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Flametree Wines
Flametree is an award winning, family owned, boutique winery located in the Margaret River Wine Region of Western Australia which focuses on producing beautifully hand-crafted wines made from grapes of exceptional quality.
The winery was established in 2007 after the Towner family purchased the land with a vision to create a landmark winery and an inviting cellar door for all to enjoy.
In 2008 Flametree was catapulted into wine industry folklore after winning the Jimmy Watson Trophy for its first-ever red wine – the 2007 Cabernet Merlot. The winery has since won a string of accolades for its portfolio including a “Top Ten New and Exciting Wineries” rating in James Halliday’s 2010 Australian Wine Companion and is currently listed as a five-star winery in the 2011 edition. Flametree was also names the Best WA Producer, under 300t, at the 2008 Perth Royal Show. Flametree enjoyed unprecedented success in its first year on the wine show circuit, collecting 6 trophies and 26 medals.
Our winemaking philosophy harnesses rich Margaret River fruit characters that are harmoniously balanced and combined with an elegant structure. Blending from sub-regions allows us to produce wines with greater refinement and a complex layering of different fruit flavours to achieve a more balanced and consistent style of wine.
Award winning winemaker, Cliff Royle, and his team are dedicated to producing the very best premium wines from the Margaret River region.
“We endeavour to craft wines that exhibit the hallmark regional characteristics of structure, perfume and elegance; qualities which have made Margaret River so famous.” Cliff Royle.
Wine: Australian chardonnay comes of age
Wine: Australian chardonnay comes of age
Wine: Australian chardonnay comes of age
Yes, it's been a bit of a joke wine for years, but the new generation of Aussie chardonnays really hit the spot
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Would you take a bottle of Australian chardonnay to dinner with friends? My guess is many wouldn't – a friend recently told me it must have been 10 years since he'd drunk the stuff. The reason is simple: Aussie chardonnay used to be as sickly as tinned peaches pumped up with lashings of toasty oak. Cheap ones still are, but of all the wines that Australia produces, this one has undergone the most dazzling transformation, reminding us what a sexy, sumptuous, delicious wine chardonnay can be.
How to spot the new, more restrained style? In general, I'd avoid bottles labelled south-eastern Australia and look for ones from cooler regions such as Adelaide Hills, Margaret River, Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley. The most affordable ones I've found that hit the spot were both from the Yarra: Yering Station's attractive Little Yering 2009 (13% abv), which Oddbins has under its "customer-recommended price" scheme at £8.50 (around £10 elsewhere; see wine-searcher.com), and Innocent Bystander's Willing Participant Chardonnay 2010 (£10.44waitrosewine.com, £10.99, Waitrose; 13% abv). The same producer makes a gloriously creamy single-vineyard chardonnay under the Giant Steps label, Sexton Vineyard 2009 (£16.99, Laithwaites; 13% abv)
From the Mornington Peninsula just outside Melbourne, try Kooyong's elegant, minerally Clonale Chardonnay 2010 (£17 Wine Society, £18.50 Great Western Wine; 13% abv), which knocks spots off many comparably priced burgundies. (It was the bottle we finished after the tasting, which is always telling.)
And from Western Australia I'd go for Flametree Margaret River Chardonnay 2009 (£20 from Aussie specialists auswineonline.co.uk; 13% abv), a richer, more opulent but still beautifully balanced chardonnay with great ageing potential – as have many of these wines, thanks to the fact they're all bottled under screwcap. I also loved Forest Hill Chardonnay 2010 (£18,auswineonline.co.uk; 14% abv), from Mount Barker, with its juicy, white nectarine fruit and crisp, citrussy finish.
Hefty prices? Yes, it's true they're expensive, but if you'd buy a bottle of champagne, meursault or indeed Cloudy Bay for a similar price, or if you spend £20 on a wine in a restaurant without blinking, you won't be short-changed. It's time to start taking Aussie chardonnay seriously.
• For a longer list of chardonnay recommendations check my websitematchingfoodandwine.com
Photographs: Full Stop Photography.
2010 Another Great Year for Flametree
First some great news! Having won the "Jimmy", the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for their '07 Cabernet Merlot, Flametree went back with their 2008 and although it did not win, it did make the last 3. Another astounding result (Jeremy, the winemaker said the 2008 was as good as the 2007!).
Other awards:
- 2009 Perth Royal Wine Show- Top Gold - Dry Red Blends
- 2009 Winestate Special Edition New Release Tasting- 4 Stars, the top wine in its class
- 2009 Royal Melbourne Wine Show- Gold Medal Claret Style - Bordeaux Varieties and Blends 2008
There's more......their Sauvignon Blanc Semillon won the: 2009 Margaret River Wine Show Gold Medal Trophy for Best Sauvignon Blanc Semillon Blend.
2009 What a year it has been for Flametree
What a year it has been for Flametree. It culminated in their Cabernet Merlot '07 walking off with the Jimmy Watson Trophy in November 2008. Scooping the most prestiguous wine award-not a bad start for a winery that only started production in 2007.
Flametree Media Reviews
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James Halliday
Flametree…has come a very long way in a very short time. The wines are in a substantial, state-of-the-art winery completed just in time for the 2007 vintage, after two years of construction and development. The success which has followed in the wake of the wines of that vintage is extraordinary. Flametree won the trophy for Most Successful WA Winery under 300 tonnes at the Perth Wine Show ’08 on the back of gold medals for its ’07 Cabernet Merlot, ’07 Merlot, plus a silver for its ’08 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and a bronze for the ’07 Shiraz. The Cabernet Merlot then continued to blitz the field at the Qantas Wine Show of WA, winning multiple trophies; next winning the Jimmy Watson Trophy; and thereafter winning the trophy of the Margaret River Wine Show for Best Cabernet Blend.
Margaret River Cabernet Merlot 2007
Very good colour; serious medium- to full-bodied wine with excellent focus and balance; long cassis and blackcurrant fruit, the tannins persistent but very fine, the French oak perfectly integrated and balanced. Multi trophy winner WA Wine Show '08; Jimmy Watson Trophy '08; Trophy Best Cabernet Blend Margaret River Wine Show '08.
Rating 96 Drink to 2022
Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008
Fresh and very lively, with a rippling palate, the fruit flavours swelling on the finish.
Rating 91 Drink to 2010
January2009
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Huon Hooke
Flametree’s 2007 Cabernet Merlot, is the labels first wine. It has amassed five trophies from four back-to-back wine shows in 11 weeks: best red blend at Perth Royal, best red blend and best red wine of show at Qantas Wine Show in Western Australia, the Jimmy Watson Trophy and now best red blend at their local Margaret River, which I chaired.
This is probably as good a definition of a superb wine as any. Different judges in different shows, judging in different conditions on different days, has all seen the same merits in this wine. It doesn’t happen all that often – at least not in such a concentrated period.
The Gordon’s have a new winery and cellar door on busy Caves Road between Busselton and Yallingup. Needless to say, winning so many awards with their first wine will give Flametree the kind of start new producers can only dream of.
Excerpt from Sydney Morning Herald article December 2008
2008 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
Dusty capsicum and cut-radish aromas, with touches of snow-pea. Tight, crisp and lively in the mouth, dry and refreshing, with subtle nectarine fruit. From the makers of the ’08 Jimmy Watson Trophy winner.
Gourmet Traveller Wine February/March 2009
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Max Allan
I'm kicking myself. Earlier this year, planning a trip to Margaret River in WA, I asked Perth wine writer Peter Forrestal for some tips on new winemakers to chase up.
One of his recommendations was Flametree, a cellar door and winery just about to open on Caves Road. Forrie had high hopes: the winemaker, Jeremy Gordon, had a good reputation from his time in various WA and eastern states wineries.
I didn’t make it to Flametree on that trip. Which is why I’m kicking myself: I could have alerted you to how good the wines are before they went on to win a staggering array of show trophies.
In September this fledgling winery (www.flametreewines.com) walked away from the Perth Wine Show with the trophies for best small producer and best red blend: the 2007 Flametree Cabernet Merlot. In October, the same wine won best red at the Qantas WA Wine Show. And then, in November, it picked up the most famous trophy in the land, the Jimmy Watson, at the Melbourne Wine Show.
Although the 2007 Flametree Cabernet Merlot undoubtedly deserves all the accolades – it is a perfect example of the fine, perfumed, Margaret River style – it’s not the only impressive wine that Gordon makes: I also really like his pungent, passionfruity 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, and the powerful, chocolatey 2007 Frankland River Shiraz. Talk about an amazing debut.
The Weekend Australian December 2009
20 Sexy Sauvignon Blancs
2008 Flametree Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
Flametree, a new (it opened mid-2008) Margaret River winery, is definitely one to watch: this SBS blend us bursting with flavour and character. Heaps of pungent passionfruit and a clean, refreshing finish.
Gourmet Traveller January 2009
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Peter Forrestal
In June, Jeremy & Daniela Gordon opened the Flametree winery and cellar door in Dunsborough.
Less than five months later they won one of Australia’s most prestigious awards, the Jimmy Watson trophy for the best one-year old red at the Melbourne Wine Show, with their 2007 Flametree Cabernet Merlot.
The wine had had an amazing and rare run, also collecting trophies at the Perth Royal Show, the Qantas Wine Show and the Margaret River Show.
Cape Mentelle had been the only WA winery to win the Jimmy Watson trophy, in 1983 and 1984, putting Margaret River firmly on the Australian wine map.
Before going into the Flametree venture with his wife and business partners, Mr. Gordon worked at Evans & Tate and Houghton and spent seven years at Tamburlaine in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.
“It’s been an incredible time”, Mr. Gordon said. “The recognition of the brand and people chasing the wine, its been crazy.
“It’s worth so much to the business. You couldn’t even wish for something like this, especially in such a competitive market.”
The success of the 2007 cabernet merlot may mean that some of the other Flametree wines may be overlooked, but in this week’s STM Top 100 praises the 2007 Flametree Chardonnay for its texture, succulence and ripe peach flavours.
Also impressive are the 2008 Flametree Sauvignon Blanc Semillon and the Frankland Shiraz. STM also praised Flametree for keeping prices within reach of the average consumer.
Top 100 Summer Wines
2007 Chardonnay
Jeremy Gordon can make whites as well as Jimmy Watson-winning reds. This Margaret River chardonnay is irresistible.
Sunday Times and Sunday Times Magazine December 2008
STM Top Wines
Flametree Cabernet Merlot
The brilliance of Jeremy Gordon’s achievement in winning trophies at four consecutive shows (including the fiercely contested Jimmy Watson) in Flametree’s first vintage in Margaret River earns him a place in this company. The drop is wonderfully fragrant, opulent, impressively concentrated, fleshily textured and surprisingly approachable.
Sunday Times Magazine March 2009
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Philip Rich
Flametree Cabernet Merlot 2007 won the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy at last year’s Royal Melbourne Wine Show. The quality of Margaret River red wines was again evident at the Margaret River Wine Show a few weeks later. Flametree won the trophy for the best Cabernet Sauvignon Predominant Blend. Given this was Flametree’s first vintage, it is a remarkable achievement – this is clearly a name to keep an eye on.
Flametree Reserve Cabernet 2007
Winning the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy and a host of other awards last year for their 2007 Cabernet Merlot ensured sell-out status for the blend. Flametree Reserve Cabernet 2007, will go a long way to proving that this fledgling brand is no one-hit wonder. Massively coloured, this is classic Margaret River cabernet with its core of perfectly ripe blackcurrant fruit, black olive tapenade notes with cedar from new oak. Far more structured than the cab merlot, this will benefit from cellaring for another five to ten years.
Excerpt from The Financial Review Magazine article March 2009
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Nick Stock
50 Stars of 2008
Jeremy Gordon
Flametree Wines
Gordon started his winemaking career in WA before moving east to broaden his horizons. But he recently returned to the west to “make his mark” – what a mark he made! He won the Jimmy Watson for the 07 Flametree Cabernet Merlot. Amazingly the wine was the first red produced under the Flametree brand. It was no fluke; the wine has won four other trophies: Best Red Wine and Best Red Blend Qantas Wine Show, Best Red Blend Perth Royal Wine Show and Best Cabernet Blend Margaret River Wine Show. Flametree’s hot.
Flametree Chardonnay
Flametree shot to fame when they scooped the pool at last year’s Jimmy Watson with a handy Cab Merlot. This wine shows plenty of potential too with depth, power and complexity in spades. Some assertive oak layered across ripe peach and orange fruits, still has time ahead to integrate. Toasty finish.
WBM December /January 2008 and WBM 100 March 2009
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Campbell Mattinson
Flametree Reserve Release Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
The ’standard’ Flametree cabernet merlot won last year’s Jimmy Watson Trophy and lo and behold, they have a higher grade cabernet (or at least higher-priced). I hope they stood up at the award ceremony and said, You call THAT a cabernet? THIS is a cabernet …
And it is a far superior wine to the standard release. This is really good booze. It’s thick and chocolatey, pencilly and long. It has lots of velvety tannin and a curranty, earthen character that is ripe but not overtly sweet. Cabernet is such a superior grape to shiraz - you find yourself nodding smugly, knowingly, at yourself as you drink this. The Jimmy Watson Trophy was one thing … this wine is actually the goods.
Rated: 95 Points Alcohol: 14% Closure: Screwcap Drink: to 2020
Flametree Reserve Release Shiraz 2007
High alcohol wines are often grouped together as if they all taste the same - so that we’re all then supposed to fall into the pro or anti classes accordingly. The absurdity of this is highlighted by a wine like this Flametree Reserve.
Well, as far as I’m concerned, this is a monumentally appealing wine. It’s ridiculously smooth and rich with tarry, cherry-plummed fruit flavour, and yet it maintains its keen sense of regional spice. It’s fragrant and alive, fine in its tannin structure and warm through the finish - in a positive way. It takes all kinds, and this kind is lovely.
Rated: 94 Points Alcohol: 15.5% Closure: Screwcap Drink: to 2016
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