TERROIR PROFILE
Margaret River
Maritime Bordeaux Down Under
Margaret River — Australia's most prestigious region. Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Cullen, Vasse Felix.
Climate, site & wine
Very old, leached soils over granite and gneiss, often deep reddish gravelly loam over laterite, drain well and are low in nutrients, which keeps yields modest. The Wilyabrup area in the north is regarded as the heartland of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cabernet Sauvignon gives dense, cassis-driven wines with firm tannin and good ageing potential. Chardonnay is ripe yet taut, with citrus and stone fruit; Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon are often blended into cuvées with structure and freshness.
TERROIR PROFILE · Western Australia
Margaret River Maritime Bordeaux Down Under
Margaret River — Australia's most prestigious region. Leeuwin Estate, Moss Wood, Cullen, Vasse Felix.
SOILS
Gravel / Sandlight, approachable
Gravel and sand drain heavily — vines struggle for water, wines turn fine, light and elegant.
Loambody-rich, velvety
Loamy soils give wines volume and a soft, velvety mouthfeel.
Graniteelegant, lightly spicy
Weathered granite produces elegant, slender wines with fine, lightly spicy profile.
Sandaromatic, approachable
Loose sand and wind-blown sand warm up quickly and hold little water — they give aromatic, early-drinking wines with soft tannins; phylloxera-resistant.
CLIMATE · Maritime
Mediterranean-maritime climate: the Indian Ocean to the west and the Southern Ocean to the south keep the annual temperature range unusually small, at about 7.6 degrees on average. Winters are wet and summers dry; of roughly 1,160 millimetres of annual rainfall only about 200 fall between October and April. Harvest generally runs from February to April.
TOPOGRAPHY · gentle
Flat to gently rolling country on the Leeuwin-Naturaliste ridge between Cape Naturaliste in the north and Cape Leeuwin in the south. Vineyards generally sit low, and steep slopes are largely absent.
WHAT IT MEANS IN THE GLASS
Similar terroirs worldwide
Computed from fingerprint similarity
Peel
Western Australia
94% similar
- Minerality (slightly): Margaret River is more mineral → salty-stony notes, more tension (4 vs. 3).
- Freshness (slightly): Margaret River has more freshness → crisp acidity, long ageing (5 vs. 4).
Perth Hills
Western Australia
94% similar
- Sun (slightly): Margaret River gets less sun → paler colour, more herbal spice (8 vs. 9).
- Dryness (slightly): Margaret River is wetter → juicier, softer, more plushness (7 vs. 8).
Wineries on this terroir
See all 45 →This terroir's soils in the glossary