The Pratten family entered the South-West wine industry in a significant way long before all but a handful of the region’s earliest pioneers, albeit in a then unfashionable Capel rather than Margaret River or the Great Southern. They are now produci
These days they produce wines, from varieties carefully matched to the various soils and the area’s potential, from their own 220ha of vineyards in each of the three regions mentioned above and from Pemberton.
The revamped labelling and packaging have never been better (see the 2007 Whispering Hill Riesling, 18.1 Points and $27.95) and the same is true of the wine quality where the whites show marvellous fruit and craftsmanship in the winemaking and the red wines are even better. At least two of the latter would be included among the two or three finest WA wines in their price ranges and varieties.
The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is the single greatest value in the range. It is packed with soft, rich, ripe, dense and generous regional Margaret River cabernet fruit. The appealing suppleness here hides the wine’s raw power and it is this that makes it such a wonderful drinking at such a young age. The winemaker’s deft oak handling has added a seamless texture and the finish’s lightly astringent and drying fine persistent tannins linger and leave a perfectly balanced aftertaste, especially for a wine in this price range. It is hard to imagine a more delicious or better cabernet sauvignon at this price, let alone one from Margaret River which continues to improve and thus confirm it’s position as the country’s finest (and most expensive) cabernet producer.
18.1 Points and $22.95. This wine will develop if cellared correctly for 10 to 15 years with ease.
The point has been made before but is worth repeating that WA, with only about 1 to 2 percent of Australia’s merlot, provides somewhere in the vicinity of 25 to 35 percent of the nation’s merlot gold medal and trophy winners on the national capital city wine show circuit. Some of the east’s biggest name winemakers believe that, based on this alone, that WA must have different clones of this often maligned variety.
Chalice Bridge, founded in 1998, is on a marvellous patch of soil in Margaret River’s South Eastern corner and with 122ha of vines has this famous region’s second largest single planting of vines. Bob Cartwright, one of Australia’s greatest winemakers joined Chalice Bridge recently and the company is thrilled with results already.
This wine typifies the quality and distinctiveness of the Margaret River style of this variety. It is ripe, warm and delicious and the oak handling around the juicy, fleshy and opulent Christmas pudding or fruit cake flavours coat the mouth and leave a mouth-feel or texture of fine persistent tannins. The finish and aftertaste only complete or add to what is already delicious mouthful of flavour. This is marvellous value. 18.2 points and $22.95