Western Australian freshness and finesse

Western Australia, as I was told repeatedly at the London Australia Day tasting last month, has had a whole run of very good vintages and has escaped the extremes of flood and fire suffered in other parts of the country over the last few years. It is also one of the few regions that had a good 2011 vintage for red wines.

It's a region with a well-established and coherent profile, particularly for fresh styles – Cabernet and Cabernet blends for reds and both Chardonnay and Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blends for whites, not forgetting some fine Rieslings in southern subregions such...