in October and November.

 

Temper Temper in Cowaramup

SNACK FIX

Margaret River is home to some of the finest artisan treats around. Cowaramup’s Temper Temper makes a range of sweet handcrafted treats. We recommend the freeze-dried chocolate coated strawberries. Charcuterie Margaret River has an epic array of local meats, or stop at Barnyard 1978 to grab pasta and honey. 

 

Cheeseburgers from Normal Food Van

SUNSET BITES

Park up and enjoy the sunset with triple cooked chips and one of the best burgers in town at Normal Food Van. Keep an eye out on their Instagram for locations. Tip - text through your order in advance as they sell out fast! Look out for the Hooked Up Fish n Chips pop up too - amazing fresh caught classics, with an equal cult following.

An Indulgent Summer Recipe by Head Chef Brendan Pratt

AGITATED CHOCOLATE BY HEAD CHEF BRENDAN PRATT

Ever so easy and incredibly impactful, elevate your festive dining by sprinkling over a Pavlova or chocolate cake to decorate and add an extra layer of intrigue. In (very) rare occasions you may have some spare, sprinkle over a bowl of ice cream for adult-style sprinkles.

INGREDIENTS
200g caster sugar
65g filtered water
140g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped into 1cm chunks or smaller

METHOD
1. Before you start this recipe you’ll need a whisk and large sheet of baking paper laid out on the bench
2. Place sugar and water in a pot and bring to boil, simmer until reaches 130 Degrees C (or starting to colour around the edges)
3. Take off the heat.
4. Add all of the chocolate and whisk quickly to agitate, the mix should look a little like soil.
5. Tip onto baking paper and let cool. Serve over your favourite desert and enjoy with a glass of Vasse Felix Cane Cut Semillon.

Vasse Felix Take Out 'Excellence, Front of House' and Place 2nd in WA Good Food Guide Top 100 Restaurants for 2022

We are thrilled to announce we placed second in the WA Good Food Guide Top 100 Restaurants for 2022. A very well deserved congratulations to the Vasse Felix Restaurant team and to Hospitality Manager, Caleb Dreaver who won the gong for Excellence, Front of House with the WAGFG judges remarking;

"With more than 10 years under his belt at Vasse Felix, Caleb Dreaver is an advertisement for finding your passion and running with it, his presence felt in the astute touches and sheer class coursing through his staff at what remains one of the state’s very finest restaurants. His strength, surely, lies in recognising that success is a team game, made all the easier when it’s fuelled by passion and synthesis between floor and kitchen, with joy at the heart."

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The WA Good Food Guide Top 100 Restaurants list is generated from over 5,000 restaurants in Western Australia. It was a joy to place second in the list for 2022 after taking out Restaurant of the year in 2021, with the full review from the WAGFG judges below.

"The complete package in every sense and probably one of the consistently best vineyard restaurants in Australia."

"Paul Holmes à Court’s Vasse Felix restaurant, like the renowned wine brand behind it, is a case study in refinement. Evolution, not revolution. The virtues of this elegant, relaxed eyrie above the vines and sculpture garden have been recounted so many times, and deservedly so, meaning for Vasse it’s a matter of maintaining standards, and they do. 

Equally, under chef Brendan Pratt’s command, the kitchen keeps stretching itself without necessarily stretching the diner. The menu changes frequently, but the ethos of a simple plate representing craft, thoughtful combinations and maturity, and dishes that work with wine, are the restaurant’s central pillars. We’re thinking dishes like the cured scallop with apple or the mortadella-stuffed char siu glazed quail. Or braised beef rib with oyster emulsion and a black caviar sauce. Distinct and clever flavours and textures in harmony, not contest.

And then there’s the craft of the restaurateur, too, the little things that drive the experience: the hospitality, service, and amenity of an à la carte or tasting menu choice, not the didactic approach of so many in the South West. In short, one of the state’s very best restaurants remains exactly that, an achievement worth celebrating."

A huge congratulations to all of the outstanding venues in the 2022 WA Good Food Guide Top 100. Explore the full list here.

2021 Heytesbury Chardonnay Makes James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of the World 2022

We are thrilled to share the 2021 Heytesbury Chardonnay was included in James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of the World 2022. Australia landed six wines in the top 100, led by Margaret River with James remarking of the region, "It’s a unique maritime region making fresh and structured reds and bright and flavorful whites." Read the full review below.

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98 Points

"A dense and structured white with white peaches, honeysuckle, lemon tree, and hints lime. Full-bodied with a gorgeous center palate and intense and lively finish. So wild and energetic. Wonderful depth and focus. Drink or hold. Can age beautifully. Think where it will be."

Purchase 2021 Heytesbury Chardonnay.

Matthew Jukes’ 100 Best Australian Wines 2022/2023

We are thrilled to have been featured in Matthew Jukes' 100 Best Australian Wines 2022/23. The 17th edition of the report featured our 2020 Heytesbury Chardonnay, with an honourable mention of our 2018 TOM CULLITY Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec. Ten percent of the wines featured in the report were from Margaret River, featuring producers, Howard Park, Robert Oatley, Leeuwin Estate, McHenry Hohnen, Xanadu, Moss Wood, and Cullen, who dominated in the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Friends categories.

Dedicated breakaway Blanc de Blancs house, Idée Fixe received a debut feature in the report too, with the full review available here.

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2020 Vasse Felix, Heytesbury Chardonnay, Margaret River

Sourced from the Home and Garawary Vineyards, this is an even finer Heytesbury than the phenomenal 2012 vintage (a personal favourite of mine that still looks ravishing) and with thrilling weight and incredible balance, given the silkiness of the fruit, this is a desperately delicious wine. I questioned Vasse owner Paul Holmes à Court about his oak regime and he cooly explained that they, “pay more for oak that does less, quietly and for longer”. I love this expression and it simply explains why this is such a mesmerising wine. It is unusually forward (2020 is a fairly warm vintage), superb throughout, layered, complex and stunningly calm. Having the benefit of being able to blend fruit from both the Wilyabrup and Wallcliffe wards, the detail in this wine is truly memorable. It is among the very finest in the land. Talking of fine wine, 2018 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec (£113, 14.5%, www.harrowgatefinewinecompany.co.uk) is a landmark vintage for this incredible wine. Made from fruit taken from the dry-grown, organically certified Home Vineyard, which was planted in 1967 by Dr Thomas Brendan Cullity’s mass selection clones, there is a Calon-Ségur-like graphite edge to this majestic red that brings a certain coolness to the exuberant fruit. There is perfect balance from the off and considering it is a young wine, the texture, tannins and acidity are already in awesome harmony. This is a wine that is extremely proud of its tannic footprint, because from these unshakable foundations winemaker Virginia Willcock has built a towering wine. While we all adore top-flight Margaret River Cabernet, and there are a good few mentioned in this Report, this is not simply a Cabernet Sauvignon, because 17.5% Malbec and 4.5% Petit Verdot are allowed into this wine to give it a completely different complexion to all others. These two opinionated red grapes add flower notes and earthy characters that Cabernet does not possess in its armoury and this makes Tom Cullity a fascinating and also uniquely compelling wine.
 

The full report is available on matthewjukes.com

Chameleon No.2 | A Tale of Power and Tension

The evening began on the lawn while chefs prepared the first course of fish sausage and brioche on a hibachi grill accompanied by a melodic string duo. Guests then traversed to the gallery where they were treated to 2015 Heytesbury Chardonnay from magnums, while a crescendo of intense strings and drumming paid homage to the phenolic power and tension of this incredible icon wine.

Upstairs guests were treated to an anthology of Chardonnays representing time and place at Chameleon. Head Chef Brandan Pratt prepared a thrilling six-course degustation, paired with some incredible new and rare museum wines selected by Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock and Estate Sommelier Evan Gill, culminating in the unveiling of the 2021 Heytesbury Chardonnay. Peruse the below highlights. 

Photo Credit Lauren Trickett Photography

Elevate your Summer Seafood

Elevate your Summer seafood game with this simple twist on a classic French sauce - Beurre noisette or Burnt Butter.

Beurre noisette, pronounced burr-nwah-ZET, is a French term for 'brown butter' or literally 'hazelnut butter.' It is a one-ingredient condiment - unsalted butter - cooked in a pan until it turns a golden brown. The resulting butter has a nutty flavour and is added to vegetables, pasta, omelettes or chicken, but most commonly fish and seafood.

"My personal favourite pairing is king prawns, butterflied and roasted over coals, a nice piece of fish or grilled scallops can also benefit from the addition of a burnt butter sauce. Alternatively, adding chopped garlic and a little sage right at the end can create a classic pasta dressing." Chef Brendan Pratt

This recipe uses lemon juice to both stop the cooking process of the milk solids and more importantly, add freshness and balance to an otherwise fatty and rich sauce. The addition of the beach mustard adds a lovely aromatic, mustardy tang to the sauce.

Burnt Butter sauce with beach mustard

200g unsalted butter
2 tbl spoons of chopped beach mustard or 1 tbl spoon of Dijon mustard
1 tsp flaked sea salt
Juice of one lemon

Heat a stainless steel saucepan over a medium heat. Too much heat will burn the butter so start the heat slowly.

Cut butter into tablespoon-sized portions and separate them.

Add the butter to the heated pan.

Using a whisk as the butter melts, swirl the butter so that it cooks evenly.

Swirl the pan occasionally to ensure no butter burns.

The butter will begin to foam after 30 seconds or so. Keep stirring constantly as the butter begins to melt and the proteins brown.

Keep an eye on the colour of the butter - you're looking for a golden brown hue. Once the butter is the correct colour, pour it out of the pan into a large heatproof container. Add the lemon juice, salt and beach mustard (or Dijon) and whisk to combine.

Spoon over your cooked seafood and enjoy with the Vasse Felix Chardonnay.

Vasse Felix Makes Gourmet Traveller's Top 82 Restaurant for the Country

We are delighted to have been featured in Gourmet Traveller's "Best Restaurants in WA 2023"⁠
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The best-rated restaurants from each state go on to form The Top 82 restaurants in Australia for 2023. We are thrilled to be one of three restaurants from Margaret River, among good company with Frui Momento and Arimia, with the full review below. ⁠

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"I will eat whatever you put down in front of me", insists an enthusiastic diner at a neighbouring table. Her faith isn't unfounded. Since opening in the late '80s, this luxe-casual cellar-door restaurant has been a standard-bearer for Margaret River dining. Circa 2023, it shows no signs of slowing down. Like Vasse Felix's benchmark wines, Brendan Pratt's cuisine is detailed, layered and progressive, yet rooted in classical thinking. Roasted Jerusalem artichokes with burnt lemon oil in a potato-skin broth epitomise earthiness; sauce ravigote brightens springy snapper boudin blanc; a sharp corn vinaigrette electrifies rags of fazzoletti pasta draped over corn custard. As adventurous as the cooking can be, the kitchen never loses sight of the clientele's enjoyment. Ditto the enthusiastic staff who are present every step of the way, right through to a superb send-off in the form of a baked cheesecake, cleverly set with kombu and showered with grated truffle."⁠

Read the full Gourmet Traveller articles, Best Restaurants in WA 2023, and Top 82 Restaurants in Australia 2023. Restaurant bookings are highly encouraged and can be made via this link.