Crafting excellence
Nestled on 33 hectares of undulating land in the heart of the Margaret River Wine Region between Cowaramup and the coast is Wrights Vineyard – a new wine label steeped in Margaret River winemaking tradition. It’s a nod to the pioneering Wright family who planted their first vines 50 years ago. Now it’s son Ian’s turn to make his mark.
Vineyard
— Ian Wright
Wrights Vineyard is perched just back from the ocean on the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge, which connects Cape Naturaliste to the north and Cape Leeuwin to the south. The 150 to 600-million-year-old ridge has created a complex network of granite-based soils, which are some of the oldest and most unique in the world.
Ellenbrook flows through the property, which is surrounded by forest. With ocean to the south and west, sea breezes cool the vines in the afternoons, providing ideal growing conditions and biodiversity. It’s also a perfect environment for cultivating wild and natural yeasts used in the fermentation process.
The vineyard has a track record of producing great wine. Vines were planted on the property back in 1995 by previous owners the Reynolds Family who produced boutique quality wines under the labels Clownfish and Cowaramup Wines.
Since purchasing the property in 2020, Ian Wright has supplemented the existing Chardonnay, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes with a special one-hectare Heritage Block of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. These vines were grown from cuttings taken from the original 1973 plantings at Wrights Wines in Wilyabrup, now Juniper Estate, planted by Ian’s parents. Ian plans to create small batch wines from these vines in a tribute to his family.
Wrights Vineyard Viticulturalist Colin Bell believes the vineyard provides the perfect combination of conditions that make Margaret River wines so distinctive.
“I get excited when I can get into really great blocks like this one because they give you the ability to produce the things you want to do,” Colin said. I think sometimes you’ve got to park your own emotions and really look and let the block speak to you.
“This is one of Margaret River’s little treasure vineyards. It has a wonderful balance of sun exposure, soil conditions, water sources, clean air, cooling summer breezes off the ocean, and undulation which allows for natural drainage. It also has a really cool natural yeast supply to allow for wild fermentation.
“It’s an amazing vineyard. It’s come to a good age where the vines are in a nice balanced state. The density is a little bit higher than most vineyards in Margaret River, which I think creates a little bit of competition between the vines that’s in balance with the water supply and the soil.
— Viticulturist Colin Bell
Our wine
Wrights Family Release Chardonnay
This limited-release Chardonnay is made from 100% hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed chardonnay grapes. The juice is fermented in new, one and two-year-old French oak utilising the yeasts naturally occurring in this special single vineyard site tucked within the hills of Margaret River’s Wallcliffe subregion. The wine was fermented over a three-week period then topped and stored at 15°C, unsulphured with sporadic battonage for eight months in barrel. Our winemaker selected only the best, most pure and expressive barrels to be included in this blend. Wrights Family Release Chardonnay was bottled on 12 December 2023.
Bright straw in colour with flashes of green, the nose is a lovely combination of sea breeze, ripe citrus and stone fruits with the slightest nuance of flint and cedar-like oak. The palate is a triumph of understated fruit weight and purity. It rolls in waves of white nectarine and fresh lime juice with the most amazing length of flavour and elegant concentration of fruit weight.
This will be an amazing wine on release but it will gain complexity and intrigue over the next five to eight years in bottle.
Please contact us for more information and release details.
