The aforementioned names are three of the five sub-regions of what is known as Great Southern, the other two being Albany and Denmark. Across all five sub-regions there only 55 producers, most of whom are small family-run vineyard without the scale or budget to get their wines in front of everyone, but it may also be the reason that the average level of quality is so high across the area.<\/p>\n
The region covers a massive area of southern Western Australia, starting around four hours south of Perth they cover an area 100km tall and 150km wide reaching right down to the southern coast, which makes it easy to miss or even ignore when there are simpler, more familiar names to reach for. But, it\u2019s getting harder to ignore with so many producers making undeniably great wines that are demanding attention both near and far.<\/p>\n
In recent times acclaim has been seen for the Swinney vineyard; named vineyard of the year by the \u2018young gun of wine\u2019 panel, and one of the top handful of international wine writers \u2013 Jancis Robninson lauded the Frankland Estate Riesling (2019 vintage) and Shiraz (2017) for their value, being \u2018too good for their price\u2019, high praise from a top wine writer who sees wines from, literally, all over the globe.<\/p>\n
A string of great vintages is providing great raw materials to take this attention and really cement the reputations among a broader spectrum of wine drinkers. You\u2019d be hard pressed to find better examples than the two from Frankland Estate below, to start uncovering the layers of this exciting region.<\/p>\n
Frankland Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 – $29<\/strong><\/p>\n 2018 has been widely heralded as a great vintage for both whites and reds across Western Australia and this is no exception. The value on offer here is immense and given the price point it is a great option to pop a six-pack in the cellar and forget about them for five to 10 years without breaking the bank. Frankland River Cabernet offers similarly perfect pitched ripe black fruits that you often get from Margaret River too, but without the eucalypt of the latter. There is classic tobacco, dried herbs, dark chocolate and graphite framed by chalky, ripe but firm tannins to complement the intensity of the fruit.<\/p>\n