2020 Alkoomi Shiraz Frankland River 750 ml

After tasting the lush, powerful 2020 Alkoomi Frankland River Shiraz—which won 95 points from Australia’s Halliday Wine Companion—we had one question: How can a bottle this staggeringly good cost this little??

The importer had an answer. “Frankland River is a HUGE bargain compared to Barossa or Margaret River,” he said. “You can find world-class wines at a fraction of the price out there.” His sentiment was echoed by Oz Clarke’s Australian Wine Companion, which touted the region as “one of the best new vineyard sites in Australia.”

The first winery in this subregion of Western Australia, Alkoomi was founded in 1971, when little else was there but sheep and grain farms. The cool inland climate, gravelly loam soils, and organic-farming practices of a multigenerational family have made Alkoomi the source of some of the greatest deals we’ve seen out of Western Australia.

Cofermented with a touch of Viognier in the Côte-Rôtie style, the 100% estate-grown 2020 Shiraz is aged 14 months in French oak. It’s silky and rich, concentrated and ripe, and drinks WAY too easily.  

Under winemaker Andrew Cherry, Alkoomi aims to keep things as wild as the landscape. The vines are hand-pruned, no herbicides or pesticides are used in the vineyards, and grazing sheep patrol the weeds.

In a place this remote, sustainability is as much about self-reliance as environmental impact. Alkoomi collects rainwater in dams and tanks, and uses solar panels to power much of the winery.

For all the challenges that nature presents, it’s the sunny, warm days and cool evenings that allow for the slow ripening and beautiful acid retention that makes this Shiraz such a catch.