Margaret River winery House of Cards has achieved a historic result at the 2026 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC), with its 2025 Ace High Chardonnay becoming the first wine to receive a perfect 100-point score since the competition introduced its 100-point system.
The result makes the Ace High Chardonnay the highest-scoring still wine in IWSC history, following blind judging by an international panel of wine judges and Masters of Wine.
House of Cards also collected gold medals for its 2025 Royals Chardonnay, which scored 98 points, and 2024 Kings in the Corner Cabernet Merlot, awarded 95 points.
The Western Australian family-owned producer was also named IWSC Western Australian Producer of the Year for the second time, having previously received the trophy in 2024.
IWSC Co-Chair of Judges and The Wine Society Wine Buyer Freddy Bulmer said the judging panel had returned to the Ace High Chardonnay before agreeing on the unprecedented score.
“When Andrew Caillard MW, who was co-chairing with me, suggested 100 points, I thought: there’s nothing more that this wine could do,” Bulmer said.
“We tasted it again, blind, alongside all the Gold medal wines at the end of the judging, and both agreed that 100 points was absolutely justified. It was an absolutely beautiful wine — absolute perfection.”
Landmark result for Margaret River
House of Cards owners Travis and Liz Wray were understandably delighted with the international recognition.
“We are absolutely blown away that our wines have been so successful after being blind-judged by some of the world’s best judges and MWs,” they said.
“To be tasted next to other world-class wines and being awarded a perfect 100 points is something dreams are made of.
“The Margaret River wine region is consistently producing world-class wines and we are so proud that our wine has produced the first-ever perfect 100-point score.”
The 2025 Ace High Chardonnay is made entirely from Gingin clone Chardonnay, a heritage clone closely associated with Western Australian Chardonnay.
Fruit is hand-picked and sorted before the wine undergoes 100 per cent barrel fermentation and maturation. The final wine is then selected from the strongest individual barrels, with only 1,300 bottles of the 2025 vintage produced.
Established by Elizabeth and Travis Wray in 2011, House of Cards is a family-owned and operated winery based in Yallingup in the Margaret River region.
All of its fruit comes from the producer’s 12-hectare vineyard, where House of Cards produces organic, single-vineyard wines.
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