There’s been a 35-year gap since I was last in Western Australia, or WA as the locals call it. Back then I was backpacking around the continent, working as a winery cellar rat and travelling in a very different Australia.
It was a time when visitors could climb Ayers Rock, now rightly known by its original name, Uluru, the sacred Aboriginal site. One of the most striking differences on my recent visit was the recognition and respect now given to Australia’s First Nations people.
I was privileged to experience a moving and informative “Welcome to Country” ceremony, delivered by a local elder offering safe passage and spiritual protection on ancestral land
The rugged coastal land of the Wadandi people
The Land Behind Margaret River Wine
The south-west corner of Western Australia is the traditional land of the Wadandi (Saltwater) people, whose deep cultural connection to the land stretches back more than 60,000 years, one of the longest continuous human histories anywhere in the world.
Against that timeline, the Margaret River wine region is very young. The first commercial vines were planted only in 1967.
Corporate investment and the era of “Parkerisation” arrived in the 1990s, but more recently the region has seen a new wave of winemakers, young producers returning home after travel and experience abroad, rekindling Margaret River’s original pioneering spirit of boutique, premium winemaking.
Why Margaret River Is So Special for Wine
Known affectionately by locals as “Margs”, Margaret River has a maritime climate shaped by the surrounding ocean.
Key features include:
• Reliable winter rainfall (it’s actually wetter than London annually)
• Warm summers moderated by cooling afternoon sea breezes
• Long growing seasons ideal for slow ripening
The Mouth of the Margaret River flowing into the Indian Ocean
Unlike much of south-eastern Australia, Western Australia focuses on quality rather than volume.
The region produces just around 2% of Australia’s wine, yet it is estimated to account for around 20% of the country’s premium wine sales.
Margaret River has become globally respected for two grape varieties in particular:
• Chardonnay
• Cabernet Sauvignon
Many of these wines show a distinctly European elegance, combining Australian fruit purity with balance and structure.
Despite their quality, the small production means many of these wines rarely reach Western markets, with much of the demand coming from Australia itself and Asia.
Karridale: The Cool Southern Edge of Margaret River
The foundations of Margaret River’s wine success can be traced back to Dr John Gladstones, a University of Western Australia agronomist who first identified the region’s potential in 1966.
In 1999 he further divided Margaret River into six subregions based on climate and soil.
One of these is Karridale, the southernmost part of the region and home to Gant & Co.
I caught up with Matt Gant there last May during my visit. It had been about 15 years since we last met, when he co-owned the hugely successful Barossa project First Drop Wines.
Karridale sits just 15 kilometres from the Southern Ocean, meaning:
• cooler temperatures
• more cloud cover
• around 150mm more rainfall than northern Margaret River
Matt describes it simply as true cool-climate Margaret River.
Summer temperatures can 10°C cooler than the northern subregions, producing wines that are:
• more aromatic
• lighter in body
• beautifully defined and elegant.
The Gant & Co vineyards
The Gant & Co Vineyard
The vineyard itself has a fascinating history.
Matt’s wife Claude’s late father, Graham, sold his dairy farm in the 1990s and was among the first to plant vines in Karridale.
Originally 40 hectares of vines were planted across gently undulating land surrounded by towering Karri trees. The soils are a mix of ironstone gravel and red-brown sandy loam and the vineyards are fenced to keep out hungry kangaroos and rabbits.
In the early years, all the fruit was sold to established wineries with the facilities to produce wine.
Over time it became clear that white varieties performed best, so many red plots were removed. Today the estate has:
• 25 hectares under vine
• 95% planted to white grapes
• 14 hectares dedicated to Chardonnay
Matt now sells around two-thirds of the harvest and keeps the best low-yielding fruit to make wine under the Gant & Co label.
Spring vines at Gant & Co
Sustainable Vineyard Practices
The vineyards are farmed sustainably with careful vineyard management.
Key practices include:
• Sheep grazing winter cover crops of rye grass and clover
• Minimal sulphur spraying, used only when necessary
• Mostly dry-grown vines
• Irrigation used only in very hot seasons from one of three estate dams
Beautiful clover cover crops amongst the vines
Seven years ago, the vineyard switched from spur pruning to cane pruning, which improves fruit quality, reduces disease risk and extends vine lifespan.
Red varieties are also crop-thinned, sometimes twice during the growing season, to keep yields low and flavour concentration high.
Gant & Co Chardonnay
The 2023 Gant & Co Chardonnay comes from vines that are dual cane-pruned and carefully managed in the vineyard.
The fruit is entirely from the Gin Gin clone, famous in Margaret River for producing Chardonnay with vibrant citrus intensity.
Winemaking includes:
• Barrel fermentation
• Nine months ageing sur lie
The result is a modern Margaret River Chardonnay: restrained, finely balanced and immensely drinkable, combining bright lemon fruit with a subtle buttery depth.
Gant & Co Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2023 Gant & Co Cabernet Sauvignon also benefited from an excellent vintage.
The vines are dry-grown and managed carefully with shoot and fruit thinning, leaving just one bunch per shoot, a very low yield.
The vineyard is planted with several Cabernet clones:
• 32% Houghton
• 32% 337
• 24% 125
• 12% 191
Each brings something different to the wine from leafy aromatics to blackcurrant intensity and structural complexity.
After fermentation the wine spends 15 months ageing in French oak barriques, with 32% new oak.
Despite the concentration, it remains beautifully balanced and remarkably elegant at just 13% ABV.
Matt post press of his Cabernet Sauvignon
Lovingly Grown, Sensitively Made
Matt describes the Gant & Co philosophy simply:
“Lovingly grown and sensitively made.”
Having tasted the wines where they are grown, I’d add one more thing — they are an absolute pleasure to drink.
Claude, Matt and puppies in the cellar
