Thompson Estate have always had a focus on sparkling with and their non-vintage is a classic Aussie example with a lot to like about it. This is a Pinot Noir dominated blend with a quarter of the blend made up of Chardonnay and you can bet your bottom dollar that it will knock your socks off with plenty of toasty, creamy notes and underlying red fruit.

When someone says jump, do you jump? How about when someone says buy this bit of land that is a potential goldmine for wine? For a core group of families, who listened to John Gladstone when he released a report on the goldmine that is Margaret River, they jumped. From cow grazing land to world class vineyards in about 20 years, this is the famed story of this wild region where opportunistic Perth doctors and lawyers jumped headfirst into the wine caper. For Jane and Peter Thompson, they were led by one of the first to jump, cardiologist Dr. Tom Cullity who was the founder of Vasse Felix, who just happened to be Peter’s mentor as well. Upon moving to the region in 1994, they focused their vineyard, which is located in the heartland of Margs, Wilyabrup, on plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Aside from their range of leading sparkling wines, there is the standard fare on offer of elite Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon melded in with the usual suspects of Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz.