Regional Spotlight: Great Southern Wine Region
A deep dive into the Great Southern, Australia’s largest wine region; its landscape, its latest vintage and what makes its winemakers tick.
The largest wine region in Australia by area, the Great Southern spans raw and rugged coastline, sprawling plains, ancient mountain ranges and vast forests. Its ancient soils stretch from the southern coastline to 100km inland.
“Diversity is immense, like the landscapes,” says Mark Forrest, executive officer & export manager for the Great Southern Wine Producers Association.
Great Southern is the coolest region in all of Western Australia, though its climate is still Mediterranean, dominated by maritime influences from the Southern Ocean.
Lying at the heart of the Wagyl Kaip region of Noongar boodja country, its culture is as rich as its soils. The Great Southern is home to the Noongar Aboriginal people, who form part of the oldest continuing culture on earth.
As for its wines, the Great Southern has five subregions: Frankland River, Mount Barker, Porongurup, Denmark, Albany, the first three of which are cooler inland areas, while the last two neighbour the coastline.
“Two varieties unite the region,” says Forrest – Riesling and Shiraz. However, the diversity of the five subregions allows each area a unique take on both grape varieties, making expressions “sub-region specific”.
“One thing is constant – the outstanding quality,” Forrest says. “Cool climate viticulture, long and slow ripening profiles and acid retention are hallmarks that drive length of flavour and ageability in both varietals.”
The 2024 vintage proved to be warmer than average, bringing harvest dates forward by three to four weeks. Forrest says: “This certainly favoured the production of reds, particularly Shiraz and Cabernet but pleasingly the whites – Riesling and Chardonnay – also maintained great acid and a lively flavour structure despite the early finish.”
A deep understanding of the region and the wines is particularly essential in warmer vintages like in 2024, but winemakers in the Great Southern wine region have honed their craft.
Mike Garland, one of the region’s winemakers, says that as the region’s winemaking tradition matures, styles are evolving “as winemakers and viticulturalists come to grips with what works best for our unique micro-climates”.
“In the early days we spent much of our effort trying to emulate other regions of Australia with mixed success. However, with advancements in viticulture and considerable trialling in the winery the wines being produced over the last 5-10 years are truly world class and great expressions of our region,” he says.
With white varieties, such as Riesling and Chardonnay, winemakers are experimenting with the use of lees contact, pre- and post-ferment skin contact, full solids Chardonnay fermentation and the use of larger format oak and ceramic vessels.
“All of these processes help provide complexity and structure that supports (rather than dominates) the abundant natural fruit character,” Garland says.
When it comes to the reds, gentle extraction and use of whole bunch and larger format oak vessels results in “full flavoured yet plush wines that are beautifully aromatic and finely structured”.
As he puts it: “It’s a very exciting time to be making wine in the Great Southern.”
Key Facts:
Area: 1.7m hectares covering 3.9m ha of land, reaching 160km north to south and 250km east to west
Elevation: 0-1,093. Above sea level. Vine plantings are 6-371m above sea level
Geology: the area is up to 2.7 billion years old
Soil: vines mainly grow on Ironstone gravels
Key grape varieties: Shiraz, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Others varieties to watch: Grenache, Mourvedre, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc
GREAT SOUTHERN – WEBSITE, MEDIA KIT & VIDEO
Download and listen to Wine Blast’s podcast on the Great Southern Wine Region (Season 6 / Episode 10) – “Don’t Know Western Australia’s Great Southern? You Should”
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