WINES TO WATCH

A fine wine takes time but these young winemakers are well on their way to producing some of Australia’s most interesting drops.

- GEORGIE MEREDITH

JOSEPHINE PERRY

DORMILONA WINES MARGARET RIVER, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

About the winemaker, Josephine Perry worked her first vintage at Margaret River’s Cape Mentelle when she was just 14 and has been in the wine-making business ever since. Born and raised in WA, she headed north to learn from the old masters, managing wineries throughout Spain and working vintages across Europe. Perry returned to WA to launch her own label, Dormilona, in 2013, followed by her Swan Valley-produced offshoot, Yokel, in 2019. Dormilona means “lazy bones” in Spanish but Perry’s wines are far from idle, earning a place on wine lists in some of Australia’s best restaurants.

Style Working with classic varieties from certified-organic vineyards across Margaret River, Perry brings a sense of place to her wines, capturing the wild, rawness of the limestone coast and its volatility from season to season.

Grape varieties Chardonnay, cabernet, chenin, grenache, verdello, trebbiano

Fun fact A dollar from every Yokel wine sold goes toward saving the critically endangered Western swamp tortoise.

ANDREW SCOTT

LA PETITE MORT GRANITE BELT, QUEENSLAND

About the winemaker Andrew Scott has always had an affinity for wine, paving his way into the industry via an impressive career in hospitality, working as a sommelier. In 2013, in an effort to broaden his winemaking knowledge, Scott volunteered at Bent Street Winery, where he eventually worked his way to becoming an assistant winemaker. There, he was given the liberty to experiment with natural and old-school winemaking techniques, producing his first bottle for the winery in 2014 under the La Petite Mort label.