Wildberry Estate Two Passions Margaret River Chardonnay 2015

Wildberry Estate’s 2015 Two Passions Margaret River Chardonnay, which garnered 90 points from Vinous, sports a brilliant sun splashed robe and emits an enticing aroma resplendent of freshly cut apples, nectarines, and stone fruits infused with deft touches of exotic spices. Embodying the best characteristics of Old World Chardonnay and New World Chardonnay, Wildberry Estate’s Two Passions Chardonnay offers fine precision and cut as well as a nice balance of fruit, nut, and spice flavors, without a massive amount of alcohol. This is an honest Chardonnay, meaning it is neither a simple fruit bomb nor a gargantuan oak inoculated concoction. Enjoy this charming and flavorful Wildberry Chardonnay moderately chilled (40°-45° F). And, as with all premium Chardonnays, we suggest providing Wildberry’s Two Passions Chardonnay a few minutes of aeration before consuming. Enjoy!

Wildberry Estate’s 2015 Two Passions Margaret River Chardonnay is a food friendly wine, built to be brought to table. Its pinpoint precision and expressive personality make it an ideal wine to partner with mussels in a creamy tarragon champagne broth, halibut crusted with coriander and fennel in a lemon accented beurre blanc, or even something a bit more substantial such as Pasta Primavera or chicken with lemon and garlic. Truffled lobster mac n’ cheese provides another delicious companion to Wildberry’s expressive Two Passions Chardonnay. Parisian flatbreads with Brie, arugula, cracked pepper, and thyme-infused olive oil also make tasty accompaniments, as will fondues and most seafood dishes. Salut!

Wildberry is a single vineyard site owned by the Flying Fish Cove winery in Wilyabrup, Margaret River, Australia’s most lauded wine region and a prime source for outstanding Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was established by growers passionate about producing great wine using traditional practices, the best technology and, of course, superb fruit.

The Margaret River, Western Australia’s only major river, winds through the Margaret River appellation before flowing gently into the Indian Ocean. The appellation of Margaret River is actually a peninsula that sits astride the sea, not unlike Bordeaux. The oldest and most illustrious of Margaret River’s wines flow from the sub-region of Wilyabrup, home to a host of the finest Australian wineries and award winning wines: Moss Wood, Vasse Felix, Leeuwin, Howard Park, Voyager and Wildberry are all clustered in the highly favored Wilyabrup sub-region of Margaret River.

Cabernet Sauvignon is king at Wildberry Estate, as it is for most of Wilyabrup wineries. However, Wildberry Estate’s Two Passions and Estate Reserve Chardonnay are equally impressive, garnering consistent 90+ points from major wine critics and publications. Wildberry’s Chardonnay and Cabernet constitute the highest quality wines and offer tremendous value. Sadly, quantities are limited, but alas the greatest wines are hardly everywhere nor can they appear on every shelf or table.

Margaret River is a green temperate corner of Western Australia that sits beside the sea. Here the Margaret River makes its way through wooded hills and steep ridges carpeted with wild flowers, before sighing almost inaudibly into the gleaming Indian Ocean. Crystalline waters and high rolling surf offer Australia’s finest surfing as well as its most compelling seascapes. These very same waters, along with steady ocean breezes, a unique soil, and a Mediterranean climate, also make Margaret River one of the finest natural wine producing areas on Earth and a great place to peacefully whittle away the time.

In the early 1960s, a scholar named John Gladstone was the first to recognize and publicize Margaret River’s special climate, soil, and conditions known as terroir. In a detailed account, Gladstone wrote glowingly of the similarities between the finest wine producing regions of Bordeaux and Margaret River. Moreover, he extolled the perfect weather of Margaret River for the cultivation of the vine. And, indeed, Gladstone’s proclamation has proven to be more than just wishful thinking, surpassing even his own expectations: In the past thirty-five years, Margaret River has established itself as a world-class wine producing region for Chardonnay and Shiraz as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and other traditional Bordeaux varietals.

In spite of Margaret River’s exceptional terroir and enviable reputation for producing balanced, world-class wines, Margaret River remains unknown to the average wine consumer in the United States. Barossa, Hunter, McLaren Vale, and even the Clare garner more attention, and this may be due to the relatively small production in the Margaret River; the region produces less than 5% of Australia’s wine, despite extensive planting in the last four decades. Yet, Margaret River garners the highest proportion of gold medals and trophies for its wines of any viticultural region of Australia – a tribute to Margaret River’s dedication to premium varietals, quality winemaking, and outstanding terroir.