Reviews

Chardonnay | 2023

You can rely on Margaret River chardonnay to deliver flavour but what I really like about this wine is the way it sheets out long through the finish. This is a wine with some extra about it. It tastes of grilled peaches and flint, grapefruit and a combination of pears and apples, with oak-spice notes studded within. But it’s that minerally, tonic-like aspect to the finish that really beguiles. It puts up the spinnaker and heads for the open seas. I suspect too that this wine will be better again in another 12-24 months.

Mattinson | Campbell Mattinson | 94/100

The Mallee Root | 2023

This is a medium-bodied wine of good fruit and good character. It tastes of blackcurrant, tobacco, chocolate, iodine and mint, though there’s an undergrowth-like note that helps give it a bit of extra interest. This is the kind of wine that is as equally at home on the couch as it is on the dinner table. It walks a middle road, in a positive way, and will suit and please most folks, in most situations.

Mattinson | Campbell Mattinson | 92/100

Cabernet Sauvignon | 2023

There’s a force to this wine but it’s delivered in such a fluid, almost light-hearted, way that it seems both more-ish and satisfying at once. It tastes of blackcurrant and redcurrant, aromatic herbs, a lighter mulberry note and a combination of cedarwood, musk, and smoked cream. It a;; teams well, and is all tied together by assertive, almost meaty, tannin. This is an impressive red wine.

Mattinson | Campbell Mattinson | 93/100

Cabernet Franc | 2025

The Cabernet Franc aromatics are out on the town. It may have something to do with the dry-grown vineyard, or the decision to use zero new oak. Either way, no one puts this baby in the corner. Bay leaf, poached rhubarb, and dried raspberry leaf are having a moment. It is joyful, playful, and inherently itself. In the mouth the fruit reaches every crack and crevice, while a line of slatey tannins adds savoury shape and definition. A smart wine.

Winepilot | Cyndal Petty | 93/100

Pinot Noir | 2023

There are only two sites in Margaret River capable of producing truly compelling Pinot Noir, and this wine comes from one of them. Located just inland from Cowaraup, it’s a small and special patch of dirt with its own microclimate. Poached rhubarb, cranberry juice, and tarragon leaf. It fells a little rebellious to drink. In the mouth it’s vibrant, with chalky tannins and a lovely interplay between sweet fruit, crushed concrete, and toasted apple seeds, the latter most likely a result of a 10% whole bunch inclusion. Good Pinot Noir from Margaret River is still a rarity, and I’m here for it.

Winepilot | Cyndal Petty | 94/100

The Mallee Root | 2023

Just like many of the 2023 reds out of Margaret River, this blend is full of plush fruit and has no hard corners. The savoury edge of Cabernet appears as worn bay leaf, propping up a juicy fruit profile of blackberry juice and red currant. In the mouth, it’s full of energy. The tannins are grainy and grippy, while oak lends a classic, cedar finish. No bells. No whistles. Just good red wine at a good price.

Winepilot | Cyndal Petty | 93/100

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IWC | 93/100

Pinot Noir | 2022

Victory Point 2022 Pinot Noir

I’ll even entertain only two Pinots from Margaret River — this is one. Pomegranate, fresh-cut hay, cranberry, and freeze-dried strawberries… in chocolate. Elegant and rough around the edges. Gentle lavender, crushed gravel, and candle wax. There’s a lot to like about this little needle in the hayshed (couldn’t think of a better analogy — but it fits). The 16% new French oak and 10% whole bunch are well hidden — framing but not taking away from place. It runs a touch hot, but for a region that “can’t do Pinot,” this is a cheeky little treat. Have with rabbit stew, cooked over coals, listening to The Doors.

Cyndal Petty - WinePilot.com | 91/100 points

The Mallee Root | 2023

Victory Point 2023 The Mallee Root

For red wines under $30 that actually do the trick, I reckon Victory Point will dance with the best. This Malbec-Cabernet blend (63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc) is somehow still varietal — not sure I can explain that. Gentle, with round edges. It wears party shirts and chinos. Even palate weight, with a juicy-chewy finish. This is a bargain. Great wine. Great price. Drink now.

Cyndal Petty - WinePilot.com | 93/100 points

Cabernet Sauvignon | 2020

Victory Point 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon

Could smell this for days. Sweet tobacco, cinnamon, bay leaf. Medium-bodied — as Cabernet should be — with just enough grunt. Black plums, sweet mulberry, shaved pencil. Quietly hits every mark, no fuss, no flab. Long, savoury finish with soft edges. Victory Point is still one of the most underrated producers in Margaret River — a dry-grown site tucked a little inland, doing its own thing. Wines of pedigree. This isn’t the exception, it’s the rule. It’s giving… dusty original vinyl. Drink with your dad. Eat with herb-heavy pasta. Fresh, savoury, and bloody good.

Cyndal Petty - WinePilot.com | 95/100 points

Chardonnay | 2020

Victory Point 2020 Chardonnay

Vine age is around 20 plus years on a north facing slope. Wild ferment and matured on lees for 10 months in 38% new French oak with additional battonage. Abundant yellow citrus, mango skin and yellow peach cheeks with lingering hazelnut toffee. A hint of toasted popcorn. There are layers of vanilla sponge cake interspersed with a sandy salinity. It’s a big wine that holds its shape very well. I don’t think anyone ever said there is TOO much flavour in this Chardonnay and for good reason, it’s a celebration of Margaret River and the blessing of the climate of the region. Drinking very well now and will cellar for another 3-5 years. Drink with roast chicken with lemon thyme stuffing.

WinePilot.com - Shanteh Wale | 95/100 points

Chardonnay | 2022

Victory Point 2022 Chardonnay

Easily missed — this wine’s beauty crept up on me. Lime skin, cashew cream, fried sage leaves, and pencil shavings. With 48% Gin Gin Clone and the majority made up of different Dijon clones, it steps away from Margaret River’s status quo — leaning savoury, textural, and confidently standing alone in style. The 41% new oak, though bold in choice, integrates naturally. It’s sheltered and elegant — but feels like it’s been through a lot. Bamboo sticks, preserved lemon and slate, are met with flint and lemon balm as the wine slowly unwinds. The finish is long and savoury, with a quiet persistence. Decant before serving — this one deserves a moment to unfurl.

WinePilot.com - Cyndal Petty | 95/100 points

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Winepilot | 93

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WA Wine Guide | 93

The Mallee Root | 2020

One of the prettiest and most elegant of any wine under this Mallee Root label. Excellent year contributed to it for sure, but some astute winemaking has helped. Hand plunging in small open fermenters has contributed to the bright highly scented aromas. Lovely red berry with a little blackcurrant richness with fine chalk tannins and clever subtle use of oak. Mighty good wine for less than $30.

WA Wine Guide | 94

Pinot Noir | 2021

The vintage was a bit of a balancing act for winemakers with some pesky rain, but for these later ripening varieties it worked out okay. It’s a tidy medium bodied wine showing that pinot noir can work rather well in Margaret River. Has a spicy raspberry cherry aroma with a little vanilla bean. The decision not to use any new oak has allowed a full expression of the fruit while retaining its core of lifted acidity and fine tannins.

WA Wine Guide | 92

Petit Verdot | 2021

These vines planted in 1997 are now reaching a level of maturity to supply fruit of excellent balance and concentration. This is a medium to full bodied wine with a firm core of tannin supported by largely older oak and a smidgeon of new French. Dark chocolate and slightly minerally plummy bac fruit provides the palate base. It’s a fruit and fleshy wine with poise and balance.

WA Wine Guide | 92

Malbec | 2021

A variety that is making quite an impact these days as a stand-alone varietal. And it seems that this cooler Margaret River vintage has suited this variety rather well, bringing a degree of elegance and refinement into the mix. Perfumed red fruits with a subtle leafy influence and a trace of liqueur chocolate. The palate is seamlessly integrated and medium weight. Smooth and elegantly long.

WA Wine Guide | 94

Chardonnay | 2020

This ever improving chardonnay comes from mature unirrigated vines. IT is a mix of Gingin and Dijon clones which combines power and elegance in once united presentation. It’s whole bunch pressed to oak for 100% wild fermentation before 10 months in oak of which 38% was new. Has a creamy stone fruit middle palate with a trace of cashew and minerality. This was a very good vintage for chardonnay and this one has emerged beautifully.

WA Wine Guide | 95

Cabernet Sauvignon | 2020

A thoroughly beautiful and refined cabernet sauvignon from this excellent vintage. There’s a small amount of bright malbec in there bringing a juicy red fruit impact to the middle palate. IT’s one of the more elegant and stylish cabernets from Victory Point displaying impeccable balance of fruit oak and tannin. Bright blackcurrant fruit on the nose with a leafy oyster shell influence. The palate is still tightly held as is the case with many of these 2020 cabernets but it will certainly release and evolve with time.

WA Wine Guide | 95