A guest's guide to Margaret River wine

Three hours south of Perth, Margaret River produces about three percent of Australia's wine and a wildly disproportionate share of its best. Cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay are the region's two great arguments, and we buy both at vintage, direct from the estates.

The reason is maritime. The Indian Ocean wraps the region on three sides, keeping summers warm but rarely hot and winters mild. Grapes ripen slowly and evenly, which is winegrower language for flavour without heaviness.

On our list, Margaret River does different work depending on the course. The chardonnays handle the marron and shellfish, the cabernets answer the wagyu and aged duck, and the region's underrated semillon blends carry the vegetable dishes better than anything imported we've found.

If you drink one thing, drink the 2019 Pierro chardonnay. Eleven months in French oak, more texture than fruit, and the bottle our regulars reorder the most. At the other end, the 2016 Moss Wood cabernet is the museum pour we open for the wagyu course.

Between those anchors sit the value plays: Frankland River isn't Margaret River technically, but its riesling earns its shelf beside them, and Cullen's biodynamic range converts skeptics weekly.

Everything on the list sells at cellar-door pricing to dining guests, which is usually ten to twenty percent under retail. Rare bottles ship across Australia through the concierge.

The honest advice: drink the museum bottles here, take the younger vintages home. They'll be better in five years than the shelf price suggests now.