I am a pretty vocal supporter of Fermoy Estate, a smallish Margaret River winery in Western Australia’s south west wine region. Margaret River is a bit of a broad term, Fermoy Estate is located on Metricup Road in Wilyabrup, about 25 km from the Margaret River township and a leisurely 20 minute drive up Caves Road, a pretty scenic drive in the region.

The 2018 shiraz is a dark red colour, this is a deep shiraz with plenty of fruit in this medium bodied wine. There are pepper overtones with a little sourness in the aftertaste to make this shiraz interesting, but it still doesn’t do it for me. When I review the tasting notes, this is a 92 point rated wine, they reckon it can be cellared right up until 2028, so it still has some potential to soften out some more.  

This shiraz has subtle oak flavours after spending 15 months in a combination of new and one year old French barriques. I reckon the tannins are still a little strong and could do with another 2 years maturation in the bottle. I will continue to purchase this shiraz, but not for drinking now instead for putting away for a couple of years.  

At 14.5% alcohol, this is a reasonably big shiraz, it has some grunt. At $30 per bottle, I don’t think it lives up to the cost and will seek something else from this winemaker. The Fermoy wine club offers a pretty decent discount at $22.50 per bottle, I enjoy supporting this winery. The Reserve shiraz is fantastic, but at $65 per bottle [$48.75 wine club members], this isn’t a regular drink, instead reserved for special occasions.