01 / Our Vineyards

Rooted deep.

Two vineyards, one in Wilyabrup and one in the Swan Valley. Every bottle we make starts in their soil.

All great wine is made in the vineyard. So that is where we spend our time, and we trust the soil and the season to do the rest.

Coward & Black is a small, family-owned, single-estate winery in Wilyabrup, in the heart of Margaret River, with a second vineyard in the Swan Valley. Every vine is dry grown, every bunch is picked by hand, and every wine comes from fruit we grow ourselves.

Good wine. No pretence.

Home vineyard

Margaret River Vineyard

Our home block sits in the middle of the Wilyabrup appellation, on Tom Cullity Drive. Cabernet, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, all dry grown on red ochre gravel.

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Rows of green grapevines at Coward & Black Vineyards in Margaret River, surrounded by native bushland.

02 / The soil

Ochre and ironstone.

We didn't know what we had until we started digging. When the ground was opened up for planting, we found ancient, fertile soil threaded with the free-draining red ochre gravel this part of Margaret River is known for, sitting over an old ironstone aquifer at the start of the Wilyabrup boundary.

That gravel is why every one of our vines is dry grown. There's no irrigation to lean on, so the roots go deep looking for water, and they find it, clean and cool, far below the surface.

Our Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz were grown from cuttings descended from the renowned Jack Mann clone. Single estate is the by-word: one property, our own fruit, and wines that taste of where they're from.

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03 / Explore

From vine to glass.

Two vineyards, the people who tend them, and what happens once the fruit comes in.

Wilyabrup

Margaret River Vineyard

Where it all began in 2002: Cabernet and Shiraz planted by hand on a gently sloping block.

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Swan Valley

Swan Valley Vineyard

Our Chenin Blanc block on West Swan Road, in WA's oldest wine region.

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Winemaking

Our Winemaking

Hand picked at peak ripeness, wild-yeast ferments and a light touch.

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Region

Our Region

Wilyabrup, the place of red ochre, in the heart of Margaret River.

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People

Our People

Two lifelong friends, a winemaker and a viticulturist who knows every row.

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Recognition

Awards & Reviews

Our single-estate wines have won medals and trophies at shows across Australia and around the world, from the Margaret River Wine Show to the Decanter World Wine Awards in London.

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04 / In the rows

Row by row.

Walk in from Tom Cullity Drive and the first vines you meet are the Clone 5 Chardonnay that goes into our sparkling. Behind them the rows run from Clone 5 Chardonnay to Semillon, then on to the Gingin clone closest to the road. Gingin gives a smaller yield but a bigger flavour, and we're happy with that trade.

In 2002 we planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz by hand on a gently sloping block. Chardonnay and Semillon followed in 2004, then Sauvignon Blanc in 2008. Framing it all are the two biggest rammed-earth walls in Margaret River, eight metres of earth wrapped around the vines and our organic olive grove.

At vintage our winemaker and vineyard manager walk the rows together, tasting and tracking ripeness, acidity and flavour. When a block is ready, it is picked by hand that day. Not the day after.

Estate grown, hand picked and dry grown, in Margaret River and the Swan Valley.

North to the Swan Valley: Our second vineyard sits on West Swan Road in the Swan Valley, Western Australia's oldest wine region, where Chenin Blanc has been grown since 1829. We planted our Chenin there in 2011, and it goes into Sweetness & Light, our low-alcohol Chenin.

  • Every vine dry grown, with roots reaching deep for natural groundwater
  • Every bunch hand picked on the day it reaches peak ripeness
  • Wild-yeast ferments, with fruit parcels and barrels chosen fresh each year
  • Single estate: our own fruit from our own two vineyards

Patrick likes to describe the business as a Rubik's Cube, and the winemaking team borrowed the idea for their barrel and fruit-parcel trials. Every vintage the pieces line up a little differently. The vineyard is the one thing that stays put.

05 / At a glance

Two regions. Six varieties.

2002
First vines planted by hand at Wilyabrup
9.2 ha
Under vine across both vineyards
6
Grape varieties, from Cabernet to Chenin
100%
Dry grown and hand picked

06 / Planting history

One block at a time.

  1. 1997

    The land

    Patrick Coward and Martin Black buy the Wilyabrup property that becomes our home vineyard.

  2. 2002

    Cabernet and Shiraz

    The first vines go in by hand, grown from cuttings descended from the Jack Mann clone.

  3. 2004

    Chardonnay and Semillon

    The white varieties join the block.

  4. 2006

    Label Launch

    Our wine label officially launches.

  5. 2008

    Sauvignon Blanc

    The last Wilyabrup planting, and the year viticulturist John Standish joins us.

  6. 2011

    Swan Valley Chenin

    Chenin Blanc is planted on West Swan Road, established by John Standish.

  7. 2013

    Providore Swan Valley

    Providore Swan Valley officially opened, with our cellar door inside open for tastings.

07 / Taste the vineyard

Pour a glass.

The best way to understand the rows is to taste what comes off them.

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Margaret River Cellar Door

Tastings available seven days, a few hundred metres from the vines.

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Swan Valley Cellar Door

Taste our Chenin where it grows, a short drive 20 minute from Perth.

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Wine Club

Founders' Club

Free to join, with first access to new and short-run wines.

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