Fermoy Estate and Stella Bella wines ranked among the top 50 world-class wines at Decanter awards

Two Margaret River wineries have had an astonishing run on the world stage, among the rare few worldwide selected as Decanter’s Best in Show.

Fermoy Estate and Stella Bella Wines were among the select group identified as producing some of the world’s leading wines, when judging wrapped in Europe last week.

Stella Bella took the Best in Show home for its famed Luminosa 2022, while Fermoy Estate’s 2020 Reserve cabernet sauvignon was its prize winner.

Margaret River Wine Association chief executive Amanda Whiteland said the Decanter contest had increasingly recognised the wines of the Margaret River region.

“Decanter is one of the world’s largest and most influential wine competitions,” she said.

“This year, an incredible 18,143 wines from 57 countries were judged, but the Best in Show trophies were awarded to just 50 wines or less than 0.3 per cent of entries.

“It is fantastic for our region’s reputation and driving demand to have two wines selected in this very prestigious list.

“It also recognises the breadth of our region’s exceptional quality wines, with 32 Margaret River producers collectively receiving 95 medals.”

Stella Bella chief winemaker Luke Joliffe said the recognition of producing one of the top 50 wines on the planet was a huge fillip for the winery.

“(It) is a testament to the dedication of our viticultural and winemaking teams,” he said.

“The philosophy of the vineyard is to farm sustainably and have the attention to detail required to produce exciting wines that evolve in the glass as you are drinking them.”

Fermoy’s senior winemaker Jeremy Hodgson was likewise buoyed by the accolade.

“It’s the world’s largest and most influential wine competition, and to have our Reserve cabernet recognised as the very best is not only a win for Fermoy, but it shines the light once again on Margaret River being a consistently world-class producer of cabernet sauvignon,” he said.

“We’re in cabernet country — it’s our raison d’être, the pinnacle of what we do.

“To win an award for cabernet is exceptionally gratifying.”

The Wilyabrup producer praised vineyard manager Andy Keig for his role in providing optimal conditions for the prize-winning cab sav.