Its own hill, north of the home place

Poison Hill was planted in 1988 on about 3 hectares at the northern edge of the Frankland River town site, about 15 km north of the home vineyard, on white clay and weathered quartz.

Isolation Ridge is the ironstone vineyard at the home place, so this bottle stays on its own hill, named for the heartleaf bush that is poisonous to livestock and leaves the grapes alone.

The 2019 season opened with a wet spring, then a dry summer and a little rain in January and early February, and the dry-grown vines came in clean from 28 March, in the shape of the older Frankland River vintages. The fruit was whole-bunch pressed on arrival, the juice settled overnight, and the tank ferment stayed under 15 degrees for about eight weeks.

Stone fruit, then the mineral line

White stone fruit and citrus zest lead, then jasmine, green tea, sage, and spice, and the palate carries tropical fruit, talc, and pith on a mineral line that holds the finish.

The screw cap leaves that acidity where the 2019 vintage put it, so the glass wants lemon, herbs, and a plate with some richness.

The second generation, still in the Great Southern

Hunter Smith and his sister Elizabeth run Frankland Estate now, the second generation on the vines their parents put in during 1988, when Judi Cullam and the late Barrie Smith turned wool country in the Great Southern of Western Australia toward wine.

Elizabeth's husband, Brian Kent, has made the wine since 2010. The home place sits about 330 km south of Perth and about 50 km inland from the Great Southern coast, with a cellar door on Frankland Road that takes visitors on weekdays by appointment.

Scampi, piccata, or a herb loin

The citrus and the mineral line want lemon on the plate, so shrimp scampi brings garlic and pasta, fish piccata brings capers and a bright sauce, and a herb pork loin with crackling and apple chutney gives the sage and the spice a roast to meet.