Our wine.

The 2026 vintage commenced under classic Bunuru conditions, with warm, dry weather moderated by cooler coastal breezes and evenings creating an ideal lead-in to harvest. The season then followed with a balanced maturation with cool mornings and mild daytime temperatures with a typical range of 15-25 which supported steady, controlled ripening. This textbook ripening weather combined with the lack of any major disruptive weather events and one of the most memorable Marri blossoms on record which eliminated the usual bird pressure to make it one of the notable vintages in our 11 vintage history of South by South West.

The vintage was calm and predictable. Fruit came in clean, balanced and expressive, with picking decisions driven by flavour rather than pressure. For us, working with Italian varieties in the South West, 2026 hit a sweet spot. Natural acidity held beautifully, tannins came in fine and composed, and the wines show a quiet confidence – nothing pushed, nothing forced. The whites lean into tension and detail – citrus, orchard fruit and a saline edge, while the reds are medium bodied, savoury and structured, with that interplay of fruit and earth that feels distinctively ours. 2026 for us is all about purity, drinkability and place. A vintage that speaks softly, but with clarity.

The more moderate, gradual warm up provided for good hang time on vines for all varietals, which allowed the Pinot Grigio to develop some really great orchard fruit flavours. The fruit was harvested on the flower day of March 5 from eleven year old grafting’s off 18 year old (Sauvignon Blanc) vines with an east-west row orientation, a north easterly aspect, and on karri loam in the picturesque southern forests of the Pemberton wine region. The block of fruit we secure comes from the Pemberly vineyard J Block which has 10% of Pinot Bianco intermingled in the Pinot Grigio vines which we co-harvest. We feel the Pinot Bianco is the secret weapon for this wine.

The grapes were process back in Margaret River after 6 hours on skins with the free run portion going to a stainless steel tank and inoculated with a natural yeast for fermentation. The pressings were fined, then barrelled down after settling, to provide some extra texture and weight to the overall wine. Maturation in these vessels was only for three months, prior to being lightly fined, filtered and then bottled early to preserve the aromatics and freshness of this wine.

In a glass this wine presents with a very pale straw with an ever so slight copper hue which celebrates the beautiful colour of the grape. On the nose it displays an orchard fruit dominance of nashi pears and green apples with gentle citrus peel aromatics. The palate expresses fresh pear and white peach characters and has a lasting mouthfeel.