“It is certainly a huge plus for both Christelle Guibert and the IWSC for forging ahead with the international on-site judging, ensuring the very best wines are highlighted, and allowing the wine community to enjoy these fabulous wines,” writes Roger Jones after the Margaret River Discovery tasting.
Margaret River Discovery tasting, 67 Pall Mall, London
At the tail-end of last year the IWSC hosted a Discovery Tasting at 67 Pall Mall showcasing wines from Margaret River that had been awarded a Gold, Silver or Bronze from its latest Awards release.
Christelle Guibert, CEO of the IWSC has made profound changes both in the management and set up of the IWSC since she took over in 2018.
Guibert has been in the wine trade all her working life, starting off in her home region of the Loire, working in wineries and then moving over to the UK, starting in the Harrods wine department, having a short stint at Waitrose before joining Decanter in 2001 and leaving as tasting director in 2018.
Before Covid happened, IWSC set in place plans to start judging in wine regions themselves but, as we all know, things went a bit off track for a while. In the past 18 months, however, the IWSC has certainly got back on track and has been travelling the global wine regions to enhance the judging for its awards.
In addition to seeing an increase of up to 300% in entries when they judge in situ, the percentage of Gold awards also increased by about 5%.
Judging is conducted by both international and local specialists, but the teams are kept small to ensure consistency. The Margaret River team was led by Alistair Cooper MW, with Beth Pearce MW, Freddy Bulmer, Melania Battiston and Libby Brodie flying in from the UK with the local Australian judges being Chris Crawford, Randall Pollard, Emma Farrelly and Erin Larkin.
Although Margaret River only produces 2% of Australia’s wine production, it is one of the big playersin the Premium Sector (Boutique).
Over 250 wines were tasted with 24 Gold Medals, 94 Silver and 119 Bronze awarded. There is no question that the wines get a better chance when tasted at home with no issues with bottle shock, and judges in a better frame of mind, although the 5% increase in Gold awards may well be due to the increase of quality wines entered as opposed to the judges being in a ‘Golden mood’.
It’s always worth noting that any Gold Medals are re-tasted back in the UK under the guidance of the ‘Hanging Judge’ Alex Hunt MW, these are re-judged for trophy status, but cannot have their original awards changed. Also worth mentioning that this Discovery tasting did not include wines from Cullen, Moss Wood, Howard Park, Woodlands and Leeuwin Esate – some of the ‘big-hitters’ of the region.
How did Jones rate the wines and did he agree with the Golden scores?
I have noted in colour the five wines that I would have challenged, but of course I was not in Margaret River and tried these in Pall Mall, London.
All wines listed are marked with their original award and (with the exception of one wine) are all wines awarded Gold Medals.
White blend
Voyager Estate Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2023 Gold Award
The classic Margaret River blend, that at its best reminds one of White Bordeaux, this was by far the best in this style, and a worthy Gold, herbaceous on the nose, creamy and textured, bright spices, with ginger and delicate stone fruit, hints of bitterness balanced well with mellow notes, fresh shaved asparagus.
Chardonnay
Larry Cherubino
Larry Cherubino blew the tasting team away with five straight Golds just in Chardonnay, clearly Larry is at the top of his game, and rightly won the 2023 Outstanding Wine Producer Trophy Award.
I can see how you can get seduced into his magical Chardonnay tour and agree with four of the Gold awards but would question the Cherubino Chardonnay 2022 and would have given it a high Silver.
Cherubino, Pemberton Chardonnay, 2022, Gold Award
Purity and precision here, pretty perfect, gentle butterscotch, hints of pineapple, soft delicate lime acidity for freshness, cool climate from Pemberton.
Cherubino, GinGin, 2022, Gold Award
The classic Hen & Chicken/Gingin clone giving that flinty minerality and spice notes, cedar, some quince and nectarines, fresh and focused.
Cherubino Dijon Chardonnay, 2022, Gold Award
Restrained elegance, clean white stone fruit, white cobnuts, refined perfume, hints of soft tropical fruits – think mango with a shiver of spice.
Cherubino Chardonnay 2022, Gold Award
This is the Chardonnay that I would have marked in the high Silver Award category merely in comparison to the others, an excellent wine but is out shadowed by the previous.
Robert Oatley The Pennant Chardonnay 2021, Gold Award
Beautifully balanced, as you would expect from Larry Cherubino, Pear William, white cobnuts, refined spice, restrained perfume of white flowers and young chives, pretty and precise.
Fraser Gallop Estate, Parterre Chardonnay, 2022, Gold Award
This was rocking, precise clean focused stone fruit, there were tiny clusters of precision dancing on the palate, fresh, zippy, clean with hints of tropical fruit, left a wonderful uplifting palate.
Nocturne Single Vineyard Forrest Vineyard Chardonnay 2022, Gold Award
I personally would have marked this Silver; the fruit was quite chunky, with pineapple, quince and cedar notes. Very pleasant yellow stone fruit, and is still evolving, am sure it will evolve beautifully with age but needs a few years.
Stella Bella Luminosa Chardonnay 2022, Gold Award
An interesting wine that grew on me, a touch cloying and over textured to start then as it opened up it became vibrant and focused… a layered textured multi-sensational perfumed wine that oozed class, white juicy peaches, lemon zest, lemon meringue with quince and white nectarines. Joyous.
Stella Bella Suckfizzle Chardonnay 2022, Gold Award
Fresh and clean cut, focused, more Chablis-like, nutty, lime and ginger notes, love the precision.
Redbrook Reserve Chardonnay Evans & Tate 2019, Gold Award
Found this slightly tired and lacking the brightness and focus we expect from Margaret River, would mark it down to low silver at best.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Silver Award
This for me this was a Gold, and I would have elevated it to Gold, loved the purity and freshness of the fruit, all about precision, balance and clean flavours, hints of cedar, cocoa and fresh green herbs mingling with bright blue fruit, redcurrants and delicate plum notes. Fresh, lingering and moreish on the finish.
Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Gold Award
Plummy with bright redcurrants lifting it, mint, cocoa and juicy mid-palate. Fragrant cherries, and mulberries, tobacco notes, sage and rosemary, this delivers and is a very drinkable wine.
Here we have a Gold Award for a wine that sells on average in the UK for £13, which highlights that “great value wines” can achieve Gold Medals without price awareness.
Credaro Family Estate 1000 Crowns Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Gold Award
Love the textured elegance of this wine, redcurrants, cedar, blueberries, and juicy mouthfeel with a lovely purity – pencil and spices.
Voyager Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Gold Award
Excellent perfumed seductive nose, wow, plummy, cedar and tobacco, bright, sharp and focused on the mid-palate, with redcurrants, blueberries and cedar notes. There are mocha and tobacco notes on the finish, this will age beautifully.
Cape Mentelle Heritage Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Gold Award
Vanilla, cedar, spice, bitter notes, dark fruited with bay leaf, layers and layers of texture, dark and seductive with mocha notes at the fore. Big wine that needs to age or decant, would love to see this in a decade.
Evan & Tate, Redbrook Estate Cabernet Merlot 2020, Trophy and Gold Award
Evocative, perfumed nose. Dark-fruited, uplifted by fresh red berries, sage, cocoa, then plummy notes continue on the mid-palate with a lovely textural feel. The finish is all luxurious and glowing.
Voyager Estate, MJW Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Gold Award
Fragrant, perfumed nose, full and luscious on the mid-palate, chocolate chip, mint and a hint of liquorice, for me this is Silver.
Robert Oatley The Pennant Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Trophy and Gold Award
Delicate, refined and seductively perfumed nose, brambles, black fruit, mint, sweet, grilled red peppers, fragrant, textured, this has it all – a pretty perfect Cabernet, seamless pretty much sums it up, a worthy Trophy and Gold Winner.
Cape Naturaliste Torpedo Rocks Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Gold Award
This was the travelling judges’ highest mark at 97, but on re-taste in the UK, the ‘hanging judge’ deemed it merely a Gold and not a Trophy winner.
Cocoa spices on the nose, coffee, dark fruited, plummy, meaty, lamb juices, love the spices and fresh juicy finish, probably still needs a bit more time to relax.
Fermoy Wilyabrup Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Gold Award
Clean and precise, this is a focused wine, dark fruited with spice, mulberries, cassis, star anise, fresh, clean uplift from the acidity, an exceptional Cab that will age for 20 years – seek it out and hide it away.
Shiraz
Passel Estate Lot 71 Reserve Syrah 2018, Trophy and Gold Award
Beautifully made, the aromatics and perfume are quite stunning, silky smooth and elegant. Black cherries and graphite, slate and fresh red berries, truffles and brambles, sweet and savoury – the perfect zing! Long, lingering precise mouthfeel, a star.
So there were four Trophies awarded, these were awarded back in the UK where all the Golds were re tasted. No Trophy was awarded to any Chardonnay, even though there were a dozen Golds awarded by the travelling judges. However, with only one Gold in the Shiraz/Syrah class this got a Trophy, the other 2 Trophies went to Cabernet Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
In conclusion
What an amazing showcase of Margaret River wines, highlighting the quality that comes from this wine region in Western Australia.
The results are very fair and there were few that I disagreed with, it is certainly a huge plus for both Christelle Guibert and the IWSC for forging ahead with the International on-site judging, ensuring that the very best wines are highlighted, and allowing the wine community to enjoy these fabulous wines.
Former Michelin Star chef Roger Jones is the Ambassador for The Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships, regular panel taster for Decanter Magazine, been on the Decanter Wine World Awards for 15 years (introduced to the Decanter judging by Christelle Guibert) and an IWSC judge for the last five years.
