Team C&J
You may have noticed over the past few months that the wines of Australia have been on our radar. When you have access to so many amazing local California wineries and a subscription to Kermit Lynch’s wine club, sometimes it’s easy to get comfortable with what you’re purchasing and what you’re tasting.
Having said that, we’ve been pleased with the bottles from Australia that we’ve been cracking open, and this Cabernet from Frankland Estate impressed us with its reserved power, intriguing nose, and organically farmed fruit.
Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam were already experienced farmers when they founded Frankland Estate in 1988. The couple were sheep ranchers who had a moderately successful wool business when they had the idea to add to their land-based business model and develop a wine brand.
Barrie and Judi started Frankland Estate from scratch. They thoughtfully selected their vineyard site in Australia’s Frankland River wine region and planted the vines themselves. Over the next 30 years, Barrie and Judi would become a dynamic team, with Barrie overseeing the vineyard and winery operations and Judi becoming the brand’s ambassador and introducing it to international markets. Her efforts were awarded the Len Evans Award for Leadership by Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine in 2018
The Smith children, Hunter and Elizabeth, grew up on the Frankland Estate vineyard and know the property and the characteristics of the land, inside and out. Hunter and Elizabeth Smith, along with Brian Kent, Elizabeth’s husband, have been furthering the dream of their parents since the late 1990s, when they returned home from college to begin working in the family business.
Winemaker Brain Kent joined the team in 2010 after working harvests in Sonoma Valley’s Russian River Valley and Spain’s Rías Baixas.
Today, Frankland Estate is a second-generation winery that takes great pride in caring for the land that is home to the brand’s Isolation Ridge Vineyard. The family achieved organic certification in 2009, and both families are busy shepherding Frankland Estate into the future and raising their children on the property that means so much to them.
Isolation Ridge is a remote vineyard, even by Australian standards. Sitting 205 miles south of Perth and 155 miles east of the Margaret River, the vineyard is rugged and, well, isolated. The soil in this part of Australian wine country is nutrient deficient and infertile, which benefits vineyard cultivation. Vines are forced to really dig deep into the ironstone gravel and clay soil for water and minerals.
With nearly 4,000 acres under vine, the Frankland River Wine Region holds the distinction of having a collection of Australia’s oldest vines.
The climate in Frankland is Mediterranean in nature, but the cool evenings, combined with vineyards that are planted at 500 to 1,000 ft elevation, mean that a number of grape varieties do well here. Riesling is particularly suited to the Frankland climate. In fact, Frankland Estate produces four distinct expressions of this German grape. Other varieties popular in this Western Australia wine region include Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc.
The 2019 Frankland Estate Cabernet Sauvignon underwent fermentation in open tanks, which allowed winemaker Brain Kent to increase the oxygen that the wine was exposed to really get the yeasts to activate. The grapes were organically grown and aged in French oak puncheons.
In the glass, this Cabernet from Frankland Estate is a deep garnet. The nose is brimming with spice, cigar box, and cedar pop in this heady bouquet. Rich dark fruits like black currant and black cherry offer intoxicating secondary notes, and a streak of bell pepper adds refinement.
This is a full-bodied wine, so you don’t necessarily expect the floral elements to be so robust, but at first sip, the palate is almost botanical. Elements of violet and mint are present immediately. This is followed by licorice, graphite, and complex cedar. Black cherry and bell pepper add texture, and the tannins on this wine present a nice structure to support what’s going on here.
There’s an interesting savoriness to this wine, but it’s well-balanced and overall very nice.
If this Cab from the Isolation Ridge Vineyard at Frankland Estate is any indication, the next generation of the Smith has a clear direction for the brand started by their parents almost 40 years ago. The family puts out a number of other varieties, including a few impressive Rieslings, and we wouldn’t hesitate to try future bottles from this family-owned company.
Australia
Frankland River
Cabernet Sauvignon
14.5
Brian Kent
62–68°F / 16–20°C
Burgundy
30 Minutes
Now to 2027
Frankland Estate
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