People often ask me “What makes Margaret River such a great wine region?” The simple answer is its ability to produce quality wines year after year. In my twelve vintages at Voyager Estate I have experienced only two vintages that could truly be described as difficult: one had unseasonal rain; the other a cold summer. That’s not too bad in the scheme of things and I don’t think any other wine region in the country could boast such vintage consistency. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some challenges. Take Spring 2007 for example. Strong winds and rain meant some long hours amongst the vines and a grumpy viticulturist. Fortunately, November put the smile back on his face and, even though yields were down, the fine late spring weather meant that flowering was excellent with solid fruit set.

Then Christmas was so hot the turkey cooked itself in the sun. So while it was well over 40 degrees in Margaret River, the ability to be able to integrate our irrigation strategy during this time was crucial to the overall quality of the vintage.

The 2008 vintage has many similarities to 2005. The warm start to the season meant the Chardonnay style from 2008 is very much in the mould of 2005 vintage. It shows fuller fruit flavours in the dried pear spectrum with a little less citrus and mineral than 2006 and 2007. We’re lucky that, whether warm or cool, we can still produce great Chardonnays, just in varying styles.

The 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is an absolute cracker. While the fruit flavours are similar to last year’s wine, I believe the 2008 shows greater punch and lift. Stone fruits, melons, guava and lychee are the flavours most apparent at this stage. The Chenin Blanc has plenty of fruit salad and tropical aromas. Both wines have great acidity and structure.

The reds have performed brilliantly this year. The real standout is the Cabernet Sauvignon, displaying plenty of sweet Cabernet fruit - destined to become a classic. The Shiraz shows lots of blood plum and blackberries, wonderfully deep in colour with surprisingly soft tannins. Both have loads of fresh crunchy dark fruits and lovely fine tannins. We are very pleased to have some wonderful wines to present from this vintage that reflect the quality of the vineyards as well as the regional characteristics, and we look forward to hearing from you as these wines filter onto the market.