Frankland River is the coolest and most isolated winegrowing region in Western Australia with very few hot days and a lower average temperature than most regions in Australia.
It is also one of the country’s newest winegrowing regions. It was not discovered until 1955, when the Western Australian government commissioned a distinguished Californian viticulturist, Professor Harold Olmo, to investigate the state's wine industry. Olmo saw that Frankland River is very similar climatically to Bordeaux, France, and therefore he had no hesitation in recommending it for the production of high quality table wine.
The remote valley cut by the river over millions of years has created an almost perfect environment for viticulture. In spring, it acts as a funnel, channeling cold air away from the vines towards the Southern Ocean, which minimises frost damage. In summer, this natural 'reverse-cycle airconditioning' brings cool and humid air inland to moderate the afternoon temperature, thus creating a long, slow ripening period: the optimum conditions for wine grapes. As a result, wines typically display delicate aromas and intense varietal characters. These same river waters also wore down the local granite to produce a gravelly loam (or 'marri') soil that is ideal for viticulture.
The resultant wines are now giving this small region a big reputation. Crisp, intense, long-lived Riesling rivals the best of the Clare and Eden Valleys. Deeply coloured Cabernet Sauvignon produces classic wines that age magnificently. There is elegant, grapefruit-accented Chardonnay, while Shiraz shows bountiful fruit flavours that express themselves without the need for excessive oak treatment.
In 2002, Dr. John Gladstones, who is credited with the discovery of the Margaret River region, declared Frankland River capable of producing Shiraz wines that will match, and possibly outshine, the revered Shiraz-based wines of France’s northern Rhone Valley. In making his comparison, Dr. Gladstones claimed Frankland River’s climate almost matched the theoretical ideal for the Shiraz grape, and provided similar quality and greater reliability than that of the Rhone.