A celebration of the diversity of wine in Western Australia, the WA Good Food Guide Wine Awards presents a thrilling list of the state’s Top 25 wines for the year in Western Australia, along with award winners representing the apex of Western Australian winemaking. Not surprisingly the Great Southern wine region dominated when premium wine, innovation, best practice, forward thinking and diversity were the parameters for an award-winning wine. The Great Southern Wine Region has been leading a quiet revolution in fine wine production for a new world yearning for wine styles that align with modern, sustainable and innovative winemaking practices; with a diversity so congruent with the regions extraordinary and ancient terroir, the Great Southern Wine Region is in a league of its own.
From the Top 25 wines in Western Australia, 10 came from The Great Southern and the prestigious title of Producer of the Year, Viticulturist of the Year and Best Experimental Wine of the Year all came from the incredible Great Southern.
And the winner’s are ……
Wine of the Year
Battles Shiraz 2022
Frankland River, Great Southern
An outstanding wine from every angle, this satin-textured, perfumed, poised and utterly delicious red delivers all the detail of red berries, spice, savoury earthiness and layers of fine, puckering tannin. All this, delivered in a seamless flow that’s poised, vibrant, persistent and downright beautiful. That it’s gulpable, as well as something to pause and reflect on, is a distinct asset. What a wine.
Producer of the Year
Frankland Estate – Frankland River, Great Southern
While there was a breadth of contenders for this inaugural award, the judges were drawn to the outstanding wines, farming, longevity and general excellence under the charter of Frankland Estate. Renowned not only for the pioneering approach to Great Southern, but upper echelon wines, excellence in (organic certified) viticulture, benchmark wines from the region (and WA generally), while applying progressive mores to new-release wine styles, with a commitment to the overall betterment of Western Australia’s wine scene through participation and community-minded activity. Outstanding in all facets, Frankland Estate is at the vanguard of WA wine.
Viticulturist of the Year
Rhys Thomas, Swinney – Frankland River, Great Southern
The Swinney vineyard in Frankland River has long been fertile ground for outstanding wines with a roll call of exceptional viticulturists as custodians. Rhys Thomas is the current caretaker and has done the seemingly impossible task of elevating quality, again, from these vines. Alongside inherent high standard of fruit, Thomas has continued the focus on sustainable practices with a commitment to organic farming and increasing soil and vineyard health. That Swinney as a standalone producer has released some of WA’s most striking wines of recent years from this site, is one testimony to Thomas’s oeuvre, though it’s the diverse array of winemakers and producers who share fruit from the vineyard, with brilliant and striking results, that lends further credence to the formidable work that finds Thomas the recipient of this award.
Experimental Wine of the Year
Oranje Tractor Wine Elixyr Botanica Vinum Absinthium Vermouth – Albany, Great Southern
The WA Good Food Guide Wine Awards values innovation and creativity in winemaking and actively seeks out top examples of distinct and diverse wines that are tasted through the wine judging period. The Oranje Tractor Elixir Botanica Vermouth is a striking, complex vermouth that marries a base of merlot wine with an array of estate-grown (and certified organic) herbs, spices, honey, florals and botanicals and nuts. Additionally, locally produced spirit fortifies the vermouth. It’s an outstanding drink, pleasing in its balance of bitterness and inherent fruitiness of merlot with a complexity derived from its varied botanical elements. Overall, it offers a general sense of high drinkability. Drink this over ice with a wedge of blood orange, legs dangling in swimming pool.
Top 25 Wines of Western Australia 2023
1 BATTLES FRANKLAND RIVER SHIRAZ
VINTAGE 2022. VARIETIES Shiraz. REGION Frankland River
Poised, vibrant, persistent and downright beautiful.
An outstanding wine from every angle, this satin-textured, perfumed, poised and utterly delicious red delivers all the detail of red berries, spice, savoury earthiness and layers of fine, puckering tannin. All this, delivered in a seamless flow that’s poised, vibrant, persistent and downright beautiful. That it’s gulpable, as well as something to pause and reflect on, is a distinct asset. What a wine.
2 LA VIOLETTA DAS SAKRILEG
VINTAGE 2022. VARIETIES Riesling. REGION Great Southern
A complex and complete wine that delivers way more than the usual.
An outstanding riesling here. So complete and so good, with savoury, succulent and bright lemon and ginger, notes of toast and yeast, a hint of almond and plenty more. Some saline and briny elements contribute to what is a very complex and complete wine that delivers way more than the usual. Great length. Great quality here.
3 CHERUBINO NEBBIOLO
VINTAGE 2021. VARIETIES Nebbiolo. REGION Frankland River
A distinct and distinguished wine delivering strong DNA of the variety with drinkability in tow.
A wow moment. Such a distinct and distinguished wine delivering strong DNA of the variety with drinkability in tow. It’s bright and fresh, but with mettle from good tannin, succulent texture and vibrant fruit. Savoury in style, with brightness shining through, there’s an appealing dusty, Italianate feel to it all. Good stuff here, and very well done.
4 FRANKLAND ESTATE FRANC
VINTAGE 2022. VARIETIES Cabernet Franc REGION. Frankland River
A wonderful expression with high drinkability.
Spice, herbs, blue fruits, tension and freshness meet purity. So shimmery and fresh, this wine shines on the palate. It’s beautiful and pretty in its way, with a fine tannin profile, great extension of flavour, and a riff on all green herbs and spice. A wonderful expression with high drinkability.
5 SWINNEY MOURVÈDRE
VINTAGE 2022. VARIETIES Mourvèdre. REGION Frankland River
A chewy, chunkier style, but one that delivers a near dictionary-definition of the variety.
There’s dark berries, floral violet lift, a touch of meatiness, bay leaf, black pepper and some saline mineral notes, followed by a haze of spicy tannin. Great to see the savouriness writ large. Compelling.
6 FOREST HILL VINEYARD MOUNT BARKER RIESLING
VINTAGE 2023. VARIETIES Riesling. REGION Mount Barker
An intense and engaging style that’s succulent and fine through the finish.
Very intense, limey, taut and refreshing, but you can see the X-factor that this wine brings to the table. With great persistence and tension, and precision on hand, this is an intense and engaging style that’s succulent and fine through the finish. Whoosh.
7 SWINNEY GRENACHE
VINTAGE 2022. VARIETIES Grenache. REGION Frankland River
Structure, tension and a pleasing firmness, drawing out to a long, spicy finish.
A tremendous rendition of grenache, again showing us how excellent the variety can be from WA and the right sites. This wine is satiny, glossy and bright, yet serious, with a wonderful, fine-grained tannin profile and a distinct extension of flavour. The wine has structure, tension and a pleasing firmness, drawing out to a long, spicy finish. A serious wine.
8 LOWBOI GRUNER VELTLINER
VINTAGE 2023. VARIETIES Gruner Veltliner. REGION Mount Barker
A pitch-perfect seaside-kinda white feel that should be seen more often in WA.
An excellent expression, showing the Austrians what for. It’s intense but refreshing, compact and concentrated, with ginger, tonic, kohlrabi and green apple galore. The bouquet and palate are in sync, the refreshment factor is high and there’s excellent length and minerally persistence. Sheesh, this is great drinking, and a pitch-perfect seaside-kinda white feel that should be seen more often in WA.
9 CASTLE ROCK ESTATE RIESLING
VINTAGE 2023. VARIETIES Riesling. REGION Porongurup
A rapier thrust of the variety that delivers strong fruit and mineral character in a very complex and energetic style.
A scintillating expression of riesling that’s juicy, fresh, bright, intense and driving with a huge swish of tangy acidity. It feels linear and pure – a rapier thrust of the variety that delivers strong fruit and mineral character in a very complex and energetic style. Drink with gusto.
10 ORANJE TRACTOR ELIXYR BOTANICA VERMOUTH
VINTAGE 2019. VARIETIES Vermouth. REGION Great Southern
Proper bitterness, great texture and spice.
With proper bitterness, great texture and spice, this tastes like an amaro and nails the brief well. There’s lots of slipperiness and judicious sweetness but it holds in all the botanicals and vermouth-like savoury and bitter elements with aplomb. Pure deliciousness. What a thing!