2021 The Cartographer
"Count Rosily charted most of the coastline of Western Australia, so it’s no surprise that this is a Bordeaux blend of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The 2021 is rich and ripe and forward, with cherries and plums doing the talking, supported by dried herbs and Margaret River olives. Already a joy to drink but has the legs to improve for a few years. 95 points. BUY" - Kim Brebach, bestwinesunder20.com, July 2023
"Everyone wants value for money these days... you won't do much better than The Cartographer 2021. At $26 it has barely changed price in 15 years! It runs rings around most Cabernets and Cab blends at this price. I'd happily pay $40 for it. But enough about money! It's easy to enjoy with dark blackcurrant fruit flavours, herbs, tapenade and briar wrapped in a medium bodied frame. A case buy! 4/4.5 stars" - Fergal Gleeson, greatwineblog July 2023
Past vintage reviews and awards
2020 The Cartographer
- Gold medal - 2022 WA Boutique Wine Awards
"Floral fragrances with classy oak notes and a grippy palate with inky fruit intensity. 92 points." - Winestate, Aug 2022
"This is a style at which Margaret River excels: with cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, petit verdot and malbec blended for freshness and intensity of flavour. There's redcurrant pastille, blackcurrant and red plum flavours, lightly framed yet intense and bright, with balanced gentle tannins to finish. Value." Peter Forrestal, Money magazine, May 2022
"A stylish and quite suave blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec and petit verdot from this excellent vintage. Black olive and blackcurrant dominate on the nose with just a trace of dried herbs and tobacco leaf. Finely integrated oak and tannin work seamlessly with the fruit. It’s medium-bodied and beautiful quality drinking at this price. 91/100" - Ray Jordan, The West Australian, March 2022.
"Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot. Dark cherry, plum, a smattering of dried herb, and a fair bit of spicy cedar oak. Medium-bodied, dark berries and spicy wood, some black olive, grainy gravelly tannin offers firm grip, with a finish of dark red fruits and a little mint/leaf. Good wine. 91 points" - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, Feb 2022
2019 The Cartographer
"It’s a real beauty. This is a genuine Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, and this vintage is the most expressive I can remember, with more fruit depth and intensity, subtle oak treatment and pretty much perfect pitch. Good drinking already but will grow over the next 3 - 4 years" - 94 / 95 points - Kim Brebach, bestwinesunder20.com
"Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot. All the BDX grapes, aside Carménère, maybe. Hazelnut, brown bread, red and black fruits, dried herb. Medium-bodied, crisp and lively, nuts and dried herbs, red fruits, a bit firm and herbal in a way, but has heaps of charm and drinking appeal. Finish is brisk and savoury. Like this. Fresh and entertaining. 91 points" - Gary Walsh, The Winefront, Mar 2021
"Medium ruby hue. Tomato leaf, raspberry and wakame on the nose. Good entry intensity with tobacco and red berry. Fine tannins hold the line well and take it with style and resonance into the finish. It has lovely balance and drinkability" Silver medal, Top Value Wine (Australian Cabernet blends 2019) - Stuart Knox, The Real Review, Feb 2021
"A medium bodied wine of the five main Bordeaux varieties. This was a cooler year in Margaret River, but those who managed the weather and the birds have produced some excellent wines with perfume and finesse the features. This has a grainy, talcy mouthfeel with lifted red currant notes on the nose. The palate is medium bodied with fine grainy tannins and persistent fruit flavours. Seamless with spicy red fruits and mixed with herbal black olive touch. Great value. 91 points." - Ray Jordan - 2022 WA Wine Guide
2018 The Cartographer
"This is a blend of the five main Bordeaux varieties. Aromas showing the influence of cabernet with a faint plummy backdrop. Beautiful red fruit perfume from the franc lifts the aroma, which emerges with breathing. Complete and vibrant palate showing excellent fine sinewy tannins and a lick of oak. 92 points" - Ray Jordan, The West Australian Nov 2020
"This is a rare Margaret River blend of all five Bordeaux red varieties: Cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot. It’s tighter and firmer than many reds from the region. There’s deep, dark berry fruit, power and dense blackcurrant, black cherry flavours. Just perfect with a hearty beef casserole". - Peter Forrestal, 20 Best Reds Under $25, Money Magazine Dec 2020
2017 The Cartographer
"Quite approachable for a young red. I’m surprised that aromatic red fruits dominate instead of subdued blue ones, and this vintage has a touch of heat where I’d expect a cool finish. That said, the sheer energy of the wine adds its own appeal. 92 points." - Kim Brebach, bestwinesunder20.com
"An excellent blend of the five main Bordeaux varieties with cabernet sauvignon the dominant driver. Offers dark cherry and blackcurrant with a spicy plum and licorice character. The palate is well structured with fine grainy tannins and well-weighted oak. Classy wine for this price. 91pts" - Ray Jordan, The West Australian, Mar 2019
2016 The Cartographer
- Silver medal - 2018 Single Vineyard Wine Show
"A complex estate-grown blend of 45% cabernet sauvignon, 25% cabernet franc, 20% merlot and 10 % petit verdot. Like all the Rosily wines, it is elegant but far from simple, the first class vintage allowing each component to ripen with ease, although overall production was a third of the normal due to poor fruit set. Cassis, bay leaf and dark cherry are coupled with fine tannins on the long, medium bodied palate." - Halliday Wine Magazine, Aug / Sept 2019
"What an excellent modestly priced blended red wine this is. It's a combo of Bordeaux varieties, with cabernet dominant. Blackcurrant and distinctive black olive nuances. The oak and tannin management is good, allowing the fruit to express itself." 90 points - Ray Jordan, WA Wine Guide 2019
2015 The Cartographer
The Cartographer was not produced in 2015
2014 The Cartographer
- Gold medal - 2016 Margaret River Wine Show
"Medium to deep red colour with a good tinge of purple, the bouquet cedary, leathery, touched with stylish oak but also showing red fruits and herbs. The wine is medium to full-bodied and savoury, elegant and stylish with more happening than just simple primary fruit. The finish is drying and savoury. A classy cabernet blend, far from a simple fruity style. 92 points" - Huon Hooke, huonhooke.com, April 2018 (ranked #7 of 29 Cabernet blends 2014 tasted; price benchmark for 92 points in this category is $60.13)
2013 The Cartographer
"Deep red colour with a purple tint, the bouquet cedary and complex, with strongly evident but attractive oak. The oak-fruit interplay is really appealing. The tannins are slightly chewy and it has a nice fruit-sweet core. It's a solid, upright and quite classical style of Bordeaux blend. 92 points" - Huon Hooke, huonhooke.com, April 2018
"A Bordeaux blend made up of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot. This has long been a favourite of ours for its elegance and finesse. My only gripe is that the 2013 doesn't taste like a Bordeaux since red fruits rather than blue fruits dominate; the oak takes a backseat along with a twist of olives and a pinch of Margaret River dust. It's a gentle wine as usual right down to the fine tannins on the finish, not one that assaults your senses. Would go well with rack of lamb. 92 points" - Kim Brebach, bestwinesunder20.com.
2012 The Cartographer
- Gold medal - 2016 Winewise Small Vignerons Show
"This is one of my favourite Margaret River reds from a boutique winery east of Willyabrup. It’s a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, with the rest made up of Merlot and Petit Verdot. The 2012 is a more robust wine than the almost delicate 2011, with a fine tannin backbone supporting the blend of cool red fruits and French oak. The wine has perfect pitch and will get better for at least the next 5 – 7 years. Quality Bordeaux at a fraction of the price". 94+ points - Kim Brebach, September 2016, bestwinesunder20.com.au
"A well-priced blend of cabernets sauvignon and franc with merlot and petit verdot. It has aromas of blackberry, herbs and spices and a rich, pleasingly concentrated flavour with good extract giving a textured palate which concludes with a balanced tannin grip". Score: 91 ★★★★; Price Benchmark $41.75 (avg for 91pt 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Blends tasted from Australia) - Huon Hooke, Dec 2016 Huonhooke.com
"A vibrant red with excellent fruit and extract. There’s no shortage of blackcurrant and red fruits aromas and flavours, and the fine tannins provide just right balance. ★★★★☆" Winewise, October 2016
"There’s quite a bit of gum leaf here, but in a nice enough regional way, and mixed with bay leaf and spice too. Red and black fruits set in a medium frame with some cocoa and black olive, light grainy tannin, clean acidity and a fresh redcurranty finish of good length. It doesn’t quite set the room ablaze, but if it did, then it would be a nice wine to drink while relaxing on a plump leather chair while watching the show - 91 points." - Gary Walsh, The Winefront, August 2016
2011 The Cartographer
"Bay and gum leafy, perfumed, minted red and black fruits and light vanilla oak. Medium bodied, crisp, lovely silty tannin, quite briary and twiggy in character, which may or may not appeal, with a pretty good finish. Franc rides quite high it seems, which is fine by me." - 91 points Gary Walsh, The Wine Front, Jan 2016
"A blend of most of the red Bordeaux varieties. Strikingly complex aromas of spices and dark berry with a cedary oak influence. The palate is soft and generous with an earthy dusty feature. Black olive and leafy nuances bring another level of complexity to a well-crafted wine". 91 points - Ray Jordan, WA Wine Guide 2016
"The 2010 was something of a benchmark for this style and I loved it for its leafy elegance, but here as well the 2011 has more flavour: a wonderful mix of berries, soft earth and and vanillan oak. The wine spends 18 months in French oak, 30% new. It’s deceptive with its silky charm and perfect balance, and it’s just $23 at the winery". - Kim Brebach, August 14th 2015, bestwinesunder20.com.au
2010 The Cartographer
- Silver 2014 Margaret River Wine Show
- Silver 2013 Margaret River Wine Show
- Silver 2012 Qantas WA Wine Show
"Leafy black olive aromas with an underlying blackcurrant varietal influence. The palate is seamless and pure with a minerally edge which captures the essence of this variety. Medium bodied and well balanced with a little tannic grip on the finish." 90 points Ray Jordan, West Australian Wine Guide 2015
2009 The Cartographer
"Leafy notes on the nose over a subtle black olive and blackcurrant aroma. The palate has sinewy tannins and fine grained oak in support. It's slightly dusty with a dry finish. An elegant and stylish cabernet blend" 90 points Ray Jordan, West Australian Wine Guide 2014
"Light blue fruits with lots of freshness. The structure, for the moment, is more forward than the fruit. (Well worth another look in two to three years time when a higher rating may result). 3 stars" CH'NG Poh Tiong, The Margaret River Report, June 2013_
2008 The Cartographer
- 95 points ***** - Gourmet Traveller WINE June / July 2013
"This is a slightly more elegant and stylish version than the slightly plumper 2007. It's largely Cabernet Sauvignon although smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot play and important role. Leafy essence of Cabernet on the nose with cedar and blackcurrant and a little spiciness for good measure. The palate is beautifully elegant and finely balanced, with black olive and black currant characters threaded with fine tannin and some lingering minerally touches." - 93 points. Ray Jordan, The West Australian, November 10 2011
"Clear red, appropriately developed; an attractive medium-bodied wine in a savoury/foresty spectrum attesting to its blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot; the tannins are fine, the palate has good balance and length.. 92/100" - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2012
2007 The Cartographer
- Silver 2010 Boutique Winemakers Show
"A Cabernet dominant blend with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Abundant sweet ripe fruit floats effortlessly along the palate with a mix of fine tannins and silky oak adding support. Medium-weight with a fleshy sweet fruit middle that finishes dry and persistent." RATING: 89 CELLAR: 5 years - Ray Jordan, 2011 WA Wine Guide
2005 The Cartographer
"A good varietal Bordeaux blend, with elements of sweet black fruit, cassis and just a little hint of oak; medium-bodied, fine and well balanced. 92/100" - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2010
2004 The Cartographer
"A seamless silky blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The deep power of the Cab Sauv provides the foundations while the lifted aromatics and finesse of the Cab Franc adds some finesse and aromatic lift. Excellent wine." - Ray Jordan
2003 The Cartographer
- Bronze 2007 Margaret River Wine Show
- Bronze 2006 Small Winemakers Show 2002 Cabernet Merlot
- Bronze 2006 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
- Bronze 2006 Boutique Wine Show
- 17.5 points, 2005 Sheraton Wine Awards
2001 Cabernet Merlot
- Bronze The 6th Annual Wine Review Challenge (Singapore)