Article by Nicky Lefebvre first appeared in the Augusta Margaret River Mail Newspaper, Wednesday 13 April 2022 

"EVERYTHING about this wine is exquisite - from flavour to label."

So say the 2022 London Wine Competition judges, who awarded Margaret River region winery Gralyn Estate the highest prize of the event, the coveted 'Wine of the Year'. Judging for the 2022 competition took place at St Mary's Church in London's Marylebone this week, with a record, 300 wines submitted from 36 countries. To be a medal winner, wines must score highly in all three criteria, with a weighting on scores for quality.  The only wine to score 97 points, the Gralyn Estate Artizan Rare Muscat NV was also awarded 'Best in Show by Country' and 'Best Wine of the Year by Quality'.

Gralyn Estate was founded in Wilyabrup in 1975 and was the first to open a commercial cellar door in Margaret River in 1978.

Owners and winemakers Scott and Annette Baxter took the helm two years ago from Annette's parents, founders Graham and Merilyn Hutton. Scott Baxter said the secret to the success of the fortified wine came down to the quality of the fruit, the barrel age, and blending and freshening. "Very old brandy barrels are used to store the Artizan, so as not to impart too much oak character, allowing it to develop rancio complexity," Mr Baxter said.” These wines are precious as there is considerable loss each year from evaporation, what's described as the Angel's Share, and this gives the wine it’s power." The wine is produced using the Solera System, a winemaking practice where younger wines are blended in barrels storing older wines, and hence termed non-vintage or NV. The solera in the Artizan Rare Muscat NV dates back 40 years. "We're winning accolades now because Annette's parents had the foresight 40 years ago to barrel age this beautiful wine," said Mr Baxter." They knew it was special, they knew it had its place and they believed that they were on to something for which we're very grateful, because now we're reaping the rewards of their vision and hard work." Gralyn Estate was awarded Gold for both its 2017 and 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.


Image: Scott and Annette Baxter toasting to their success at the London Wine Competition 

We are thrilled with Huon Hookes latest review for The Real Review of our Classic Muscat awarding it 95 points and ranking it as one of Australia’s great fortifieds. 

“Deepish tawny-brown colour with russet tints and a yellow-green rim. The bouquet is intensely muscaty and concentrated, while the taste is rich and sweet, lusciously rounded and supple, with lots of viscosity and vibrant fruit in the centre, its freshness assisted by clean acidity. The muscat fruit is very present yet the wine has considerable aged complexity from older blending wines. A lovely drinking muscat.”

Available to taste and purchase from our Cellar Door or online via the website.

#gralynestate #wilyabrup #margaretriver #westernaustralia 

First light in the pollinator garden...
We are enjoying these cooler Autumn mornings

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On the back of winning its 11th Trophy at the Boutique Wine Awards in Sydney last month, the Artizan Rare Muscat has just scooped up another two awards further cementing its reputation as one of Australias great fortified wines. It has received a Double Gold medal at the Global Fine Wine Challenge and a Gold medal (95pts) at the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards.

The string of awards on the Artizan Rare Muscat matches us against the best in the country and those that are the best in the country are amongst the best in the world. We are winning accolades now because Graham and Merilyn were laying material down nearly 50 years ago with the foresight that they truly believed in the fruit that they were growing and the wine that they were making.

“This is rich with classic mature fortified muscat flavours, with notes of dried figs, dates, rum-soaked raisins, toffee, coffee grounds, brandy-soused plum pudding and dark spices, with hints of clove, cinnamon and brown cardamom. Those flavour cascade onto the viscous palate, with toasted walnuts and treacle joining in, the fortifying alcohol gently cutting through the richness, giving this lift through the back palate, flavours persisting for minutes.” 
Rory Kent - Young Gun Of Wine 2021

We are moving into the season Birak. The Noongar Calendar recognises this as the first summer and the season of the young.

The Noongar calendar includes six annual seasons, each representative of the environmental and seasonal changes that occur around us. They contain deeper insights into the subtle and distinct transformations in the plants, flowers and animals around us.

Birak (December - January) sees the rains ease up and the warm weather really start to take hold. The afternoons are cooled by the sea breezes that prevail from the southwest. There is an almost clockwork style of easterly winds in the morning and sea breezes in the afternoon.

For the animals, there are many young venturing out, whilst some are still staying close to their parents. Reptiles are looking to shed their old skin for a new one.

This is Wadandi Boodja - Saltwater People’s Country 

Image: Gralyn Estate is a sanctuary for a kangaroo mother and her 'joey' along the banks of the Wilyabrup Brook

Our vineyard is looking vibrant in its final stages of flowering and in the next few weeks we will see berry formation. 

Organically and sustainably farmed, using regenerative techniques and microbiology we nurture and enhance our soil to build resilient vines. Our vineyard has never looked better. Biologically active soils interact with the vines roots to supply mineral needs on demand to improve overall crop nutrition. We see this at harvest time in the flavour and intensity of our fruit. Great wine really does start in the vineyard. Watch our latest video...

Leading Australian wine writer Huon Hooke recently reviewed our 2018 Reserve Chardonnay for The Real Review, awarding it 96 Points!

You can read and watch the full review below, Thanks Huon.

"Light yellow, bright colour. Passionfruit and tropical aromas, a tinge of grapefruit, some slaty mineral notes, quite pungent and passionfruity, with an undercurrent of chewy tannin on the aftertaste. There is a shrillness to the wine and a definite Gingin clone style to the fruit. Delicious." Drink 2021 -2028
96 Points - Houn Hooke, The Real Review

The 36th Annual International Chardonnay Tasting was held at Cullen Wines on Saturday benchmarking Margaret River Chardonnay against the worlds best. Guests were treated to 24 remarkable wines from the 2017 vintage followed by a long lunch in the vineyard.

Thank you Cullen Wines for hosting such an amazing event and showcasing our 2017 Reserve Chardonnay.

We have released the last remaining cases of this award winning wine for purchase online via the website or visit our Wilyabrup Cellar Door.

Shop - 2017 Reserve Chardonnay

Friday saw the last of our Cabernet Sauvignon vines pruned and wrapped. As we move into Spring and temperatures rise, our vines respond with amazing vigour. A carefully curated program in our vineyard, focuses on soil health, microbiology and organic principles, to maintain vine health. We look forward to seeing this season unfold…

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