Stella Bella

In 1996 Stuart Pym and Janice McDonald took over the Suckfizzle Vineyard, the most southern vineyard in the Margaret River region of Western Australia. They wanted to craft wines that would rival the benchmarks of Australia and they believed that the meso-climate and expressive terroir here could produce truly unique wines. Stella Bella was created in 1999, the name means “Beautiful Star” in Italian. The eye-catching label was designed by the Braincells Design Agency, who were given the brief of encapsulating the beautiful colours, aromas and flavours that are enjoyed and talked about in wine and they came up with the vibrant design. Stella Bella aim to capture the essence of Margaret River, which they do from five exceptional, organically managed vineyards located throughout Southern Margaret River region. All the vines are on their own roots and, being ungrafted, arguably delivers a purer expression of the cultivar.
Suckfizzle has 7.7 hectares planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabinet Sauvignon on Forest Grove soils mainly of red and brown loam.
Forest Grove has 9 hectares of Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot and Shiraz planted on Forest Grove and Karri loam soils.
Darch has 17 hectares of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon , Merlot, Shiraz, Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon planted on Duplex soils with areas of deeper gravel.
Luminosa's 22 hectares have mostly Forest Grove soils with some areas of sand, quartz and clay, and is planted with Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Rose à Petits Grains, Sangiovese, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Karridale' 5.3 hectares is planted with Sauvignon Blanc on Forest Grove soils that are slightly more sandy.
In 2013 Luke Joliffe joined Stella Bella, and Stuart Pym handed over the reins of Senior Winemaker to him; Luke now leads the team with viticulturist Steve Martin. Each parcel of fruit is vinified separately to preserve its individuality and maximise blending options, and a terrific portfolio is produced. For their white wines the focus is on bright aromatics, mineral acidity and pure elegance, whilst with the reds the emphasis is on intensely perfumed wines, with great flavour concentration and supple tannins. Stella Bella's regionally expressive wines are multi-awarded, receiving the coveted 5 Red Star rating from James Halliday - this is the highest accolade for a wine producer. Stella Bella believe that one of life's great pleasures is sharing the experience of beautiful wine and this Beautiful Star really does shine!