Stay in touch with the latest news and happenings at Vasse Felix, in Margaret River and on tour around the world.
On Tuesday 20 June, the top 12 finalists were joined at POW Kitchen & Bandroom by the best in the industry to celebrate the eleventh annual Young Gun of Wine Awards. The awards search for, showcase and celebrate new and emerging winemakers, and have become the place to spot the best new talent and trends in wine.
Trophies presented included Wine Australia Best New Act, People’s Choice, Ocean Eight Winemaker’s Choice and the Riedel Young Gun Of Wine.
The prestigious Young Gun of Wine Award was given to Michael Downer from Murdoch Hill in Adelaide. On receiving his award, Downer noted he was caught off guard and didn’t have a speech prepared. “The 2017 Top 50 is an awesome list of winemakers, and then I felt making the Final 12 was such an achievement. To now be titled Young Gun of Wine, and join a list of past winners that I consider to be some of the most admired winemakers in Australia, is an unbelievable honour.”
Vasse Felix was a proud supporter of this year’s awards and had a presence at the People’s Choice Event in Melbourne, pouring wines for guests and nominees alike.
Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock also took time out of Winemaker Tour to attend the event and meet the highly esteemed nominees. “It is great to meet these fresh new faces of the Australian Wine Industry,” said Virginia.
The award winners were plucked from 200 winemaker candidates. A Top 50 was announced earlier this year, ahead of the Final 12, each in contention for the winemaker trophies. Of the final 12 producers, four included female winemakers, which is a wonderful result when a 2014 research report indicated women occupy only 8.8% of winemaker roles in Australia.
The 2017 judges included Nick Stock (Gourmet Traveller WINE, et al) Mike Bennie (Delicious, et al), Emma Farrelly (State Building), Philip Rich (The Lucas Group), Pip Anderson (MONA), Josh Elias (Alquimie), Rory Kent (Young Gun of Wine Founder and Executive Style) and Josephine Perry (Dormilona, 2016 Young Gun of Wine winner).
More details on the Awards here: http://younggunofwine.com/
We are delighted to announce the appointment of a new Head Chef at our multi-award winning Restaurant. Brendan Pratt will join Vasse Felix in late July 2017, replacing longstanding Executive Chef Aaron Carr.
Perth-born and trained, Brendan’s international experience includes positions with Michelin Star Restaurants The Fat Duck and The Ledbury. Since returning to Perth in 2012, Brendan has been employed as an Executive Chef within The Frasers Restaurant Group.
Paul Holmes à Court said Brendan’s experience, interest in working with wine and passion for the superb local produce of the South-West made him an excellent candidate to steer the menu in the Vasse Felix Restaurant.
“The Vasse Felix Restaurant was well-served since 1995 by Aaron Carr. Aaron’s reputation as a talented and experienced chef and an all-round top bloke is recognised widely within the industry. We looked for similar qualities for his replacement, and have found these in Brendan Pratt, who will relocate from Perth to Margaret River for the position,” Paul Holmes à Court said.
“In recent years, our menu has evolved to consist primarily of local produce, sourced seasonally to complement the Vasse Felix wine collection. Brendan will continue with this focus, supported by our long-serving team of Chefs,” Paul continued.
Brendan said the opportunity to work with the South-West’s outstanding wines and produce in a fine-dining capacity, in addition to the lifestyle benefits presented by the Margaret River Region drew him to the Vasse Felix position.
“I’ve always been a big fan of Vasse Felix – virtually every visit I have made to Margaret River has included lunch at the Restaurant,” Brendan Pratt said.
“I’m looking forward to uncovering more of the phenomenal local produce being grown in Australia’s South-West. Margaret River is one of Australia’s leading culinary destinations, so to take the reins of such a well-regarded Chef position is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. My wife and I are excited to commence our new life in Margaret River,” Brendan continued.
The Vasse Felix Restaurant has received many awards and accolades including, Top 100 and #1 Regional Restaurant WA – Gourmet Traveller, and Top 100 Restaurant – The Australian Financial Review. We are open for lunch daily, bookings can be made here.
The 2013 TOM CULLITY is now officially in trade, and our team have been busy promoting the release with a series of Cabernet Masterclasses and Wine Dinners on the East Coast.
Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock travelled to NSW and Queensland in June to launch our promotion events.
The Winemaker tour kicked off with two Cabernet Masterclasses in Sydney at Otto Ristorante, over two consecutive days. Key partners from both On Premise and Retail trade attended the classes, including Sommeliers from Quay, Cafe Sydney, Chophouse, Sydney Wine Merchants, and Mosmans Cellars, to name a few.
The QLD Masterclasses were also split over two days. The first was at Rumba Wine Bar with approximately 25 key representatives from both On-Premise and Retail. And in the evening, Virginia hosted over 50 guests for the consumer dinner at Embassy XO on the Sunshine Coast.
The second QLD Masterclass, held at Urbane, was attended by 25 trade partners, including staff from The Sofitel, The Cricketers Club, Esquire, Star Group and Black Bird. This was followed by another Vasse Felix Wine Dinner at Urbane restaurant, where close to 50 guests enjoyed four courses, paired with 6 Vasse Felix wines.
The 2013 TOM CULLITY is now showing in a range of Australian restaurants and dining establishments, including some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants - Grossi Florentino, The European Melbourne and The Australian Club (see below photos). ‘Expressive’, ‘Rounded’ and ‘Generous’ were just some of the terms these teams used to describe our new Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec.
Check out some of your favourite pics below of 2013 TOM CULLITY in trade and Virginia’s East Coast Winemaker tour.
We were thrilled to host a few long-term Icon Collectors from the Alumni Club at the Estate earlier this month, for an intimate tasting of some key back vintage Cabernets from the past 30 years.
Welcomed by Paul Holmes à Court, Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock and Estate Sommelier Evan Gill, the morning commenced with a tour (led by Paul no less) of our new museum space The Vault, with a glass of Blanc de Blancs in hand.
The tasting was then held in the Gallery, where Virginia guided the Alumni guests through a selection of 6 Vasse Felix museum wines. Paul also entertained our loyal collectors with stories to complement the vintages and outline the evolution of the Vasse Felix wine style
Standouts of the tasting included the 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon, the rich 1996 Heytesbury, the incredibly balanced but powerful 2005 Heytesbury and the final wine - our inaugural 2013 TOM CULLITY – was an epic finish to the tasting.
Some guests stayed on for a 5 course Tasting Menu with matching wines at the Chefs Table, and were treated to a side-by-side comparison of the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2013 TOM CULLITY.
All round, there were some very satisfied Icon Collectors! Tasting notes for the event are listed below.
Vasse Felix museum wines are stored in The Vault, to view them yourself, please visit the Estate or book ‘The Cellar Experience’ tour here.
ICON COLLECTORS TASTING NOTES (Original Versions)
1985 Cabernet Sauvignon
Mint, herbal, mulberry and cigar box aromas - quite attractive. The middle palate shows the Vasse Felix trademark of sweetness, elegance and balance. Tannins are soft but in moderate levels giving the wine a long finish.
92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec
A relatively cool ripening season, the grapes were picked much later than usual. The grapes sourced for this wine also included a portion of fruit from a vineyard south of Margaret River, giving the wine a much more leafy character than previous Cabernets from Vasse Felix.
• Best Red Wine, London Wine Fair
1996 Heytesbury
A very black and deep velvety wine in the glass with sweet coffee, cassis and spicy plums evident on the nose. The palate is velvety ~ almost viscous with intense chocolate, mulberry fruit and vanilla/clove oak with an amazing length of flavour and ripe tannin structure.
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc
The 1996 vintage was a year for high quality crops, especially in the reds, bud burst and flowering flourished in ideal conditions. The judge at the 1997 WA SGIO Wine Awards said, “ The Vasse Felix Heytesbury was the epitome of the new direction of red winemaking. It had none of the excesses in oak, tannin extraction and alcohol that characterise a big number of Australian red wines. It was complete and refined.”
• Best Red Blend, WA SGIO Wine Awards 1997
• Best Wine of the Show, Sheraton Wine Awards 1998
• Gold and Best Wine of the Show, Perth Royal Wine Show 1998
2005 Heytesbury
The 2005 Heytesbury is a beautiful, deep dark plum colour. The aroma is fragrant, with lifted blackcurrant and fresh subtle peppermint leaf with blueberries, violets, coconut, cumin seeds and thyme which meld into the background with rich oak perfumes. The palate is bright with fresh acidity and a slight creaminess to the mid-palate. The tannins are firm and the wine finishes dry with pretty flavours of violets, dark berries and a hint of mandarin.
95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Shiraz
2005 was an outstanding year in Margaret River. The growing season was drier than usual and the days were warm with cool nights – ideal for producing high quality red wines. The brief given when making the Heytesbury, in the words of Vasse Felix and Margaret River’s founding vigneron, Dr Tom Cullity – “to make the best possible wine.” Balance, elegance, complexity and restrained power are the hallmarks of Heytesbury and are the direct result of an uncompromising approach to quality.
• Gold, Margaret River Wine Show 2007
• Australian Wine Companion, 95 pts James Halliday
• Wine Enthusiast, 91 pts Editors Choice
2009 Heytesbury
Deep red with a pink/crimson hue. Deep, concentrated and packed full of blackcurrant and mulberry aromas, with fine layers of violets, lavendar, aniseed, tobacco leaf and graphite. A sensational structure that is comet-like in its profile. A ball of voluminous, sweet, dark fruit and intense tightlywound acidity with textural tannins punctuates the entry, and continues with a long, fine, tail brimming with tangy red berries, dried sage, cedar and ultra-fine tannins.
69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petit Verdot, 15% Malbec
Two cold springs in 2007 and 2008 contributed to low yields in 2009. Summer was moderate and fine conditions remained throughout harvest. These conditions produced superbly ripe and balanced fruit displaying all the hallmarks of a fine vintage. Heytesbury is a barrel selection from the finest parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec from the 2009 Vintage. The Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend includes portions of Malbec and Petit Verdot, which are distinctly perfumed, flavoured and structured. Both complement the restrained power of Cabernet Sauvignon. All batches were meticulously handled and given 18 months maturation in French oak barriques.
• Gold at Royal Melbourne Wine Show 2011, Qantas Wine Show of WA 2012 and Sydney Royal Wine Show 2012
• The Weekend West, 97 pts Ray Jordan
2012 Heytesbury
Bright maroon with a purple hue. Fresh fragrant black, red and blue berries, floral violet notes, cherry pip and pie crust meld with the earthy savoury tones of gravel stones, damp forest and a cedar steam nuance. Luscious dark berries stolen from the forest explode with a taught but voluptuous sensation. The fruit is sweet and fine but the structure is long and powerful. It has super fine tannins, fresh acid and a delicious and unique memory remaining.
77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot
2012 was not just another exceptional season, but also a year of significant evolution for red winemaking at Vasse Felix, with the adoption of 100% natural yeast fermentation in our top red wines. Good finishing winter rains with moderate spring conditions resulted in excellent canopy health. The summer ripening period was warm and dry with some above average heat in late January prompting an early start to harvest. The weather tempered in early February and the fruit ripening slowed to a more typical pattern resulting in a long and steady vintage. Classic in style, this barrel selection of the best Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot from the vintage takes Heytesbury to a whole new level.
• Top 100 Award, 31st Edition Australian Wine Vintages (The Gold Book), Rob Geddes MW
• Double Gold, 6 Nations Wine Challenge
2013 TOM CULLITY
Deep maroon with a brick and purple tint. Savoury to start with meaty mushroom, nori, salty sea breeze, graphite and spicy cedar notes. Opens beautifully with cherry pip, cassis, Christmas cake, orange rind, pot pourri and Australian forest floor. A refined, soft, elegant and almost creamy Cabernet style with sublime tannin and mouthfeel. The flavour is full, yet elevated and carries cherry, cassis, hints of cinotto, cedar and chocolate. It finishes juicy, while fine and dry.
76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot
Vasse Felix, Margaret River’s founding wine estate, was established by Dr Thomas Brendan Cullity in 1967. Among his first plantings were Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec vines, from which he produced the estate’s first red wine. The TOM CULLITY descends from these original vines and represents the pinnacle of Vasse Felix. The inaugural release was in May 2017, coinciding with Vasse Felix’s 50th Anniversary. All fruit was grown in Vasse Felix’s Home Vineyard. Fruit parcels were picked in small blocks and fermented with 100% wild yeasts. 52% was static fermented and macerated on skins for more than 20 days. 48% was open fermented and macerated for 10-15 days on skins. The wine was fined with egg whites and racked before minimal filtration to bottle.
• James Suckling Top 100 Australian Wines, 99 pts Nick Stock
• The Weekend Australian, 98 pts James Halliday
• The West Australian, 98 pts Ray Jordan
On Friday 4 June, we hosted the annual Margaret River Region Cabernet Tasting and what a fantastic tasting it was!
Over 60 producers shared close to 100 unfinished barrel samples of Cabernet Sauvignon from the 2016 vintage, allowing winemakers and viticulturists to examine the different techniques used to produce Margaret River’s award winning Cabernet.
A variety of technical information was provided for each sample including where in the Margaret River region the vines were grown, the clone and age of the vines, the type of yeast used for fermentation and type of oak used for maturation.
Guests were treated to an overview of the 2016 Vintage conditions from our Chief Viticulturist Bart Molony, as well as some key tasting notes and feedback on the samples from Will Berliner (Cloudburst Wines) and Glenn Goodall (Xanadu Wines).
And their verdict? The quality of the 2016 vintage was excellent. We are set for another great year of Cabernet Sauvignon in Margaret River.
Vasse Felix hosted over 350 wine producers of Margaret River and local friends of our industry at the Estate on Friday 5 May for A Colossal Celebration - 50 years of Vasse Felix and Margaret River wine.
Each guest was asked to bring their favorite bottle of Margaret River wine from the past 50 years to share as part of a 'Colossal' Tasting Table. Highlights from the tasting table included a 1973 & 1975 Mosswood Cabernet, a 1978 Vasse Felix Cabernet, and an Imperial to unveil the new vintage of 2013 TOM CULLITY.
Guests were greeted with a glass of Vasse Felix Blanc de Blancs on arrival and the musical talents of accoustic guitarist Daniel White. They then headed over to the Colossal Tasting Table at 3pm to embark on a wine tasting adventure of their own making – choosing from a range of over 300 Margaret River wines.
During the afternoon, Paul Holmes à Court hosted a discussion panel featuring Andrew Caillard MW of Pinnacle Drinks, Denis Horgan from Leeuwin Estate, Nic Peterkin of L.A.S Vino, Robert Hill-Smith from Yalumba, and Vasse Felix’s Chief Winemaker Virginia Willcock. The panel discussion centered around ‘Imagining 100’ – what the wine industry in Margaret River will look like in 2067 (the 100th anniversary of the region). The panel had a wonderfully engaging and interesting discussion about Margaret River wine and its position on the world stage.
Following the panel, the event kicked into party mode with local band Howling Onshore entertaining guests while the Settlers Tavern and Vasse Felix hospitality teams filled bellies with delicious food and wine.
Margaret River Elements helped to capture the milestone event – check out some of our favourite snaps below!
We are excited to announce that the 2013 TOM CULLITY Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec is now officially available.
Dr Tom Cullity established Vasse Felix in 1967 and made Margaret River’s first significant red wine – our Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec, in 1972.
The TOM CULLITY is a single-vineyard evolution of the HEYTESBURY, named in recognition of Tom’s achievements. It descends from his original 1967 vines and was made exclusively from our Home Vineyard in Wilyabrup, which has been expanded carefully over the years.
The 2013 TOM CULLITY has been well received by critics, receving a 99 point rating from Nick Stock and a 98 point rating from James Halliday who said the wine “Makes its statement effortlessly, leaving Tom content.”
This season has been more nerve-wrecking than the last ten, there were moments we sat watching the weather forecasts of predicted rainfall anxiously, only to see dramatic changes in our favour
The mysterious alchemy of the Margaret River cape seems to have kept us well protected and the fruit has ripened beautifully - some spectacular batches in house.
This year is a cool vintage of elegant, perhaps slightly lighter bodied wines. The Summer temperatures were cooler than normal and we began the of harvest for our white varieties three weeks later than average over the last ten years, with picking commencing on 22 February.
Chardonnay is looking crisp – slightly coiled in its relatively young phase but with its balance we are comfortable it will be another great white vintage. Sauvignon Blanc has excellent flavour and structure and a good natural balance of acidity and sugar. We harvested Semillon in a very healthy condition too. With healthy fruit and confidence in our natural microflora we have extended our wild fermentation program across to more of the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon this year, and that wine will now show more of its natural attributes from tank and barrel. (Meaning all Premier and Icon wines are fermented with natural yeast).
We have harvested the first blocks of Shiraz which is really interesting in this cooler year. It is quite spicy, more cool climate looking and very vibrant.
The Cabernet received a couple of consistent, warm weeks during its veraison period and the fruit is coloured beautifully. We expect we will be picking as patches reach their peak any day now. Watch this space!
We are excited to announce that the newly decked out museum space 'The Vault' - home to the most historic museum wine collection in Margaret River - is now open to visitors.
In the 1970s Dr Tom Cullity had an idea to sink the concrete shell of a water tank into the earth to store Vasse Felix wines. Unfortunately, in the early days it wasn't fit for purpose as the temperature varied too much. The space evolved over the years, eventually housing the Vasse Felix Cellar Door from 1979 up until 2009.
These days the cellar is temperature controlled. It has been the home of our museum wine collection since 2010, and most recently received a spectacular new fit-out to become 'The Vault'.
The Vault houses all of our historical wines; including the last remaining bottle of the 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon, alongside a new historical exhibition of the early years in the region and at Vasse Felix.
It is now available for selected tours, including 'The Cellar Experience', which operates on weekends.
The Vault was developed working with Melbourne-based interior designers Hecker Guthrie with whom we have worked for numerous Cellar Door projects including the Restaurant refurbishment of 2014, development of our Wine Lounge, and the design of Bar Felix.
These projects have been nominated for the Commercial and Interiors chapter of the WA Architecture Awards to be announced later this year.
Summer in wine paradise; friends, family, sunshine, good food and fine wine.
It was wonderful having so many visitors over the holidays, in what has been a mild Summer here in Margaret River. Between the Restaurant, Wine Lounge and front lawn, the Estate was certainly a bustling hub of activity - and this feeling has continued through January.
We spotted some great images on social media from visitors sharing their VF experience by tagging @vassefelixwines and #vassefelix.