Wine pairing at Rústico is always a great way to sample the outstanding Hay Shed Hill range matched to delicious, appropriate foods, and excellent value for money; the Reserve Pairing introduces guests to some of the best and rarest wines made in WA, usually from small batches with very limited distribution.

But we kind of think we’ve outdone ourselves with the Reserve Pairing curated for the winter 2025 menu.

It’s a stunner.

“Our relationship with Hay Shed Hill and winemaker Michael Kerrigan means we have access to back vintages and varietals that no other restaurants in Australia can offer,” says our sommelier Marie Poulin. “And unlike most Margaret River producers, Micheal - often in conjunction with his winemaker mate Gavin Berry - makes wine from four distinct WA sites, each with their own unique characteristics: Wilyabrup, Karridale, Mount Barker and Frankland River.”
“It gives us a very broad varietal and stylistic palette to choose from when we’re indulging in that most satisfying challenge of putting the right wines with the right food. Not to mention access to their museum stock. Totally unique.”
Poulin also points out that that several of these wines, notably the Block 2 Cabernet Sauvignon, are only made in great years.
“If the fruit isn’t exceptional, the wine isn’t made that year, hard but fair.”

Alongside our renowned 10-dish/five course degustation tasting menu this winter the Reserve Pairing includes…

The 2010 K+B Riesling - the first riesling Kerrigan + Berry ever made, from the historic Langton vineyard in Mt Barker. “Aged riesling is magnificent,” says Poulin “and there are so many different expressions of the variety. With 15 years this wine shows immense character.”

The 2024 Hay Shed Hill Block 6 Chardonnay - an exceptional expression of single-block Wilyabrup Chardonnay from a very low yielding vintage grown right in front of the restaurant. Certainly one of Kerrigan’s finest white wines.

The 2024 Hay Shed Hill Pinot Noir Rosé - a most unusual example of the style having been made from 100 per cent old vine Pinot Noir, most of it sourced from Block 7 of the Hay Shed Hill vineyard. Wilyabrup pinot produces a savoury style when made as a rosé without overtly ‘fruity’ characteristics… But a great food wine.

The 2024 Hay Shed Hill World Series Pinot Noir - the World Series wines showcase the great grape varieties of the world grown in a distinctive Australian context and who would argue that pinot noir is not responsible for some of the great wines, made anywhere? From Mt Barker (Great Southern) fruit, winemaker Kerrigan describes this wine as “complex with earthy savoury characters (with) wonderfully deep cedar notes and winter spices.” Who said we can’t produce great pinot noir in WA.

And the 2023 Block 2 Cabernet Sauvignon - from a dry-grown vineyard planted in 1975, Hay Shed Hill’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon and indeed Margaret River’s flagship varietal. “(This) wine displays ripe berry aromas of great intensity with underlying dusty and earthy characters typical of Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon,” says the maker. We say: a special wine that sits alongside our winter 2025 menu beautifully.