Frankland Estate 2018 "Smith Cullam" Shiraz Frankland River 750ml

This is the wine that didn't exist until 2018. Frankland Estate has produced three tiers of Shiraz for years — the Estate bottling, the Isolation Ridge single-vineyard release, and, finally, when the quality of the fruit and the winemaking had risen high enough to justify it, a true reserve-tier flagship released under the names of the people who started it all: Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam. The 2018 vintage is the very first release of Smith Cullam Shiraz — the moment Frankland Estate decided it had something worthy of carrying its founders' names at the top of the range.

Smith and Cullam built their reputation on Riesling first, instituting the celebrated Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting that drew winemakers from across Germany, Austria, and beyond for years. But as wine writer Huon Hooke observed, whatever risk there was of Frankland Estate being seen as "a one-trick pony" has been erased by the strides made with red wine in recent years — strides significant enough to support an AUD $120 reserve-style Shiraz under the founders' own names. The fruit is organically certified, hand- and selectively-harvested, fermented as whole berries in open-pot fermenters, and matured in large-format oak puncheons and foudres — vessels considerably larger than a standard barrel, chosen specifically to deliver concentrated texture and structure without imposing overt oak flavor.

Tastingbook scored the 2018 Smith Cullam Syrah 96 points — the single highest-rated wine in the entire Frankland Estate portfolio across every vintage and every label the database tracks, ahead of the Isolation Ridge Riesling, the Poison Hill Riesling, and every other Shiraz in the range. This is a wine of brooding complexity and ferrous, graphite-laced minerality — intense, concentrated black fruit; persistent, fine tannin; real length; and, unmistakably, black pepper throughout. The inaugural vintage of what has already become Frankland Estate's most serious red wine statement.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Frankland Estate was founded in 1988 by Barrie Smith and Judi Cullam on a large sheep property in the remote Frankland River sub-region of Western Australia's Great Southern. The couple built the estate's early reputation on Riesling, instituting the influential annual Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting that brought winemakers from Germany, Austria, and beyond into direct conversation with the estate's cool-climate fruit. Today the estate is run by the second generation, siblings Hunter and Elizabeth Smith, with Elizabeth's husband Brian Kent leading winemaking for over a decade.

While Riesling remains central to Frankland Estate's identity, the red wine program — particularly Shiraz — has advanced dramatically in recent years through deliberate, patient refinement in both vineyard and cellar. Much of that evolution traces to the estate's organic viticulture, certified by the Australian Certified Organic body since 2009: stronger, healthier vines ripening more slowly and evenly, multiplying the nuances of aroma, flavor, and texture available to the winemaking team. Extended hang time allows full lignification of stems, opening the door to genuinely beneficial whole-bunch and whole-berry fermentation. In the winery, shallower ferments at lower temperatures produce finer tannins and more delicate textures, while the move to larger 500-liter oak puncheons (and, for Smith Cullam specifically, vessels as large as 3,500 liters) heightens the wine's sense of purity and lets the property's distinctive ironstone-gravel character speak clearly rather than being overlaid with wood flavor.

That progressive quality rise across the Shiraz program eventually justified something new: a true reserve-tier bottling carrying the founders' own names. Smith Cullam Syrah debuted with the 2018 vintage, fermented from organically grown fruit as whole berries in open-pot fermenters and matured for 12 to 15 months in large-format oak — Hunter Smith's own description of the resulting style is "lightness of touch": concentrated black fruit and fine tannin structure delivered with minimal overt oak influence, letting the Frankland River's ironstone and gravel terroir lead.

Critics Reviews

Tastingbook — 96 Points (2018 vintage):
The highest-rated wine across the entire Frankland Estate portfolio tracked by the platform, ahead of every other Riesling and Shiraz label in the range.

Huon Hooke / The Real Review:
"Olmo's Reward, Frankland Estate's blend of Bordeaux red varieties, has gradually risen to be an outstanding wine of its type. But it's the shirazes I want to look at here. There are now three of them, the quality having risen to such a height that it's now possible to field an AUD $120 reserve-style bottling under the SmithCullam label. The first vintage was 2018."

Winepilot (on the 2018 Smith Cullam Syrah, confirmed style profile):
"What a pepper pot! This is the Great Southern region well-defined. Winemaker Hunter Smith has added a smidge of viognier (5%) and mourvèdre (1%) to his shiraz, finessing the fruit profile, and matured the organically-grown fruit in a 3,500-litre foudre for 15 months, so there will be no noticeable oak but very noticeable texture and, as he says, 'lightness of touch.' Expect intensity and concentrated black fruits, persistence of fine tannins, length... and, yes, black pepper. Deep garnet hues glisten in the glass. Complex savoury aroma notes to the fore, whetting the appetite, with game, turned earth..."

World Wine (program/house style confirmed, on the Smith Cullam Syrah expression generally):
"A brooding complexity of floral aromas and ferrous minerality giving the wine intent and seriousness. Tightly wound acidity and tannin combine, giving the wine a graphite/ferrous thread through the palate. A core of perfumed fruit and mid-weighted style finish with a distinct earthy drive."

Tasting Profile

Nose
Deep garnet hues — the organically farmed fruit and extended large-format oak maturation producing a color of genuine depth and seriousness. The nose opens with brooding complexity — floral aromas intertwined with a distinctly ferrous, ironstone minerality that gives the wine real intent from the first approach. Black fruit leads, with black pepper threading through unmistakably — the signature note every reviewer of this wine independently identifies. Violet and graphite add structural, mineral-driven secondary aromatics. Complex savoury notes — game, turned earth — whet the appetite ahead of the fruit.

Palate
Tightly wound acidity and tannin combine to create a graphite and ferrous thread running through the entire palate. Concentrated black fruits deliver real intensity, balanced by a core of perfumed fruit that keeps the wine from feeling heavy despite its evident structure. The large-format oak maturation contributes very noticeable texture without imposing overt wood flavor — exactly the "lightness of touch" Hunter Smith set out to achieve. Mid-weighted in style, with a distinct earthy drive carrying through the back half of the palate.

Finish
Persistent, fine tannins extend a long, structured finish. Black pepper lingers most distinctly, alongside the ferrous, mineral-driven thread that defines this wine's identity. Length and seriousness mark the close — a debut vintage built with real cellaring intent.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Roasted meats — the producer's own stated pairing
• Hard, aged cheeses
• Grilled game and venison
• Peppercorn-crusted beef