Great Southern

Location
 Zone - South West Australia
State - Western Australia

Map Reference
 Latitude 35 degrees and 02 minutes South
Longitude 117 degrees and 42 minutes East

Elevation
 0 - 400 metres above sea level

Subregions
 Albany, Frankland River, Denmark, Mount Barker and Porongurup

Introduction
 This is a large region - 150 km from north to south, and 100 km from east to west.

In 1955 viticulturist Professor Harold Olmo was engaged by the Western Australian Government to report on the status of the wine industry and to recognise the potential of the area for the production of high-quality table wines. It took another ten years for the first vineyard sites to be selected; however this led to the progressive establishment of vineyards in the region. Most were small; only one large vineyard was established. In the second half of the 1980's the changes became speedy.

The potential of the region is immense, its sole physical restriction being water and to a lesser degree its isolation from eastern States' manufacturing and marketing resources.
Primary Grape Varieties
White
 Chardonnay 1340 tonnes
Riesling 910 tonnes
Sauvignon Blanc 860 tonnes
Semillon 450 tonnes
Verdelho 75 tonnes
Other 205 tonnes
Total White 3840 tonnes
Red
 Cabernet Sauvignon 1700 tonnes
Shiraz 1445 tonnes
Merlot 275 tonnes
Pinot Noir 190 tonnes
Cabernet Franc 160 tonnes
Malbec 75 tonnes
Other 195 tonnes
Total Red 4040 tonnes
Primary Wine Styles

Riesling
Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon are the most significant wines from the region. Their importance derives directly from the quality of the wine, which ranks with the best of the Clare Valley and Eden Valley of South Australia. It ages stunningly, rarely reaching the peak of its development in less than ten years. While crisp and lean in its youth, it does have intense flavour, typically in the citrus spectrum.

Chardonnay
Elegant, tightly structured, grapefruit-accented Chardonnay, which ages very well and is produced in escalating quantities.

Pinot Noir
Regarded as the speciality of the southern area around Denmark and Albany, but the occasional thrilling wine has appeared from Mount Barker.

Shiraz
Shiraz produced in this region exhibits a convincing combination of liquorice, spice, pepper, black cherry and plum. Gladly almost all makers avoid the temptation of suffocating it in American oak thus allowing the spectacular fruit quality opportunity to express itself.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon flourish right across the region, producing long-lived wines of deep colour, powerful structure and intense flavour. They are classic Cabernets.