Margaret River, Western Australia

It’s one of the most remote, beautiful wine regions on the planet, packed with five-star wineries. Discover Margaret River.

View guide View wineries
Average Ratings & Price By Varietal Margaret River
Varietal Name
Av. Rating Av. Price
Shiraz Mataro
Syrah Grenache
Malbec Petit Verdot
Grenache Tempranillo
Grenache Noir Syrah Viognier Malbec
Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec Merlot Petit Verdot Cabernet Franc

Vintage Ratings locked

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to unlock vintage ratings plus more features on the Halliday website.

Subscribe Now

Wine paradise

Wines Margaret River

Margaret River is only at the beginning of its wine boom. Over the past half a decade, the region and its troop of dedicated winemakers have built an international reputation on first-class cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay.

Indijup Beach Margaret River

Situated on the rugged Western Australia, coast along the 100-kilometre strip between beautiful Cape Leeuwin and even more beautiful Cape Naturaliste, Margaret River is a three-hour drive from Perth and a bona fide wine region. As popular with beachgoers as it is with wine lovers, this secluded slice of paradise allows you to sip on a refreshing glass of white while being treated to a blue-ribbon view.

Join Halliday Wine Club today and indulge in some of the best Australian wines, including those from the renowned Margaret River region and other top-rated wine regions across the country.

Margaret River’s Wine History

Margaret River’s wine history began in the 1830s when the Bussell family planted their first vines to make wine for home. However, the region didn’t really take flight until two research scientists landed here in the 1950s, almost 100 years later.

Margaret River’s geographical isolation proved no problem for wine pioneers Professor Harry Olmo and Dr John Gladstone. Olmo, in particular, is one of the unsung heroes of the Australian wine industry. Despite being much less known than the likes of Max Schubert or Robert Mondavi, Olmo’s work with chardonnay in Western Australia is what propelled the variety into the spotlight in this country.

Margaret River wine types

Margaret River is all about premium wine, and its expressions are consistently elegant, not to mention critically acclaimed. In the red wine category, Margaret River is best known for its cabernet sauvignon and shiraz.

Margaret River

Cabernet is the king of Margaret River, and almost every producer will have one on pour at their cellar door. This variety single-handedly put the region on the wine world’s map. Today, more than 160 of the region’s wineries are making cabernet, 70 of which are five-star rated by James Halliday.

James says Margaret River cabernet is “seldom green, the flavours in the classic blackcurrant/cassis spectrum, with a juicy mid-palate then moderately firm tannins running through notes of black olive and earth to finish”.

“There was a clarity and delicacy to their red fruit flavours and an elegance in their structure which immediately set them apart.” – James Halliday

By way of whites, the front runners in production are chardonnay and sauvignon blanc. Margaret River is one of Australia’s foremost regions for chardonnay, known for its incredible voluptuousness. James describes the Margaret River style as having “an iron-clad structure, intensity with generosity, and sweet fruit with flowing natural acidity”.

While 100 per cent sauvignon blanc is made with success here, it’s common to find it blended with semillon. Margaret River semillon is distinctly herbaceous, making it a seamless match to sauvignon blanc. As a stand-alone variety, the maritime influence on the climate sees sauvignon blanc take on an extra dimension of mid-palate flesh – not quite so tropical as those coming out of places like Marlborough in New Zealand.

Margaret River’s climate and soils

Margaret River has a climate unique to Australian wine regions. Hemmed by water on three sides, it’s considered “Mediterranean maritime”. Often likened to Bordeaux, but with the influence of the sea, its temperatures are buffered by the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean and Geographe Bay, resulting in mild, wet winters and warm, dry summers.

In even better news for grapes, frosts here are a rarity and the humidity levels during the growing period are ideal. The region sees an average rainfall of 1190mm per year and its lowest mean annual temperature is just 7.6°C. Vines here are privileged to a diverse range of soils, from the foundations of Jarrah and Karri forests to the sandy Jindong soils and gravelly loams of Wilyabrup. The soils are highly permeable when moist, but sloping sites quickly shed moisture, and overall water-holding capacities are low.

James Halliday on Margaret River

“The landscape varies, given character by the abundance of small creeks and gentle valleys, as well as by the profusion of native trees, shrubs and flowers. In physical terms, a degree of protection from sea wind is the most important factor.

“The plantings here more or less precisely reflect the styles which Margaret River is most famous for and which suit it best. That said, cabernet merlot blends are important, as are blends of sauvignon blanc and semillon. These two blends are those of Bordeaux, and it’s no accident that the wines are as good as they are.”

Things to do in Margaret River

Outside of tasting your way through the region’s cellar doors, there are a plethora of activities to keep you busy. If you’re a beachgoer, head to one of the famous coastlines and watch the surfers going for a paddle.

If you’d prefer to stay dry, you can wander Busselton Jetty, visit Australia’s tallest mainland lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin, picnic among the Karri trees in Boranup Forest, explore the Cape to Cape track, watch the sunset at Yallingup, or see the migrating humpback whales at the point where the Southern and Indian Oceans meet.

If wine tasting has stirred up an appetite, have lunch at one of the region’s excellent restaurants before satisfying your sweet tooth at the Margaret River Chocolate Factory.

All quotes and facts in this guide are from James Halliday’s Wine Atlas of Australia.

Western Australia Facts

Western Australia Wineries 185
Western Australia Tasting Notes 15159

Geographic

Latitude 33°57’S
Altitude 40 m
Heat Degree Days 1690
Growing Season Rainfall 200 mm
Mean January Temp 20.4°C
Harvest End February to mid-April

Related articles

View More
Become a member

Margaret River Wineries

  • WA
  • Margaret River