The 2004 red wines from Margaret River are right up there with the 2001 vintage wines; some producers even believe them to be better than the wines produced in 2001.

The Voyager Estate 2004 Shiraz is the result of many years of viticultural refinement within the Voyager Estate vineyards. The efforts of Steve James, our viticulturist, and his team in the vineyard have allowed us to largely eliminate the ‘wintergreen’ character that has run through the tannins in our Shiraz over past vintages. After four years of focused viticulture, including pruning, trellising, trimming and a resolute irrigation strategy, we have begun to see balance in these once wild vines, allowing the vine to concentrate its energy on fruit quality rather than vine growth.

The Voyager Estate 2004 Shiraz shows lovely crimson colour and wonderful perfume on the nose - hints of forest floor, fresh bright fruit and dark berries such as blueberry and blackberry and subtle cedar oak. The tannins are fine, long and integrated. The palate shows soft dark fruits - mulberry, spice, blackberry, anise and well-integrated oak.

I believe the style of Shiraz that best suits Margaret River has always been in the Rhone mould, focusing more on the perfume and spice rather than huge extraction and oak. These are the wines that I enjoy drinking rather than just tasting. Our 2004 Shiraz is a similar wine to our 2003 vintage with perhaps a slightly riper fruit profile. This wine continues the evolution of the Voyager Estate Shiraz in what has been an interesting journey with this largely unheralded Margaret River variety. To summarise, substantial progress in our vineyard and ideal vintage conditions have resulted in another fantastic Shiraz being produced at Voyager Estate.

The wine is bottled 100% under screw cap closures so we can provide our customers with a more consistent product.

Source: Winemaker's Notes (edited)