Margaret River
A strip of coast between two capes with ocean on three sides, which holds the temperature steadier than almost anywhere else in the country. It grows under 2% of Australia's wine and a far larger share of its serious Cabernet and Chardonnay.
Known for
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Chardonnay
- Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
Why Margaret River tastes the way it does
A maritime climate with very little swing between day and night, so fruit ripens slowly and evenly. Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are what the region is built on, with a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend as the everyday white. Small production, high average quality, and an unusually large share of Australia's expensive bottles.
January averages 21°C here and the growing season adds up to 1,882 heat units, which is warm, and it shows in riper, fuller wine.
A short history
The region exists because of a 1965 report by the agronomist John Gladstones identifying the south west as climatically close to Bordeaux. The first vineyards followed in 1967, which makes this one of Australia's youngest major regions.
Margaret River was registered as a protected wine name in 1996, which makes the boundary a legal definition rather than a marketing one.
What your house does to a bottle from Margaret River
A bottle from Margaret River ages at the rate its temperature sets, not at the rate the vintage chart says. Barello's model is the physical one: every 10°C above 13°C roughly doubles the rate, and at 25°C or more you are not ageing it, you are cooking it. Pick where you live and where the bottle actually sits.
Choose a city and a spot, and this line will tell you how much faster the bottle is ageing than it would in a cellar.
This is the same model that dates every bottle in Barello. Open the app to run it against your own wine. Or read how to store wine without a cellar, or the wine temperature chart.
Margaret River in numbers
| Planted vineyard | 5,670 ha | number 7 of 64 in Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Region area | 2,137 km² | 2.65% of it under vine |
| Grapes crushed | 28,364 t a year | 5.0 tonnes a hectare |
| January average | 21°C | number 19 coolest of 64 |
| Heat units | 1,882 | warmth added up over the growing season |
| Land in the GI rises | 0 to 234 m | the boundary, not where the vines are |
| Registered | 1996 | as a protected name |
Nearby
- Great Southern238 km east, 0.8°C cooler
Distances are between the registered centres of each region, so they are as the crow flies rather than as the road goes.
Where these numbers come from
Boundaries and figures: Wine Australia Geographical Indications register, used under CC BY 4.0. Climate figures are the register's own long-run averages, measured in the vineyard. The history and the tasting notes above are Barello's own.