Frankland Estate

The story of Frankland Estate is one born in the isolated natural terrain of South West Australia, and the foresight of a prominent scientist. In 1956 renowned US viticulturalist Dr Harold Olmo identified the potential of the Frankland River region to produce wines comparable to those of Bordeaux, France. Working two vintages in Bordeaux and touring French vineyards cemented Barrie and Judi’s vision to establish Frankland Estate in 1988 and pursue their dream to create wines of uncompromising quality.

Buried deep in the heart of Western Australia’s most isolated wine region, Frankland Estate is as much apart of its natural landscape as it is a winery.

Located 250km east of Margaret River and inland from the wild and picturesque Great Southern coastline, we take our role as custodians of our land very seriously. We have invested a lot of time and energy into minimising our impact on the ecological balance of the region, nuturing the micro-biology of our soils and supporting causes to improve the health and future prosperity of our local fauna and flora.

Today Frankland Estate is a tight-knit family affair. Our children Elizabeth and Hunter and their small families live on the property and we all work together with a small, yet hardworking and enthusiastic team to produce distinctive and flavoursome wines.

Before founding the estate in 1988, we embarked on a tour of French vineyards, and worked two vintages at Bordeaux’s renowned Chateau Senejac, in the Haut-Medoc region. Armed with a wealth of knowledge from our French experience and a shared passion for wine, we decided to diversify our farming interests from wool growing to wine by establishing vineyards on Isolation Ridge, a very special location on our property, which has shown all the hallmarks of a great vineyard we came to know through our travels and our viticultural studies.

Our appreciation for the environment in which we work ensures our wines and our vineyards continue to grow with our land in accordance to the cycles of nature.

This approach includes organic viticlture, carefully nuturing the health of the soils in our vineyard, and only taking from our land as much as can be later replaced by natural processes. Our passion for sustainable farming was recognised in 2009, when we were awarded on organic certification.

"Our appreciation for the environment in which we work ensures our wines and our vineyards continue to grow with our land in accordance to the cycles of nature."
Our commitment to sustainable farming is what informs our winemaking practices. We have learned many hard-lessons and honed our skills over 29 vintages on our home vineyards. The consistency of depth, complexity and intensity of flavour in our wines has reinforced our belief in this approach, and amplified our respect for our extraordinary natural environment.

The Frankland River region in South Western Australia is a truly magical part of our state and nation, and it holds a very special place in our hearts. We are extremely proud of how we work in harmony with our environment and the natural elements, to create exceptional wines which express our remarkable sense of place.