“Passion. Charisma. Classical.”It’s with these three words that winemaker and Margaret River wine industry stalwart Bruce Dukes describes his highly awarded estate, Domaine Naturaliste.
Bruce first trained as an Agricultural Scientist, prior to completing his winemaking studies at the University of California Davis in the 1990s. This lifelong devotion to soil science, layered with winemaking expertise has made Bruce a sought-after grape magician within Margaret River specifically, for over 25 of the 35+ years he has worked with wine.
His wine estate, Domaine Naturaliste has been Bruce's labour of love since 2012.
“My journey is seeking understanding in the composition of our fruit, and how to translate that into meaningful, culturally relevant styles, using traditional techniques.”
“I have always loved plants and microbiology, which are the driving passions behind my wine. Now in the 35th year of learning with wine, my journey is about the integration soils and plants with winemaking and culture,” Bruce says.
The approach has been effective, with Domaine Naturaliste wines receiving a trove of medals locally and around the world, with a recent highlight, being awarded one of fifty medals (following judging of 18,000+ wines) for ‘Best in Show’ at the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards for their 2020 Rebus Cabernet Sauvignon. Judges described the wine as, “very much on the pulse of its region (Margaret River).”
In 2020, Domaine Naturaliste was also awarded the Best Value Winery in Australia by Halliday Wine Companion.
“Chardonnay and Cabernet are cultivars whose vine biology is in sync with our natural set of conditions. The natural composition of the fruit is so well suited to winemaking, so the winemaking journey is about preservation of the verve and charisma of our fruit,” Bruce continues.
Domaine Naturaliste is located 7 kilometres from the coast on Margaret River’s famous ironstone gravel soils on the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Ridge in the Wilyabrup locality of the wine region.
When asked, ‘Why Margaret River?’ Bruce is resolute in his response.
“Margaret River is where I belong. It is a wild and beautiful frontier, delivering breathtaking fruit."
“The interface of grape growing with a coastal lifestyle is hard to beat. Our gentle maritime climate has created a hugely biodiverse region, which also seems to attract lifestyle and nature loving people.”
Discover more of the wines and cellar door of Domaine Naturaliste here.