Frankland Estate 'Olmo's Reward' 2021

This year’s wine is led by 90% Cabernet Franc from our old-vine plantings in the Winery and North Pole blocks. This is complemented with 7.5% Cabernet Sauvignon from our best parcels and 2.5% Mourvèdre for a dash of earthy complexity. In recent years, we have been maturing this blend in both puncheons and larger-format (1500-litre) oak for 15 months.
Once a more traditional Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, this wine has morphed into a showcase of Isolation Ridge Cabernet Franc.

Over the decades, we have found that Cabernet Franc cellars spectacularly and drives the medium-bodied expression we are looking for from our vineyard. 350 cases made. The nose shows red flowers, laurel and spearmint with cranberry, redcurrant, red cherry and blackcurrant, backed by a light touch of cedar and graphitey earth. That bouquet garni effect of fruit, herb and flowers carries onto a juicy, dusty, medium-bodied palate of pure Cabernet Franc fruit in a Sauvignon frame that is elegant and straight without a hint of strictness.

There’s a skip to the acidity and moreish texture to the gravel-flecked, dusty tannins, and some blue fruit chimes in, too. It finishes with tangy bramble berries, rosemary and tobacco. A perfumed, graceful Olmo’s Reward with charming flow, this evolves beautifully in the glass as those aromas swirl around each other within a bright mesh of tannins.