2021 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon Filius Margaret River 750 ml

Vasse Felix drove Margaret River to its status as one of the best Cabernet regions in the world—and they’ve never taken their foot off the gas. They’ve earned New World Winery of the Year honors from Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Advocate has called them “one of Australia’s treasures.”

But nothing tops their 2021 Filius Cabernet landing at #2 on Wine Spectator’s Top Wine Values of 2023. It’s one of their most remarkable wines yet—a bottle that packs the sophistication and complexity that made their wines coveted among Australia’s savviest collectors, yet is priced for everyday drinking.

Surrounded on three sides by the Indian and Southern Oceans, Margaret River’s generous sunshine and Mediterranean climate are as enticing to winemakers as they are surfers and bronze-tanned tourists. Ample sunlight, cool sea breezes, and dry ripening seasons awaken fine tannin structure and complexity, a terroir James Halliday has called “Bordeaux-like.”

“It’s got elegant lines, but it’s still got the beautiful tannin structure and power that you’d want to have with a meal,” Vasse Felix winemaker Virginia Willcock told us, about Margaret River Cabernet. Vasse Felix is among the best representations of Margaret River style because they helped mold it, planting the very first vines in the region. 

Over the years, Vasse Felix has only fine-tuned their approach, turning up the quality dial year after year. As Virginia told us: “I’ve become a lot more hands-off, allowing the wines to express themselves a lot better. I have to say, I think the style of wine I’m making now is about 50 times better than the style of wine I was making 15 years ago.”