Wine

Capturing the best of the Ferguson Valley in a Bottle

Ryan and Narelle Gibbs are the sixth generation of the pioneering Gibbs family in the Ferguson Valley of Western Australia’s Geographe Wine Region. When the family first settled in the region in 1883, they named the farm Aylesbury after their hometown in England, and for generations the family bred cattle on the 200ha property.

In 1998, however, it was decided to plant 4.2ha of Cabernet Sauvignon as a diversification of the business. The Cabernet thrived. Soon other plantings followed, and new and emerging varieties in the region such as Arneis, Gamay and Tempranillo are beginning to realise their potential.

“Our intention is to produce wines that are an expression of the pristine environment that surrounds us,” says Ryan. “We work hard to preserve that environment, in turn producing wines of elegance, restraint and finesse. It’s an exciting time for us in this new and emerging wine region.”

With an elevation of 200-300m, the climate experiences warm, dry summers on the back of the cooling afternoon Indian Ocean sea-breeze. Good winter rain fall averaging 1000mm enables the vines to retain great moisture and vibrancy, whilst the long sunshine hours produce ideal growing conditions.

Ryan’s choice this month is a new release, The Pater Series Ferguson Valley 2018 Chardonnay.

“This wine originates from the famous gin-gin clone, planted in 1999. It’s wild fermented and matured for 9 months in French oak. Elegant and tight, full of grapefruit and white peach, this wine has incredible length, persistence and vibrancy through to the finish.”

Recently recognised as one of Wine Selectors' Top 50 Wines of 2019, find your bottle today in our Wine Shop!