2020 Frankland Estate Olmo’s Reward

I have always seen Olmo’s Reward as a visionary wine. When Australia was making varietal wines, Judi and Barrie were set on realising a wine of place and a style that, to a point, transcends variety. This concept ensures we constantly reflect, review and evolve. Cabernet Franc has cemented its role at the heart of the blend (78.4% in 2020). For the first time we have included Mourvèdre (9.8%), while Cabernet Sauvignon (9.8%) and Malbec (2%) round out the wine. This evolution brings added complexity and a savoury edge with density and elegance. Of course, when we select the components, we are, to a degree, determining a result. However, Elizabeth, Brian and I (with a combined 68 vintages making wines from Isolation Ridge) are intuitively responding to what we’re given by the season and the maturing vines of our certified-organic site. – Hunter Smith, Frankland Estate  

This Olmo’s Reward reminds me of a flower unfolding. It’s gently seductive as the juiciness opens up and you get that elegance and power with soft, sultry, fine-chalk tannins. It evolves beautifully with every sip. – Elizabeth Smith, Frankland Estate 

Cabernet franc is at the heart of Olmo’s Reward with glugs of cabernet sauvignon and for the first time mourvèdre and a splash of malbec. This is up there as one of the finest to date. A seamless combination of the varieties morphs into a unified, harmonious red. Supple, fine tannins yet intrinsically powerful in a way, as they coat the fuller-bodied palate, but this never feels big or weighty. The finish is as long as it is beautiful. 96 points. Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion 2023 

 Deep colour with a good purple tint, the bouquet bacon-fat oak, smoky and peaty/earthy aromas with some blackberry peeping through, the palate full bodied and bright with ample ripe fruit flavour and richness, nice fleshy texture, and persistence. A full bodied and satisfying glass of cabernet, with firm finish and plenty of substance. It would take some age well too. 95 points. Huon Hooke, The Real Review 

 For starters, it’s silken. But it’s also characterful, and structured, and lengthy, and rich. It’s a fantastic wine. It tastes of leather and dark chocolate, bay leaves and blackcurrant, licorice root and eucalypt. It has a gravelly, almost minerally, perhaps smoky edge – whatever it is, it adds that bit extra. Now or later; this is beautiful. 94+ points. Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front 2023