Stay in touch with the latest news and happenings at Vasse Felix, in Margaret River and on tour around the world.
Gently pressed and transferred to fine French oak, this pure, unclarified Chardonnay juice will ferment with 100% wild yeasts, before maturing on lees for approximately nine months with battonage.
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The 2021 Chardonnay harvest began last week with the team handpicking in our Gnarawary Blocks at the Boodjidup Vineyard, just south of Margaret River town.
Harvest has continued in all four of our Margaret River vineyards, including our Home Vineyard (pictured below) while in the Winery the team carefully press and transfer the beautifully crisp, ripe Chardonnay to French oak for wild fermentation.
This is a particularly exciting vintage for us as it is the first harvest where two of our vineyards, Adams Road and Karridale, are officially certified organic! The remainder of our Vineyard collection, Home Vineyard and Boodjidup Vineyard, is completing the ‘in conversion’ period, with official certification expected very soon.
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In the lead up to harvest, our viticulture team regularly bring in samples of fruit from all four of our Margaret River vineyards for the Winery team to measure, among other things, the Baumé - sugar and ripeness - of our fruit and thus the progress of the ripening journey.
This is how key decisions are made on when and where we will next be harvesting - which blocks are perfectly ripe and which need just that little extra time on vine.
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Checking on the progress of our young Tom's Block Chardonnay vines at the Home Vineyard.
These young blocks have been receiving a little extra attention in the lead-up to harvest in the form of weeding, water monitoring and fertigation - delivering a combination of organic fertilisers to the vine root system through our irrigation lines.
We look forward to seeing the fruits of our labour this coming vintage.
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Determining the perfect date for Chardonnay harvest involves a little intuition and a little science, which comes in the form of an interesting viticulture contraption - a refractometer - shown below.
The refractometer helps to measure the Baumé - sugar and ripeness - of our fruit, by analysing the density of the Chardonnay juice.
These tests in our Valley Block Chardonnay are showing veraison is perfectly on track, with our Chardonnay harvest expected to kick off in the coming week.
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Our fresh new French oak barriques have arrived in the Winery and none too soon, with Chardonnay harvest expected to kick off next week.
Sourced from 150-180 year old trees in France and aged for approx. 34 - 46 months with exposure to the elements, the subtlety of this French oak perfume is a perfect match to the elegance and finesse of our Margaret River fruit.
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The 2017 Filius Cabernet Sauvignon has been making quite a stir with US wine critics, featuring at #46 in the Wine Spectator Top 100 late last year and most recently in the Wall Street Journal's article on 'Where to find the Best Cabernets for $25 [USD] and Under'.
The 2018 vintage, widely accepted to be one of Margaret River's best Cabernet vintages in recent years, is now available. Explore the 2018 Filius Cabernet Sauvignon here.
Peruse the reviews below or follow the links to see the full selections.
*Please note the Wall Street Journal article is subscriber access only.
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#46 | 2017 Filius Cabernet Sauvignon
"Firm, showing off the region's signature fresh herbal notes, which give this aromatic lift and linger on the finish. Bay leaf, rosemary and cedar details are effortlessly infused into the cassis and plum flavors. A hint of black tea adds to the complexity, as does the seamlessness of the velvety tannins. Drink now through 2035."
92 points
Where to Find the Best Cabernets for $25 and Under | 2017 Filius Cabernet Sauvignon
"Filius is the entry-level Cabernet from Vasse Felix, the founding wine estate in Margaret River, Australia. The wine is well structured with firm tannins and great purity of fruit, unmasked by excessive oak."
Late January we began placing nets on the vines in our four Margaret River Vineyards to protect our pristine fruit from the curious local bird population.
Explore the collection of photos below which show our team setting nets in the Gibraltar Blocks of our Home Vineyard late last week.
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We were thrilled to finish the year with a number of Vasse Felix wines featuring in key wine critic's Top Wines of 2020.
Notably, the 2016 TOM CULLITY was featured in Tyson Stelzer's Top 12 Australian Wines of 2020 and in James Suckling's 2020 Top 100 Wines of Australia alongside the 2018 Heytesbury Chardonnay. The Heytesbury was also selected by Sarah Ahmed as one of her '24 Vinous Highlghts of the Year', published on her UK blog The Wine Detective. And from our contemporary, versatile Filius collection, the Filius Cabernet Sauvignon featured at #46 in Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines! An excellent way to round out the year.
For us, these awards reflect our commitment to expressing and exploring the very best of Margaret River, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Peruse the reviews below or follow the links to see the full selections.
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Tyson Stelzer's Top 12 Australian Wines of 2020
#4 | 2016 TOM CULLITY
"The fragrance of cabernet and the savoury detail of malbec unite to distinguished effect in this long-ripening season, giving birth to one of the greatest blends in the lauded history this legendary estate. Intricately scaffolded, with ethereal fruit, enduring, powder-fine tannins and sensitive oak interlocking seamlessly, this is a masterfully crafted creation. It is impeccably polished from the outset, yet possessing staggering longevity. Kudos, Virginia Willcock."
98 points
James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of Australia 2020
#44 | 2018 Heytesbury Chardonnay
"Deeply complex and so richly fruited, this is all wrapped in very tautly in a flavor-soaked and seamless chardonnay. Aromas of wet stones, yellow grapefruit, flint, green lemons, fresh oak and white peaches are all tightly arrayed. The palate has mouthwatering punch and crispness. Very assertive and driving with a sleek overall feel, but packed with powerful, pristine white-peach, lemon, apricot and green-mango flavors. So long. This is a modern benchmark. "
97 points
#66 | 2016 TOM CULLITY Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec
"This has a very complex, integrated array of red-plum, redcurrant and mulberry aromas with cedary nuances, as well as forest wood, fresh earth, graphite, pepper, leaves, shitake mushrooms and more. The palate is finely layered with grainy, powerful tannin and gives an overall impression of focused power with deeply rich dark berries, plums, berries and mulberries. Seamlessly composed.. This has a long life ahead."
96 points
The Wine Detective Sarah Ahmed's 2020 in 24 vinous highlights
2018 Heytesbury Chardonnay
"Finely drawn, long and beautifully composed, with insinuating mineral acidity and a savouriness which is not in the least overblown. It reveals waxy, nutty pink fir potato and nougat nuances to its jangly grapefruit, with lightly spun subtle lees influence and crystalline, mica minerality to the finish. Seamless, very classy."
#46 | 2017 Filius Cabernet Sauvignon
"Firm, showing off the region's signature fresh herbal notes, which give this aromatic lift and linger on the finish. Bay leaf, rosemary and cedar details are effortlessly infused into the cassis and plum flavors. A hint of black tea adds to the complexity, as does the seamlessness of the velvety tannins. Drink now through 2035."
92 points
We have recently been joined by Ross Potter in the Art Gallery, as part of an artist in residence program in association with 'Tracing the Swan,' the latest exhibition from the Janet Holmes à Court Collection.
Ross Potter is a Kamilaroi man, who was born and raised in Brisbane. Since making a move to Western Australia in 2007, Potter has become part of the Perth art scene working full time as a visual artist. He has been described as a “highly skilled draftsman” and with the use of graphite on paper, he dedicates his time to capturing the details in things that we connect with on a daily basis.
Ross will be working from the Vasse Felix Art Gallery from 29 November - 20 December. We welcome you to stop by for a chat or to peruse his stunning pieces.
The current exhibition - Tracing the Swan - will run until Sunday 7 February. More info here.