Vasse Felix Idee Fixe Premier Brut NV

Idée Fixe — French for "a fixed idea," or obsession — is a fitting name for what's essentially been a decades-long fixation at Vasse Felix, Margaret River's founding wine estate (established in 1967 by Dr Tom Cullity). The project began with a serendipitous discovery: a mysterious, unique clone of Chardonnay growing in the deep south of the region, near Karridale, on rare calcareous and quartz-based soils overlaying limestone, where persistent cloud cover and biting cold winds off the Southern Ocean create conditions genuinely suited to sparkling wine rather than the estate's usual still Chardonnay. The obsession eventually became its own dedicated venture — a purpose-built sparkling house in the region's south, one of only a handful of facilities in Australia equipped to handle the entire process, from grape to final labelling, on site. The wine is 100% Chardonnay, handpicked and pressed for only the premium free-run juice, made in the traditional method with a minimum of 24 months on lees and a modest, food-friendly 5g/L dosage.

The result is genuinely refined: a pale yellow hue with a fine, persistent bead, opening with a welcoming whiff of struck match that gives way to sea spray, coastal rosemary, lemon rind, and crisp apple, with subtle patisserie notes layered beneath. The palate shows real mineral vivacity and a crisp, textural mousse, balancing fruit purity against savoury complexity — The Vintage Journal scored it 95 points, praising exactly that harmony. It's Blanc de Blancs built with real seriousness rather than as a side project, and increasingly recognised as one of the most substantial sparkling wines coming out of Western Australia.