2023 Frankland Estate Olmo's Reward, Frankland River

Frankland Estate was founded in 1988 by Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam deep in the Frankland River subregion of Western Australia's Great Southern, about as remote as Australian wine gets.

The second generation now runs the estate: brother and sister Hunter and Elizabeth Smith, with Elizabeth's husband Brian Kent as winemaker since 2010. They were raised on the land and live on it, which shapes everything about how the vineyard is managed and how the wines are made; organic conversion began in 2005, with full certification achieved for the 2009 harvest.

Their Isolation Ridge vineyard is built on ironstone gravel over clay — the family call it coffee rock — fragile, infertile soils that reward with wines that carry a distinctly savoury, ferrous signature alongside generous fruit and natural acidity. The Southern Ocean's influence and cool nights ensure the fruit hangs long into autumn without losing freshness or energy.

American viticulturist Dr Harold Olmo travelled through Australia's wine regions in the early 1950s and declared Frankland River to have potential to be at least the equal of anywhere in the country, if not the best, for Bordeaux-style reds. His name is carried on by Olmo's Reward, a Cabernet Franc-led red, at around 90% in recent vintages, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec completing the blend.

The wine carries real presence without weight: composed, floral and fine, with the ferrous, ironstone character that runs through everything grown on Isolation Ridge. Blood plum, dark cherry and dried herbs sit alongside graphite, warm earth and a savoury undercurrent of cured meat and spice. The tannins are textural and closely knit, the finish long and persistent. This is a wine that glides rather than pushes.

Good company for a slow-braised beef cheek with olives and herbs, a wild mushroom and thyme tart, or anything rich and considered that deserves a proper glass.