The title of this post is a bit misleading, as this was definitely not our first wine tasting tour, not by a long shot. But it was the first from Busselton on this trip.
I started the day early with a walk along the waterfront and was lucky enough to see the pier all lit up as the sun was rising.
I love this walk, and it was a great way to get myself prepared for what lay in store for us.
We met Edward around 10am and headed out to visit some wineries he thought would be of interest to us. The first stop (Thompson) was a little disappointing though, because it was not open, despite what its website said. Edward phoned the cellar door and was told that there was an issue with staff and could we return on Monday (which of course we could not do), so we drove on.
We were much luckier at the next stop – Domaine Naturaliste. Mick and I have visited here before and are actually members of this winery, which means we get wine delivered twice per year from here with a 20% discount, which we also qualified for today.
These vines were dripping with ripe, almost-ready-to harvest Merlot grapes, which had been grafted onto Chenin Blanc vines, which apparently grow at a mighty rate – those trunks were very thick and only 15 years old.
We had an excellent wine tasting lead by Jeff, and each wine tasted was excellent. The wine maker – Bruce Dukes is recognised as one of the premium wine makers in the region.
We left here with a magnum of 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, and a bottle of chardonnay and a bottle of shiraz. And while the magnum sounds like it is a bit over the top, there was a very good reason to select this ‘museum’ wine.
Edward had a bottle of 2014 Laurance Icon Cabernet Sauvignon, given to him by a friend of his (who keeps a terrific cellar) which was made by Bruce Dukes (as he makes and has always made wine for a number of vineyards in the region). Laurance Wines no longer exists, and that in itself makes for a very interesting story – Edward reckons there is a book to be written by someone about the quirky history of this relatively young wine making region and its pioneers.
The bottle features the gold statue Mrs (Dianne) Laurance had made of herself that is featured in the dam over the (old) winery. It is affectionately referred to in the area as “The Chick on a Stick!”
Sampling the two cabernet sauvignon wines from the same region, of the same year made by same wine maker, but from different labels, was obviously some important research that we were happy to help Edward with.
We later enjoyed those wines with some excellently cooked steaks by Mick on the BBQ at our accommodation.
Next stop was Marq – a winery owned by wine maker Mark Warren, another very well respected wine maker from this region, where he too makes wines for a number of other wineries.
The wines were excellent and we left here with half a dozen to add to our stash for the remainder of our journey as some days of this holiday will not involve winery visits and tastings.
Following a stop for lunch at the Goanna Cafe, we headed 500m away to Happs Wines. Edward had told us this was a wine tasting with a difference. Mark Warren from Marq wines, is also the wine maker for this estate.
The tasting is done outside. During Covid, the owner, Mr Happs, designed a set up that allowed visitors to serve wine themselves. We were met at the entrance and given a large wine glass and 30 minutes to taste as many of the 40 different varieties available.
I would imagine on a cold and wet day it would not be so much fun – but today it was glorious and young families were enjoying a picnic and a glass of wine on the lawns.
Kids in a candy shop!!
Derek and Mick enjoyed the chance to try some of the different wines at Happs. They definitely did not taste them all, but we left here with a couple of bottles to try at a later date on our trip.
We have more winery visits on our agenda tomorrow.
Jane and Mick's Holiday Adventures 