Our wine.

After coming off one of the more extended vintages in 2023, vintage 2024 brought us the opposite! 2024 has certainly been the earliest and quickest Margaret River vintage we have been a part of. Fruit was around two to four weeks earlier than a ‘classic Margaret River vintage’ for most varietals due to an unusually warm November and the increasing temperatures and lack of rain through the Summer. Margaret River would normally see on average 94 days being the time from flowing to harvest, however this year on top of the earlier start, the grape maturity was around 10 days less which compounded how early vintage started (and finished)!

The dry conditions kept disease pressure in the vineyard down, however on our vineyards we noticed an increase in weevil activity in these conditions which is very difficult to deal with when you are organically farming, so that has certainly contributed to slightly lower yields across our parcels in addition to smaller berry sizes, smaller bunches, dehydration and some shrivel from being dry grown.

The early start wasn’t a great concern for us as it has timed in with a spectacular Marri blossom which is kept the bird pressure down. In general, harvested fruit had epic concentration with slightly higher sugar levels, but strangely so with great natural acid levels as well keeping it fresh and vibrant. Although record breaking in a number of areas, 2024 was still another solid Margaret River vintage, but with a slightly different story, and those vintage conditions that give us vintage variation is what we love to show in our South by South West wines.

Both portions of fruit for the 2024 Super Margs come from Wilyabrup in Margaret River which is known for producing well ripened red varietals. This vintage, it was a shorter, quicker ripening period on the vines which saw both the Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon’s desirable ripe flavours pronounce themselves quickly and beautifully with green characters falling away fast in these conditions. It also meant in order for us to achieve tannin ripeness we made the decision to hang the fruit out on the vines longer than normal which resulting in some higher sugar levels and subsequently higher alcohols. Bigger, richer, and bolder on the whole than previous vintages.

The Sangiovese was harvested on a flower day on February 20, which was surprisingly only a week earlier than the 2023 vintage. The Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested much earlier than normal at the start of March – a whole month earlier than the previous vintage!

Both parcels were harvested with a selective harvester – taking berries off whole with little to no maceration whilst completing a first sort and allowing us to keep some whole berries in the ferment for a touch of carbonic goodness.

Both parcels were fermented on skins with indigenous yeast in stainless steel tanks with gentle pump overs, the Sangiovese for 7 days and the Cabernet for 13 days. From the press, the Sangiovese was pressed to larger format Hungarian oak, and the Cabernet Sauvignon was pressed to French oak barriques. For the 2024 vintage, given the warmer vintage with the riper fruit, we decided to limit the oak maturation to 9 months instead of the usual 12 months to maintain some freshness and vibrancy. As per past vintages, the best barrels of each were selected for this wine. The wine was coarsely filtered prior to bottling and then matured further in bottle before release.

Time spent in Italy influenced the decision to use Hungarian oak, where this was the preferred oak when working with Super Tuscan styles where the tighter grain tends to bring out a leaner, spicier element of the flavour profile of the oak. The stylistic aim of the winemaking was to continue to showcase a fruit forward wine with natural acidity and balanced savouriness, along with more structure and tannin focus. Sangiovese is the focal varietal in this wine, with the Cabernet Sauvignon providing the finesse, balance, and giving that distinctive Margaret River feel.

In a glass the wine presents with a wonderful inky core with a lighter crimson hue. The nose shows lifted aromas of red fruits that combine with blackcurrants and hints of dark chocolate.  The palate is rich and smoothly textured, yet displays youthfulness and vibrancy. The ripe fruit of the Cabernet Sauvignon provides richness and flavour, while the Sangiovese provides youthfulness, aromatics and overall acid to the blend. The Cabernet also contributes classic layers of plums, and a touch of clove thanks to the French oak portion whilst the Sangiovese maintains spiciness from the Hungarian oak. This wine has a little more complexity mid-palate and a rich texture, which shows off stunning fruit and well-integrated tannins.