It’s been far too long since I last posted on my site. Since November I have been more focused on swimming my first solo Rottnest swim. I had to give up drinking and attending tastings. It was from January that I had to substitute tastings with swimming sessions. I didn’t mind too much as my swim time was 7 hours and 50 minutes so I was very pleased with that.

Now that the swim is over, I can go back to tastings and visiting wineries which is what I love. So last weekend I was in Margaret River and had the opportunity to visit 3 wineries once of which was Fraser Gallop. I was with my family and had arranged to meet with Phil who took us around the winery and through the range.

What is now known as Fraser Gallop was actually a dairy farm when Nigel Gallop bought it in 1999. Since then the winery has gone on to win numerous accolades more so since 2006/07. The winemaker is Clive Otto who was at Vasse Felix until 2005 and came to Fraser Gallop in 07. Kate Morgan is the assistant winemaker. Further details about Clive Otto and the winer is here.

I really appreciate the time that Phil took with us explaining about the history of the winery, the styles of winemaking and the winery itself.

Fraser Gallop buy their barrels from 13 different coopers, most of which are from the south west of France. For the Fraser Gallop white wines, a light toast to the barrels is done.  At a cost of $1200-$1500 per barrel you can start to appreciate the expense of winemaking.

Phil also talked about the viticultural work, the reasons behind the dry grown vineyards, pruning style (cane), the vintage and current listings and exports.

We started with the Fraser Gallop Estate 2013 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc with 20% of it barrel fermented. Lovely fresh fruit and passionfruit on the nose followed through on the palate with a slight richness and texture. You can taste the barrel ferment effects in the wine with a wonderful freshness and lick of acidity. It was sumptuous.

There followed the Fraser Gallop Estate 2011 Parterre Semillon Sauvignon Blanc which had spent 9 months in barrel. It was whole bunch pressed with wild fermentation and the yeast came from vineyard. Tasting at 2011 in early 2014, it still tasted youthful with layers of complexity.

Next was the Fraser Gallop Estate 2012 Chardonnay. The Mendoza clone was used in this wine – the traits of this clone is higher acidity  – and you can taste the green apple and citrus aromas but you can also feel how the different layers of fruit marry into a fantastic mouthfeel and wonderful flavours in a lean style.

Then we tasted the second Chardonnay, the Fraser Gallop Estate 2012 Parterre Chardonnay. This wine had seen more barrel fermentation and the use of new oak gave it a much richer and more textured style. I really enjoy this style of wine.

Then we tried the reds starting with the Fraser Gallop Estate 2012 Cabernet Merlot. The blend is made up of 81% Cabernet, 10% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot.  I found it to have a  wonderful medium weight on the palate and a hint of spice from the 10 months it spends in oak. Berry fruit flavours with a touch of chalky tannins made it a pleasant wine to taste even in the hot summer sun.

Last of the reds was the Fraser Gallop Estate 2011 Parterre Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot which had a lot more skin contact than the Estate. It was aged for 18 months in barrel and you can gain that wonderful toastyness and hint of spice from this as well as the fresh fruit aromas of berries, plums and blackcurrants beautifully married together.  There is a lot more structure to this wine and it should be appreciated as such – savour and enjoy!

The final wine was Fraser Gallop Estate 2013 Ice Pressed Chardonnay, new this season. Of course in Margaret River it doesn’t get cold enough to snow and make ice wine as they do in Canada and Germany but what they do here is freeze the grapes once they’re picked and then pressed. As they’re frozen the juice that does escape is very concentrated. This wine is rich and luscious, a very interesting ice wine to be found in Margaret River.

Tastings are by appointment only. If you can’t make it down to Margaret River and are keen to try the wines, you’ll find some of the range at independents in Perth such as Old Bridge Cellars and a selection of the Liquor Barons stores. Wine prices start from $22/$25.