We spent five days based here, which turned out to be a great decision. Our accommodation was very close to the centre of Margaret River township which allowed us to walk to lots of places. It also had BBQ facilities which allowed Mick to cook for us each night.
There was a beautiful 3 km walk around the river (Margaret River), very close to our accommodation. Many of the trees were labelled to help visitors learn about the local vegetation and the historical uses for different plants.
The most common vegetation along the sides of the road since we left Fremantle has been these Balga, or Xanthorrhoea, or grass trees. We bought some of these for our last home, and were told they grow 1cm each year. On that basis, these specimens were mostly over 100 years old.
Interesting sculptures and gardens were scattered throughout the Margaret River township. On one morning, there was a light fog in the town, which surprised us considering it is late November. The weather has been perfect for us during our stay. That too helps form a positive image of the location.
During the last few days here we undertook further self-guided wine tastings. We had read interesting comments about Mr Barval (Mr for Margaret River) wines. They are a very small producer that uses old world winemaking techniques – heavily influenced by Italian wine making methods.
After tasting their wines, we signed up to become Club Members so we can enjoy a case of the wine made here each year. Much of what they sell is only sold to Club Members.
It can be hard to select wineries to visit – with so many from which to choose. We were lucky that most of the places we visited had been recommended to us in one way or another. Sometimes from something we read. Like this next one – Domaine Naturaliste. James Halliday had selected it as the Best Value Winery for 2020. Plus many of its wines had won medals and were rated at 95+ points. These facts interest Mick.
Domaine Naturaliste ……..
The Domaine Naturaliste winemaker (Bruce Dukes), actually makes wines for other grape growers in Margaret River, and has done for 30 years. He recently purchased this winery and started to make his own label, where he uses the grapes from here plus grapes from some of the southern, cooler parts of WA. That seems to be a common theme in this region.
We had a wonderful tasting experience here at Cape Mentelle, and as a result, we bought some of their wines.
A six pack comprising 3 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and 3 bottles of Chardonnay is currently on its way back home to Qld. This winery too had won quite a few medals for its wines. There was an interesting poster documenting the vineyard’s history on the wall in the tasting room. It showed that the first crop of grapes was picked in 1974. And, unfortunately for the vineyard, the second crop (in 1975) was totally destroyed and eaten by a neighbour’s cows. Now that would cause some serious friction between neighbours.
I tallied up that we visited 19 different cellar doors so far since leaving Fremantle. One source states there are 90 different cellar doors in this part of Western Australia – and if that is true, we have done very well for an eight day stay.
We have learnt that this region is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignons and Sauvignon Blanc Semillons (SBS or SSB depending which has the greater portion). But, there is something for everyone here. We can highly recommend spending some time in the Margaret River Region if you enjoy good wines.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 