Voyager Estate: 40th anniversary tasting

Sarah Ahmed tastes three mini-verticals from Voyager Estate at their 40th anniversary celebration in London, exclusive to Decanter Premium members..

Voyager Estate: 40th anniversary tasting

Acquiring a vineyard seems an unlikely choice for a teetotaller, but that’s precisely what the late Michael Wright did, buying Freycinet Estate in 1991. First planted in 1978, it’s located in the Stevens Valley in southern Margaret River’s Wallcliffe sub-region, five kilometres from the Indian Ocean’s cooling influence.

Scroll down for Sarah Ahmed’s tasting notes and scores

From farming stock, the iron ore heir – a billionaire – recognised its potential and determined to realise it. Renaming the property Voyager Estate, Wright extended the vineyards with top notch planting material, including cuttings from his neighbour’s oldest, most concentrated Gin Gin clones – Block 20 – the backbone of Leeuwin Estate’s iconic Art Series Chardonnay.

The investment was rewarded when, in 2002, leading Australian wine writer James Halliday declared Voyager Estate, Leeuwin Estate and Cape Mentelle three tips of ‘a golden triangle producing three of the best Margaret River Chardonnays.’

The tasting

Hot on the heels of the 2018 harvest – yet another excellent vintage in this enviably consistent region – Steve James (winemaking and viticulture manager) celebrated Voyager Estate’s 40th anniversary in London with verticals of their Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot and Shiraz.

True to Margaret River’s reputation, the wines showed great varietal definition and intensity without density. Moderating sea breezes account for their ripe but present balancing acid and tannin structure.

The Chardonnays and Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot – regional heroes – had aged superbly. Sealed under screwcap, one sensed the older Chardonnay vintages had plateaued and will deliver like pleasure for a few years yet.

Changes

Vintage differences were less tangible than refinements in the vineyard and winery. The introduction of partial wild yeast ferments for the 2009 Chardonnay provided this powerful vintage with savoury, textural nuances, earning it my top score in an impressive flight. Ratcheting up the Burgundy clonal component has similarly tempered the local Gin Gin clone’s fruit; expect future vintages to show more restraint with bottle age.

Remarking on the younger Cabernet blends, James reckons ‘less overt fruit but more layers and complexity’ is an outcome of organic cultivation, better clonal selection and fruit sorting.

In 2014, the sole, strikingly elegant example of 100% estate and 100% southern (cooler) Margaret River fruit well and truly played into the zeitgeist medium-bodied style. That said, the top scoring richer, riper 2001 was in glorious shape.

Margaret River Shiraz rarely outguns Chardonnay and Cabernet. This flight was patchier and less compelling, albeit consistently medium-bodied with juicy plum and blackberry fruit. It took the challenging cool, late 2006 vintage to coax its best performance – perfumed, mineral and highly evocative of the Rhône.

Voyager Estate: Fact file

Vineyards: 110ha under vine (40ha in conversion with Australian Certified Organic)

Production: 480,000 bottles

Climate: temperate maritime (MJT 20.4 degrees), average annual rainfall c. 1000mm (85% of which falls during winter and spring)

Soils: predominantly deep, free-draining red/brown gravelly soils over a stony/clay sub-soil

Sarah’s tasting notes and scores from the three Voyager verticals:

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