Vasse Felix, the much-loved Margaret River estate, has established a new dedicated sparkling wine house in the south of the region. Rather fittingly, they’ve named it Idée Fixe, meaning ‘obsession’. Idée Fixe Premier Brut is a vegan-friendly Blanc de Blancs crafted using the finest Chardonnay grown in Karridale and the ‘Méthode Traditionnelle’ used so famously in Champagne. As you’d expect from one of Australia’s greatest Chardonnay producers, it’s a mesmerising sparkling wine. Somehow, it manages to capture the essence and refreshment of the cold winds that blow through the vineyards from the Southern Ocean. It opens with a waft of struck match, and suddenly everything is illuminated, bringing notes of coast rosemary, samphire, citrus blossom, lemon sorbet, crunchy green apple, nougat and almond croissant into focus. On the finish, there’s that salty sea spray and beachy minerality. Idée Fixe Premier Brut was fermented in a combination of stainless steel and French oak from Burgundy, with the barrel-fermented component (27%) being matured for five months to add more richness and structure of the final wine. Matured on the lees for more than twenty months (that’s eight months more than legally required for non-vintage Champagne), this is a whole new take on Margaret River’s unique terroir.