We feel like heading out on a limb with this little pronouncement, but here goes. Margaret River produces some of the best Chardonnay in the world - sometimes the best. There, it's said.

Every year in October Cullen Wines hosts its International Chardonnay Tasting. This pulls together some of the finest Chardonnays in the world. There are usually 21 wines tasted.

These wines are pitted against the absolute pinnacle of the variety. The great Montrachets, Californians like Beringer, Kistler and Gallo, and wines from legendary producers around the world. Yet still names like Leeuwin Estate, Cullen, Pierro, Voyager, Cape Mentelle are either the highest scorers or at least in that elite vanguard.

Tasters and judges come from all over and are from both the wine industry and the wine consuming public. The wines are tasted blind in three brackets, and are randomly mixed in the line-up. There is no disputing the fact that when the last glass is placed on the table, it is the taste test that counts.

The 1999 International Chardonnay Tasting, which concentrated on the 1995 vintage, saw the Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay rated the finest of the 21 scintillating wines tasted. Believe me, it's not the first time a Margaret River wine has taken the top spot! What's more, the 1999 tasting boasted some of the highest quality wines in the event's history.

Last year Wine Magazine rated Australia's 20 best Chardonnays. Margaret River had four wines in the top ten and six in the top 20. Case closed. The rich, complex, sumptuous, long-lived Chardonnay of this premier, far-flung region is outstanding. And as the vines age, it will only get better. We are very lucky indeed, when it comes to Chardonnay.

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