Woodlands Brook Chardonnay, Margaret River (2022)

Established in 1973 by David and Heather Watson, Woodlands is one of the founding five pioneer vineyards of Margaret River. Located in the prestigious Wilyabrup Valley, this family-owned estate is deeply committed to dry-farming and organic viticulture. Their original, unirrigated plantings produce exceptionally low yields of intensely concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon and elegant, precision-driven Bordeaux blends. By honoring the region's ancient ironstone soils and cooling maritime climate, Woodlands crafts powerfully structured, cellar-worthy masterpieces that beautifully balance raw Australian fruit intensity with refined, Old World sophistication.

Margaret River sits on a remote cape in the far southwest of Australia, all but surrounded by ocean - and that maritime setting is its making. Cooling sea breezes off two oceans give a long, even ripening that the Australian heat elsewhere rarely allows, on some of the oldest soils on earth. The result is graceful, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon and finely judged Chardonnay - Australian fruit with a cooler, more restrained edge. A small region that punches well above its size.