Australia’s largest wine region is finally being appreciated for its diversity of varieties, climates and soils, as well as its focus on single-vineyard wines. Sarah Ahmed picks the 10 top wines to try.
Great Southern’s ‘very promising potential’ was orginally spotted by Dr Harold Olmo, visiting professor of viticulture from The University of California, in 1955.Very sparsely populated in the 1950s, the focus was still on farming and forestry and the first vineyard was not planted until 1965; its first commercial wine, made by Plantagenet, emerged in 1975.
However, 60 years after Olmo highlighted Great Southern’s suitability for ‘high-quality light table wines’, Western Australia’s coolest wine region is edging into the limelight.
With a strong focus on single-vineyard wines, producers are taking a terrior-driven approach, often looking beyond their own vineyards and sub-regions to secure the best grapes from the best sites for their single-vineyard ranges.
Here Sarah Ahmed lists her top 10 Great Southern wines to get the taste of the region:
La Violetta, Up Shiraz, Mount Barker 2013
Whole bunch ferment brings black pepper and floral lift to this single-vineyard Shiraz’s fresh ...
Larry Cherubino, Ad Hoc Cruel Mistress Pinot Noir 2013
Complex with freshly dug beetroot and forest floor nuances to its supple milk chocolate-laced...
La Violetta, La Ciorna Shiraz 2008
Kalgan River vineyard old-vine Shiraz with a dash of Viognier. Cornas-like inky blackberry...
Harewood Estate, F Block Pinot Noir, Denmark 2013
Fine, intense and structured with forest floor undertones to its pretty red fruits and delicious...
Frankland Estate, Olmo’s Reward, Frankland River 2010
A fragrant Cabernet Franc-dominated Bordeaux blend with fine tannins, great delicacy and finesse...
Howard Park, Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Mainly from the 1979-planted Dennis vineyard in Mount Barker. Great cedar, blueberry...
Snake & Herring, High & Dry Riesling, Porongurup 2013
Late ripening 20-year-old vines produce great flavour intensity. Bone dry, floral and mineral...
Plantagenet, Museum Release, Riesling, Mount Barker 2006
Though developing honey and petrol notes, with great mineral acid drive, its lime and lemon...
Frankland Estate, Netley Road Riesling, Frankland River 2012
A 1966-planted ironstone ridge accounts for the gravelly minerality of this aromatic, crisp, apple...
Marchand & Burch, Mount Barrow Pinot Noir, Mount Barker 2013
Silky, violet-scented red cherry, five spice, cedar and fine tannins make for a sensual Pinot...
Great Southern’s large footprint and diverse terroir, gives the region a repertoire that extends beyond Margaret River’s core red and white Bordeaux and Chardonnay grapes, also encompassing Riesling, Shiraz and Pinot Noir.
Bone-dry Rieslings – more austere than their South Australian counterparts – have consistently excelled across Great Southern. As well as early picked Chardonnays in Denmark offering a point of difference from Margaret River’s muscular wines. Naturally high in acidity, there is great potential for sparkling wines.