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, especially the sun-seeking Vermentino which appreciates a bit of extra hang time to develop some really great sun kissed  flavours and phenolics. The fruit was harvested on the flower day of February 23 from six year old grafting’s off 22 year old (Sauvignon Blanc) vines with a north south row orientation, a north easterly aspect, and on brown loam over clay in the Ferguson Valley sub region of the beautiful Geographe wine region which is fast becoming famed for its alternative varietals.

The fruit was hand harvested in the cool of the morning and processed back in Margaret River after spending a night in the fridge to get the grapes nice a cool before processing on the following fruit day on February 24. With pressing, a very modest press cut was made to limit the phenolics and was separated from the free run. The pressings were treated separately and barrel fermented wild whilst the free run juice was sent to tank to settle and then racked clean and inoculated for a cold ferment to maintain fruit purity, highlight the minerality and display the freshness – the three expressions we are chasing with this 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 the Vermentino is a pale straw colour. The nose is fresh and bright, with driving orchard fruit notes, with some faint tropical shades creeping through around the edges. There is a subtle floral blossom also mixed in with the sea spray and overall mineral line with this wine. The palate is medium bodied with some all-round gentle weight and a juicy citrus line of acid to the finish which combines with a salty and morish phenolic lick. This is a drink now, easy going wine, but can handle being cellared for up to 5 years where some honeyed characters will develop.