Vasse Felix

Vasse Felix is a notable wine producer in the Margaret River region on Australia's west coast. Like most of the region's top estates, Vasse Felix is best known for its premium wines made in a Bordeaux blend style, and its oak-aged white wines made from Chardonnay.

The estate was established in 1967 by Dr Thomas Cullity, and the first vintage was in 1971. This was not a great success for Vasse Felix – the fruit had been attacked by birds in the weeks leading up to harvest. A falcon was employed to scare the birds away, but this also proved unsuccessful as upon release, it promptly flew away. Happily, changes in the vineyards have meant success for later vintages, and the falcon is now immortalized on Vasse Felix labels, and has become the symbol of the estate.

Today, the estate is divided into four vineyards: Home, Adams Road, Gnarawary and Karridale. The different terroirs and mesoclimates in these vineyards makes for a diverse range of grape characteristics, and site selection is essential. The cooler sites, like Karridale, are best for producing grapes with higher acidity, while warmer sites like Adams Road produce rich, ripe wines. Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay dominate the vineyards, but there are also plantings of Merlot, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The grapes are fermented plot by plot and then these parcels are blended to make wines.

Vasse Felix's icon wines are the Heytesbury range, which consists of a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant red wine and a white wine made from Chardonnay. The two wines are sourced from the best parcels in the vineyards, and are both aged in French oak – the red for 18 months and the white for nine. Both have considerable ageability: the red wine in particular will continue to improve in the cellar for a decade.

Alongside Heytesbury, Vasse Felix produces a Filius range, an Estate range, and a Classic range.