You may know Margaret River as somewhat of a benchmark for Australian cabernet sauvignon, but the chardonnays produced there are also fantastic and give great bang for the buck. We have always been big fans of the best chardonnays of the region, and some of our favorite bottles include Vasse Felix Chardonnay Margaret River Heytesbury, Cloudburst Chardonnay Margaret River, Deep Woods Estate Chardonnay Margaret River Reserve and Cullen Chardonnay Margaret River Kevin John.
The Margaret River wine region sits on a cape in Western Australia about 270 kilometers (170 miles) south of Perth. It’s surrounded by water on three sides – Cape Naturaliste and Geographe Bay to the north, Cape Leeuwin and the Southern Ocean to the south and the Indian Ocean hugging the western exposure between them. The drive from Perth seems to take forever, but once you’re there it’s a beautiful, unspoiled ocean paradise with savannah-like wilderness and picture-perfect beaches for surfing. James says it reminds him of the North County region of San Diego, California, back in the 1960s and 1970s when he was growing up nearby.
Vineyards were first planted in Margaret River in 1967 by Tom Cullity, who was influenced by a University of Western Australia research paper the year before describing the area as well suited to viticulture – providing proper drainage were available to handle the heavy rains the region can sometimes get. Vasse Felix was the first vineyard planted in the area and was soon followed by Moss Wood, Cape Mentelle, Cullen, Sandalford, Leeuwin Estate, Woodlands and Wrights. You can find Great Value chardonnays from Vasse Felix and Leeuwin listed below.
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