Margaret River has a high profile as a fine wine region, but few people realise quite how isolated it is. As Voyager Estate chief winemaker Tim Shand puts it, “Margaret River is closer to Jakarta than to Sydney.”
Tim Shand presenting the new Voyager Estate wines, London, October, 2025
Being so much further west than Australia’s major wine regions has built resilience and autonomy here, but “the Galapagos of Australian wines” can sometimes suffer from insularity and parochialism, leading to conservative attitudes to winemaking. Shand is determined to change that, with his outsider’s view, based on years of experience in the Yarra Valley, as well as vintages in Oregon, Chile, Burgundy and beyond.
Surrounded by ocean on three sides, Margaret River is, in effect, a broad peninsula with a climate that is, says Shand, “eerily similar to Pauillac [in Bordeaux].” This similarity led to a focus on Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. But Chardonnay has also found a home here, making arguably Australia’s finest expressions of the grape.
Tim Shand points out the nuances of our ancient gravelly soils
Along with some of the oldest soils on the planet, the presence of the cool Southern Ocean is one of the keys to making Margaret River an exciting wine growing area. While state capital Perth might routinely swelter under scorching summer temperatures in excess of 40°C, Margaret River is noticeably cooler: at Voyager Estate they rarely see daytime temperatures over 28°C.
Shand’s arrival at Voyager Estate in 2022 coincided with the conversion of the estate’s vineyards to organic, which was completed in 2023, and is entirely in line with owner Alexandra Burt’s commitment to sustainability and regenerative farming. Of the estate’s 400 hectares (ha) total area, just 62 ha are vines (down from 140 ha, a result of a comprehensive vine uprooting programme). Elsewhere there is forest, including a 20 ha carbon and biodiversity planting project, as well as sheep and belted Galloway cattle, which find their way into the property’s farm-to-plate on-site restaurant.
The reduction of the vineyard area sounds – and is – brutal. It started before Shand’s arrival, with the removal of some Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, to which Shand added 13 ha of Shiraz. A further 35 ha of vines have since been uprooted, all driven by a search for absolute quality and to double down on what Margaret River, and Voyager Estate’s site in particular, does best: Chardonnay and the Cabernet family.
Historically, growers wanted to try lots of varieties, both to see what worked, and to be able to offer a wide range of bottlings in this isolated region. Now that time has shown its hand, the focus should be on quality. Even some blocks of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon have not escaped the cull, if their fruit has been judged to be below par, “Averageness in site is not acceptable.” says Shand.
Tasting the new wines
When I met Shand a couple of years ago, we weren’t able to taste any wines that he had made – so it was gratifying to rectify that on this visit.
We tasted Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, each in three different ranges: Coastal, Estate and Voyager’s top wines, MJW.
Coastal Chardonnay Voyager Estate 2024, from a very warm year, comes from younger vines (they only make wines from their own fruit) and is fermented in concrete, which gives great temperature regulation and a freshening texture. Just 10% of the wine goes into a mix of new and second use 500 litre puncheons. A hint of smoky reduction adds to the sensation of freshness of this fruit-focused wine which doesn’t need ageing to show at its best.
Chardonnay Voyager Estate 2023 is from what Shand calls “the perfect vintage: beautiful elongation of ripening, beautiful acidity.” It has a lovely balance of focused fruit and fine acidity, with a lively texture from the lees ageing. Shand loves what he calls “the reticence” of the 2023 wines, the precision of their acidity: there will be no hurry to drink these. Shand has reduced the use of new 225 litre barrels in general, and this has spent 9 months in 25% new French oak.
MJW Chardonnay Voyager Estate 2023, is named for Michael Wright, Alexandra Burt’s father and founder of the estate, and is not made every year. From a single block of vines, this is restrained now, as you’d expect from a nascent wine with a long life ahead of it. There is lots of lees influence, trademark lemon-lime acidity and a touch of pithiness. The finish is long and fine. Shand feels the sweet spot for drinking MJW Chardonnay is at five years old, but that it will happily last for twenty.
All these wines share the character of Margaret River’s signature Gingin Chardonnay clone: its tendency to millerandage and the region’s Mediterranean climate lead to a characteristic burnt lime character and an appetising saltiness.
Tim Shand leading the tasting
Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon Voyager Estate 2023, from that perfect year sees little oak (half of the wine spends 11 months in 25% new barrels) and is concrete tank fermented. This is brimming with bright, red fruits, with ripe tannins, hints of smoke and herbs and is resolutely mid-weight. Shand likes to say that “Cab’s superpower is that it sits so much in the middle: it’s medium bodied, has structure, fruitiness and beauty, but with substance as well.”
Cabernet Sauvignon Voyager Estate 2023 has 15% Merlot in support and is layered, dense and rich, with black cherry and dark chocolate, smooth tannins and terrific length. The longer hang time, especially in years like this, means the tannins achieve true ripeness and don’t obscure the delicate fruit. Shand’s ambition for this wine is for it to be a story of vintage and time; therefore, the plan is to release this at ten years of age, in 2033.
MJW Cabernet Sauvignon Voyager Estate 2022 is a selection from two blocks, selected based on the proportion of ironstone gravel in the soils: more gravel makes for greater concentration of fruit. One plot is one of the original plantings back in 1978. The wine is elegant, lifted and fragrant, with present but fine tannins. Although it is the top bottling of the estate, it is mercifully free of blockbuster concentration, focused instead on finesse and elegance.
Cabernet Sauvignon Cellar Release Voyager Estate 2015. This is the vision, a delayed release at 10 years old, which illustrates the Margaret River style perfectly. It is still very youthful, smooth and lively, retaining a sweetness to the fruit. It is definitively mid-weight, with just a hint of evolution on the finish. There is 4% Merlot in the blend and the 50% new oak has melted away into the overall character of the wine.
Older vintages of these wines are currently available through Pol Roger. Those with patience will be rewarded with the eventual release of the Estate Cabernet 2023.
Final thoughts
What shines through in all Voyager Estate wines, especially those that Shand is responsible for, is elegance and harmony. The vine pulling may be brutal, but the winemaking is deft and sympathetic. For Shand, he hopes that the wines show “the mark of a great vineyard, and hopefully of a discerning hand, guiding the fruit into bottle”.
The wines of Voyager Estate are imported and sold in the UK through Pol Roger Portfolio which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To learn more about them click here.
Dining and Cooking