Jancis Robinson - www.jancisrobinson.com

WHEN it comes to accolades in the wine business, you can't go past Jancis Robinson. This London-based Master of Wine with an international reputation of the highest ranking selected two Fermoy Estate semillons, the 2000 and 2001, as the Wine of the Week on her web page in July (2002)

She wrote: "While Fermoy Estate produces a pretty good cabernet, it is its semillon that has impressed me the most. A lively blend of semillon and sauvignon is a bit of a Margaret River specialty but Fermoy's straight semillon is a delicious full bodied white with just enough grassy aroma to keep it appetising. The 2001 is still vibrantly youthful and the 2000 just settling down to comfortable later adolescence. Both are big, bold lemony dry wines with lots of vaguely fig-like fruit but have enough subtlety and structure to be worth buying. I actually prefer them to the oaked, stirred Reserve Semillon of which 2000 is the first vintage. Fermoy claim that all of their semillons have the capacity to age for many years and I have no reason to doubt them."

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Sydney Morning Herald - Good Living October 2002

Sydney Morning Herald wine writer Huon Hooke is another fan of the 2001 semillon, describing it as a perfect match for something like barbecued marinated chicken.

"The distinctive grassy straw-hay and snapped twig aromas of Margaret River come through strongly here. An expressive wine: dry, tangy and intensely flavoured with plenty of body and a degree of richness. Generous flavour for your money."

 

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West Australian Business News - Gustovino with David Pike, May 9-15 2002

Another wine I came across was a shining example of just how good the Sauvignon Blanc from 2002 is looking.

Winemaker Michael Kelly only bottled his Fermoy Estate 2002 Sauvignon Blanc wine last Friday, making it one of the first 2002 releases from wineries around WA.

It is an explosion of vibrant fruit that will liven up your day, so I suggest that you search it out from the Fermoy stand.

May 16-22 2002

Fermoy Estate 2002 Sauvignon Blanc rrp $18.99
Wow, my first 2002 complete wine.

If this is an indication of how good Sauvignon Blanc will be from 2002 then this will be an amazing year for a number of WA producers. This offering is vibrant and rampant with fresh grassy, herbaceous aromas that just explodes and an intriguing hint of juniper berries. The lively palate shows more dynamics with snow pea and green capsicum flavours.

It will need just a little time to settle down as it has been in bottle a week. While possibly a change in style for Fermoy, this is among their top whites. "One of the first 2002 releases from WA wineries, it is an explosion of vibrant fruit that will liven up your day - my first 2002 complete wine." This offering is rampant with fresh grassy, herbaceous aromas that just explode and an intriguing hint of juniper berries.

The lively palate shows more dynamics with snow pea and green capsicum flavours. While possibly a change in style for Fermoy, this is among their top whites."

 

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The West Australian - The West Magazine, May 18, 2002

The West Magazine's Great Red Wine Tasting. Wine writer Ray Jordan sampled more than 200 of the best reds to be found in Perth.

$20-25 - For quality and value for money, the wines were superb.
Sentinel Shiraz
There's a fruit bomb of flavour in here with fleshy, plump shiraz on a soft, plump palate that rolls off the tongue. Nice oak treatment has fused things together and the finish is full and lingering.

$25-30 - Fermoy Estate Merlot 2000
Here is a merlot as it should be-the flesh of merlot fruit dominates. It opens with aromas of fruitcake, earthy plums and touches of spice. Fine tannins and a slightly sappy finish retain its palate friendliness.

 

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The West Australian - The West Magazine May2002

Ray Jordan, wine writer for The West Australian, sampled more than 200 of the best reds to be found in Perth in his Great Red Wine Tasting.

In the $20-25 bracket he had Fermoy Estate's Sentinel Shiraz and wrote: There's a fruit bomb of flavour in here with fleshy, plump shiraz on a soft, plump palate that rolls off the tongue. Nice oak treatment has fused things together and the finish is full and lingering.

In the $25-30 group was the Fermoy Estate Merlot 2000 which he described thus: Here is a merlot as it should be - the flesh of merlot fruit dominates. It opens with aromas of fruitcake, earthy plums and touches of spice. Fine tannins and a slightly sappy finish retain its palate friendliness.

In August, Jordan gave a four out of five rating for Fermoy Estate's 2002 Sauvignon Blanc, saying that just after bottling it was taut and coiled spring tight, yet a few weeks later was showing beautiful gooseberry and fresh tropical fruits.

"A more restrained style and all the better for it," he wrote. "Crisp searing acidity keeps it keeping on. A terrific current season drink."