Cellar Door Open Wednesday - Sunday CLOSED 16th -30th AUGUST
bookings preferred-not essential. It has been created and developed by the Berson family to produce premium quality cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay w**es for which the region is internationally renowned. OUR STORY
Since the 1980’s we have been visiting the Margaret River region frequently. We got to know many people involved in the w**e industry in this beautiful region and became infatuated, like so many before us, with the idea of eventually moving to the district, giving up our city jobs and making a living from w**e production. Trips to France and California further convinced us that the Margaret River region was special and that this was the place to try to make a go of it. We decided that if we were going to be involved in the industry, we needed to make our own w**e and to lessen the risks involved in that venture, it was critical that we made the best w**e that we were able to. We knew that we didn’t have the financial resources to compete in the mid range bracket of the market. For personal satisfaction and for the possibility of eventually making the whole idea work, we decided, after consultation with a number of people, that we needed to focus on the absolute premium end of the market
As James Halliday said then, and as is now well recognised, the varieties that thrive in Margaret River are the Bordeaux reds, being Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, and the various Chardonnay clones. Whilst there are a few notable exceptions to this, it seemed to us, that these were the varieties that had given Margaret River status, well beyond its size, on the world stage. By this stage, we had become good friends with Keith and Clare Mugford, the proprietors of Moss Wood, which was clearly at the very top of the premium end of the market. After many discussions with Keith and Clare, and others, we formulated our plan based on choosing a location with the best soil types together with the appropriate climate for the planting of the Bordeaux cabernet varieties and chardonnay vines. In 1997 we purchased a property on the slopes of the Wirring Valley, approximately 5 kilometres south of the Cowaramup township in the Margaret River region. This valley contained the gravelly soil structure we had been looking for and Keith was of the view, that the climate should be ideal for the ripening of the Bordeaux and Chardonnay varieties. The 31 hectare (77 acres) property had been substantially cleared for dairy farming, but had retained some magnificent stands of Jarrah and Marri. The property had both sides of a gently sloping valley and a permanent spring fed creek running through the middle. At this time, we were settling our strategic plans and Keith agreed that Moss Wood would formally consult on the project, their involvement being right through from soil preparation to w**e making. We were of course thrilled with this development, but were then faced with our most difficult decision. The greatest w**es of Margaret River, in our opinion being the Moss Wood and Cullen reds and the Leeuwin Estate Chardonnay, all come from never irrigated vineyards. The theory being, as many will know, that roots forced to go deep to find the water table will pass through a more complex array of mineral and vegetative matter and thus obtain a more complex combination of flavours. In addition, at vintage, the non irrigated vines, being stressed by the lack of water, will pour their energy into their fruit rather than into the leaf and vine structure. However, not irrigating in our climate is fraught with risk and when we eventually decided to take that course, Keith described our decision as “courageous”. Luck was with us at that stage and ground preparations having been completed, in 1998 we planted, by hand, 10,000 Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot cuttings, in the driving rain. The Cabernet Sauvignon, Franc and Petit Verdot cuttings came from Moss Wood, and the Malbec from Alkoomi. Our luck held, with a fairly wet summer and the following year we discovered to our joy that we had about a 95% success rate with our plantings. That year we planted another 10,000 vines, adding Merlot from Cullen and more Cabernet from Moss Wood. By that stage El Nino had taken hold and since then, Margaret River has been experiencing its driest summers on record. As a result, the vines have struggled and have had to send their roots deep to survive. This resulted in certain unevenness in the vineyard but, we believe it has contributed to the excellent fruit quality that we have obtained. Having committed to the courageous philosophy of no irrigation, we have also closely tried to emulate the Moss Wood model of extremely diligent vineyard management including hand pruning to ensure low yields, leaf plucking, shoot thinning and careful canopy management generally, minimal use of chemicals and hand picking to ensure that the fruit arrives at the w**ery in the best possible condition. To achieve this we obviously needed help. After a year or two it became obvious that the use of the staff from Moss Wood for these tasks was not practical and we needed to employ somebody full time. Again Keith and Clare came to the party and they recommended Bill Darnell as a vineyard manager. Bill is a fifth generation Darnell from the Margaret River region and under careful tuition from Keith and the team at Moss Wood, he has become a highly respected vineyard manager. With the help of another local, Dave Morgan and a raft of casuals, family and friends, Bill and Dave shepherded the vines and the fruit through to the first commercial vintage in 2003. The 2004 & 2005 vintages have been successfully completed and are maturing in French oak barrels. As the vines have matured the crop size has gradually increased and the w**e is showing distinctive characteristics such as the brilliant colour and strong fruit flavours that are evident in the 2003.
2 hectares of chardonnay vines were planted in 2001, and have produced their first crop in 2005. We have planted a combination of the traditional “mendoza” clone together with the clones chosen from the Burgundian trials of the 1980’s. Our first chardonnay vintage is showing great prospects in the w**ery and is now maturing in French oak
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We aim to create an enduring family business which will override the fashions of the w**e markets by making decisions based on the goal of producing the best quality w**e from the varieties best suited to our chosen location. We are trying to replicate the best vineyards in the area, which were the pioneers, who created the original unirrigated vineyards which now produce the icon w**es of Margaret River. We have sought the best advice in viticulture and w**emaking through the experience of Keith & Clare Mugford and the Moss Wood team. Our goal is that as the family business develops it will enable us to move to the region and become fully involved in its premium w**e production. OUR NAME – VICTORY POINT
The name Victory Point is derived from the almost forgotten site located at the end of our road. Local historians have told us, it was seconded and named by the district’s pioneers, either because of the famous victories that occurred on the cricket pitch that is still there, or more likely, because the area was used to train the local lads prior to their departure for WWII. Community celebrations were held here, including the announcement of Peace at the end of the war. We chose the name Victory Point to represent the celebratory and community spirit of country Australia.
