Vale Simon Burnell

We’ve lost (another) keen wine intellect.

Willow Bridge Estate winemaker Simon Burnell unfortunately lost his life on Monday, killed while windsurfing at Prevelly in Margaret River.

For someone who loved the surf, it seems like the ultimate way to pass – going out the right way. Yet Simon left a serious wake behind him, evidence of which you can see all over these pages (he posted comments here often).

It seems a bit rude to be talking like this about someone who I never met in person, but given that Simon chastised me only recently for not posting enough, I figure I’ve got at least a little latitude.

Simon and I first conversed about four years ago. He was an avid reader of wine websites, often posting late night missives about winemaking and styles. I got the first one of those after I, typically, panned a few of his wines. Simon was quick to reply – with absolute brutal honesty – about the wines, happy to get the honest feedback and keen to stir back. That kicked off a typical pattern of emails, DMs and facebook messages where he’d argue about wine, winemaking and life, often producing an informed, contrarian view. 

Life needs more informed, clever contrarians.

More than that, wine writing is a lonely pursuit, and such feedback makes this gig much more rewarding – a wine writer reviews, winemaker responds. Simon wasn’t afraid to pull punches, yet also was complimentary too – the online world can be weird and unfriendly sometimes, but it allows us also to connect with like-minded souls.

On that topic, my biggest regret was that I didn’t pop into see him when I was over there in late Jan. Again, Simon poked me for not stopping by, keen to show off just how far Geographe had come.

I really should have detoured.

The latest releases are excellent too – well-priced, cleverly made examples of what this oft-forgotten WA region can produce (Simon picked up a trophy for Excellence in Winemaking at the most recent Geographe wine show, so he knows his shit). 

One of the last messages I received from Simon was just a fortnight ago, with him thanking me for mentioning that I didn’t like his Dragonfly labels much (apparently the owners like ’em, he didn’t). 

What honesty. 

His final message was a link to a very favourable forecast for the Geographe area. Harvest was looking good…

All I can say then is that if you haven’t tried one of Simon’s Willow Bridge wines, now might be the perfect time. This Chardonnay is a good place to start.

RIP Simon Burnell. We lost a goodun’.