The far south-western tip of Australia makes up in quality what it lacks in quantity. Cabernet, then Chardonnay, made the region's name but does the future lie in Rhône varieties? (No air miles were notched up by me in the preparation of this article.)
Cooled respectively by the Indian Ocean (above) and the Southern Ocean, the vineyards of Margaret River and Great Southern produce some of Australia’s most refined wines, albeit in relatively tiny quantity. The whole of Western Australia (see this map), or WA as Aussies call it, produces just 5% of the country’s wine output – and...