Voyager Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004

James Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2008
Wine Business Monthly (WBM) Top 100 Wines of the Year 2008

"The 2004 Voyager Estate Cabernet Merlot is the best red wine that has been made at this estate."  Cliff Royal, Winemaker

Voyager Estate is one of Margaret River's oldest vineyards, located In the Stevens Valley in the subregion of Wallcliffe. The vineyard was first planted in 1978 and subsequently purchased by mining heir Michael Wright in 1991. It is part of what James Halliday refers to as the 'golden triangle' of Margaret River - encompassing Voyager Estate, Leeuwin Estate and Cape Mentelle. This impeccably run Estate crafts a set of wines that ooze style and class.

"An outstanding Voyager Estate cabernet. It's beautifully balanced too. Deeply flavoured, well structured, softly textured and – dare I say it for an intense young cabernet – delicious to drink. It tastes of chocolate, cassis, liquid pencils and fresh cedarwood, the lot underscored by a throaty, gravelly, brooding intensity. Super wine. Has a long, long future ahead of it."  Campbell Mattinson

Expert reviews

"A blend of 81% cabernet sauvignon, 14% merlot and 5% petit verdot, it spends 24 months in French oak, half new. Deeply coloured, it has a powerful bouquet and even more powerful palate, with layers of blackcurrant and cassis seamlessly interwoven with spicy oak, the tannins strong but perfectly balanced. From Margaret River, WA Drink now-2024 with butterfly leg of lamb."  James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points and Top 100 Wines of 2008

"Now, I'm a regular lover of Voyager cabernet merlot, but this is an especially good one. The last great one was the 2001, but this 2004 is far tamer in alcohol, and all the better for it. It tastes of chocolate and liquid pencils, cedarwood and oodles of soft, hearty, cassis-like fruit. There's a gravely underpinning too, which does wonders for the flavour, while keeping the texture smooth. Good but largely unobtrusive structure.

"An outstanding Voyager Estate cabernet. It's beautifully balanced too. Deeply flavoured, well structured, softly textured and – dare I say it for an intense young cabernet – delicious to drink. It tastes of chocolate, cassis, liquid pencils and fresh cedarwood, the lot underscored by a throaty, gravelly, brooding intensity. Super wine. Has a long, long future ahead of it. Drink 2012-2022."  Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front - 95 points

"So utterly beguiling and downright delicious that I can't stop drinking it – this is Margaret River cabernet at her best. Wound around the core of blueberry, mulberry and black fruits are layers of savoury and spice notes such as liquorice, bay leaf, tobacco and a hint of mint sitting alongside fine soft tannins and cedary yet well-integrated oak. Very plush, succulent and superbly balanced but with all great reds, this needs time. And in a word, outstanding."  Jane Faulkner, The Age 48 Hours

"It takes some time for this alluring blend to begin to unfold its true greatness in the glass. When it does, it parades a beautifully perfumed lift of blackcurrant, cassis and leaf that overlays a fine, gravelly palate. Its intense concentration, vibrant acidity, balance of dark chocolate oak and persistence of finish make it a benchmark MR Cabernet."  Tyson Stelzer, Wine Business Monthly (WBM) – 95 points and Top 100 Wines of 2008

"A big wine from a big year. This is 81% Cabernet, 14% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 100% Margaret River. Of recent vintages it reminds me most of the brooding 2001 rather than the charming 2003. Strong and ripe with blackberry, cherry, dark chocolate, violet, some eucalyptus and a good measure of cedar/vanilla oak. On the palate full bodied and generous with flavours of cherry, plum and mulberry, some chocolate richness, a bit of floral mouth perfume, a little tobacco savouriness and sweet vanilla oak in support. It has plenty of ripe earthy gravelly Margaret River tannin, balanced acidity and takes a long line through the mouth. A powerhouse with high potential. Be patient: it needs time to unfurl before it flies. Drink : 2014 - 2024+."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 95 points

"Powerful, ripe and handsomely crafted, this very assertive and firmly structured cabernet blend delivers a plush, concentrated and meaty expression of liqueur cherry, dark chocolate, blackberry and cedary flavour underpinned by polished, creamy oak and firm, but pliant tannin. From its heady, violet-like perfume to its lingering palate that builds towards a heady crescendo, it's very impactful and stylish. Aeration reveals more elegance and herbal undertones. Drink: 2016-2024+."  Jeremy Oliver – 95 points

"This was shown at the Voyager Estate Masterclass held in Brisbane. All Cabernets were from 2011 with a few odd balls thrown in. This was one of them and it stacked up tremendously against its younger counterparts. Some bright fruit initially. Black fruits and cassis as you'd expect. Briary notes, redcurrants and that familiar Margaret River trait of bay leaf add further complexity. There's some smoke too. Faint if anything. Tannins are robust showing plenty of life to this well balanced wine. There's years of life left in it. Excellent."  Steve Leszczynski, Qwine (Tasted Oct 2015)

Awards

James Halliday Top 100 Wines of 2008
Wine Business Monthly (WBM) Top 100 Wines of the Year 2008

About the winery

Voyager Estate is one of Margaret River's oldest vineyards, located In the Stevens Valley in the subregion of Wallcliffe. It is part of what James Halliday refers to as the 'golden triangle' of Margaret River - encompassing Voyager Estate, Leeuwin Estate and Cape Mentelle.

The vineyard was first planted in 1978 and at the time was known as Freycinet Estate. It was purchased by mining heir Michael Wright in 1991 and renamed Voyager Estate. Michael's agricultural background and extensive knowledge of soils and climate led him to Freycinet, where the uniform gravelly soils with a stony clay base enable moisture and nutrients to be slowly released to the vines.

Michael gradually acquired adjoining properties of similar soil types over time and today the vineyard occupies over 100 hectares. The regional stars chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon take the lead, though there are another 12 varieties planted - shiraz, merlot, petit verdot, cabernet franc, malbec, tempranillo, grenache, semillon, sauvignon blanc, sauvignon gris, chenin blanc and viognier.

The highest priority at the Estate has been the transition to certified organic management. That process initially began with a block of the original cabernet sauvignon plantings which has been organically farmed since 2004. As of 2021, the winery and 90 hectares of the vineyard have been certified organic and the transition is expected to be complete by 2023.

The management process doesn't stop at organics, either, with broader issues very much on the agenda. “Climate Change is an issue of paramount importance, not only for the survival of our species, but also in the way it specifically impacts our industry. We are ultimately working towards becoming a carbon negative business. We're currently building and recording baseline soil carbon levels in the pursuit of this goal.”, says Steve James who was Head of Winemaking and Viticulture for 23 years and is now employed in a consulting role.

Michael Wright, Voyager's founder and visionary, sadly passed away in 2012, but he left a powerful legacy of an absolute commitment to quality that today pervades every corner of Voyager. The Estate remains family owned, with Michael's daughter, Alex Burt (nee Wright), matching her father's fanatical attention to detail with an environmental conscience that has opened another important chapter in the history of this Estate.

Sheep grazing through the vineyard in winter

 The following extract is from an article by Paige Taylor in The Weekend Australian

As the golden end of a warm day settles over Voyager Estate, the hills of rolling vines are literally abuzz. Driving slowly past glistening rows of chenin blanc vines, busting with bright new spring buds, the sound of life is unmistakeable. Insects, hawks, eagles, ibis and native ducks fill the air with movement and sound; there's a sense that life is everywhere. "These vines are singing," says Voyager Estate vineyard manager Glen Ryan, looking out over the property, which shares its footprint with native karri, blackbutt and marri trees.

Voyager Estate wasn't always so lively. For decades, the Margaret River vineyard was like so many of its neighbours: a neat, quiet monoculture. Sprayed regularly to ward off pests and weeds, incidental life - chirping insects and squawking birds, in particular found it hard to flourish here.

Then Ryan and his team set about making a profound change.

With the blessing of proprietor Alexandra Burt, Ryan started taking Voyager wholly organic, removing chemicals from the farm and instituting a natural regimen for the soil and the vines. The result has been one of the most dramatic transformations of a large-scale winery in Australia, with Voyager due to be certified organic in January after more than a decade of incremental change. The 110ha property, 280km south of Perth, has been producing its signature wines without pesticides for years, but the bureaucracy of the certification process moves at a slower pace.

As a business proposal, going organic was not an obvious move for a winery that was already commercially successful and producing great wine. Yields are now 30 per cent lower than they were in pre-organic days. The cost of producing the grapes is higher, too. But "it's such a beautiful way to farm", says Ryan, who adds that the property is now on the way to becoming carbon neutral. The use of renewable energy, carbon offsets, waste reduction and comprehensive recycling, land rehabilitation and revegetation activities are all now part of Voyager's focus.