Madfish Great Southern Pinot Noir 2017

Over the near 30 years of its existence Howard Park has garnered a very fine reputation for the excellence of its wines, both in Australia and overseas. So much so that in 2006 they were invited to join Australia’s First Families of Wine initiative, set up to publicise those family producers who represent all that is best about the heritage and quality of wine from Australia.

Established in 1986 by Western Australian pioneer John Wade, it is now owned by Jeff and Amy Burch, who have taken up the banner with alacrity. They own vineyards in the Margaret River region, Denmark, and Great Southern, all of which are farmed organically, and they source fruit from trusted growers to supplement the grapes they grow themselves. It is the sourcing of fruit that they believe provides the basis for the reputation of their wines. They are famously selective. Rejecting more fruit than they accept means that their wines are made in relatively small quantities, which is a positive when you wish to make high-quality wines. On this scale you can keep a close eye on everything, intervening quickly but only when necessary in the winemaking process. They farm organically, and in some places biodynamically, and even their award-winning winery was built with the help of a feng shui expert.

Having established the Howard Park label, Jeff and Amy didn’t rest on their laurels and in 1992 set up a new venture which they called Madfish, a name supposedly taken from the behaviour of large fish in the nearby Indian Ocean herding smaller fish as they hunt, causing the minnows to jump around as though mad. These are cool-climate wines made from Margaret River and Great Southern fruit designed for food and convivial occasions and have been a popular feature of many a Society List.