By Fergal Gleeson
Perth based couple Judith and Gary Berson found that they were spending a lot of time in Margaret River enjoying the wines from the pioneer vineyards and meeting the winemakers.
Their love of wine, quickly grew to a desire to be involved in the industry and they decided to make their mark in Margaret River. They searched for the right site to make premium wines looking for the soil structure, slope, aspect.
Twenty two years ago they found “the valley” on Holben Road, Cowaramup. They made the brave decision to plant the vineyards without irrigation.
“We believe the theory of making the vines work hard to achieve intensely flavoured fruit,” Judith says.
“Without irrigation, the vine’s tap root digs deep initially to find the water source. It’s a long slow process but the vines are now well established and can cope with the changing climate.”
Clare & Keith Mugford of Moss Wood agreed to consult to the Bersons and have helped create another great Margaret River vineyard.
The first couple of vintages of wine were made at Moss Wood by Keith and his team, before production became too big for their facility. The wines are now made by Mark Messenger from Juniper Estate.
Victory Point holds a 5 star rating from the Halliday Wine Companion and has collected many medals at international wine shows.
The cellar door* has a spectacular view over the whole vineyard, so you can taste the wines and see exactly where they’ve come from.
Current and older vintages are open for tasting and sale. Large format bottles of Rose and Cabernet Sauvignon and some new varietal wines are also available only from the cellar door.
For warmer days Judith recommends their crisp 2019 Rosé served as an aperitif matched with savoury hors d’oeuvres especially anchoiade. The 2016 Chardonnay matched with the “bounty from the sea –dhufish, crayfish, and abalone”. Don’t over chill their Chardonnay she warns!
For red wine lovers Judith points to the medium bodied 2018 Cabernet Franc, great with paella dishes or barbecued lamb and Middle Eastern salads.
*The cellar door is closed for now due to the C word. Free shipping Australia wide.
My Victory Point Wines- Tasting Notes:
Chardonnay 2016
Everything is knitting together nicely in the 2016 Chardonnay. Oyster shells, integrated oak and a dryness on the finish. All about balance – no over worked complexity or acid excess. A zen wine.
RRP $45. Rating 4.5 ⭐️’s.
Rose 2019
The 2019 Rose with a cool beachy label that honours our love of the ocean. A Malbec, Pinot , Cab Franc blend with some barrel ferment for texture. It’s bright and lively with cream and strawberries at the finish. Absolutely gluggable and well above the standard of most Aussie Rose.
RRP $23. Rating 3.5 ⭐️’s
Pinot Noir 2018
The 2018 Pinot Noir is very accomplished- medium bodied with savoury strawberry and cherry flavours, a little sourness, a little earthiness. Impressed. Who says Margs can’t do Pinot? Not I.
RRP $55. Rating 4 ⭐️’s.
The Mallee Root 2018
Value hunters take note of The 2017 Mallee Root, a Cabernet blend with great support from Malbec, adding plush fruit and Petit Verdot, punchy tannin and spice. A smooth drop. Very enjoyable – over delivers.
RRP $28.50 Rating 4.5 ⭐️’s.
Cabernet Franc 2018
Lovely to see Cabernet Franc as a single varietal rather than blended. Beautiful fruit flavours of black cherry and plum in a lighter frame than Cabernet Sauvignon. Smoother tannins than many Cab Francs.
RRP $35. Rating 4.5 ⭐️’s.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
Finally the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon- lovely bouquet leads to a very sophisticated wine that manages to be both smooth and complex, brings to mind Moss Wood Cabernet. The quality of the fruit from the unirrigated vineyards leads the way.
RRP $45. Rating 5⭐️’s.
Appeared in shorter format in Your Margaret River Region Magazine
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