Mount Barker: The Birthplace of the Great Southern Wine Region
Mount Barker is the historical home and the original name of the Great Southern Wine Region. With a terroir that mirrors the region’s diversity, Singlefile explores and celebrates its pioneering history and future potential.
At the centre of the Great Southern wine region, some would say Mount Barker’s defining characteristics can be harder to pin down than its neighbours’, exhibiting similarities of each depending on which corner is being explored. The richness of Frankland River, the delicate notes of Porongurup, and the vibrancy of Denmark and Albany wines can all be found if you know where to look.
The Mount Barker, and Great Southern wine region, story began in 1965 when pioneers Tony and Bette Pearse planted the first experimental vines here. Their vision laid the foundation for Mount Barker’s reputation as a hub of viticultural innovation, a legacy that remains deeply woven into its identity today.
As the wine region’s origin point, it is integral to its development and to that of the surrounding subregions.
Terroir of the Mount Barker Subregion
As the ‘birthplace’ of the Western Australian wine industry, Mount Barker has the most established vineyards of the Great Southern, with aged root stock, some of which is grafted over to Mediterranean varietals in more recent years. The rich ironstone gravels and sandy duplexes contribute to the depth and structure of the wines, forcing vines to dig deep and produce fruit with concentrated flavours. Many vineyards here operate with minimal irrigation, relying instead on natural rainfall to sustain the vines.
With its terroir mirroring the diversity of the greater region, Mount Barker lies at the heart of the Great Southern. The ancient Porongurup Range is located just 25 kilometres to the east, where the dramatic granite rock backdrop delivers a distinctive mineral edge to varieties within its proximity.
Approximately 50 kilometres inland from the Southern Ocean and the coolest of the subregions, Mount Barker’s climate offers strong continental aspects with some maritime influence. An optimal mix of warm, sunny days and cool nights provides ripening conditions ideal for premium cool climate fruit.
Compared to neighbouring Frankland River, Mount Barker’s slightly cooler temperatures often result in wines with more subtle fruit-weight but with a distinctive savoury edge.
Its cabernet sauvignon will typically express herbaceous characters, while layers of black pepper and fine-grained structure are revealed through its shiraz, and delicate citrus and spice notes with flinty minerality in its riesling. Mount Barker’s offerings stand out for their fine tannins and impressive length.
Singlefile and Mount Barker’s Varietal Diversity
For Singlefile, Mount Barker represents both continuity and innovation. Its established vineyards with aged rootstocks offer unmatched consistency and depth, while the Mediterranean varietals emerging from the region add a fresh, exciting dimension to its collection.
“Mount Barker is incredibly important for us, especially for chardonnay and pinot noir,” says Singlefile co-founder and managing director Patrick Corbett. “The climatic differences with Denmark give us some flexibility to pick earlier or later, depending on the vintage.
“Mount Barker pinot noir, for example, offers a richer, more approachable style compared to Porongurup or Albany. You’ll find notes of cherries, strawberries, and, with age, subtle mushroom tones. A touch of whole-bunch fermentation adds phenolic grip, giving the wine depth and complexity.”
The noble grape riesling is undeniably one of the subregion’s most renowned varieties and Singlefile honours this through its Single Vineyard Mount Barker Riesling, which the winery has produced since 2015. The fruit is dry grown on Mount Barker’s south-west plains, exhibiting quintessential subregional lemon and lime zestiness, with a backbone of natural acidity thanks to good winter rainfall, dry spring and cool summer. It captures the lively, flinty minerality expressive of soils influenced by the ancient granite Porongurup Range. Demonstrating its strength as a wine reflective of Mount Barker’s classic elegance and finesse, the wine has consistently garnered critical acclaim.
In addition to these flagship varieties, Singlefile is also championing alternative Mediterranean grapes as the region matures and consumer tastes evolve.
“We’re excited about the Mediterranean varietals like fiano, vermentino, sangiovese, arneis, and gamay—varieties that are growing in importance as Australian tastes shift toward lighter, fresher styles. These wines offer a dynamic range of flavours and textures, perfectly suited to the evolving preferences for lighter, more expressive reds, dry rosés, and complex, textured whites.
“We see gamay as the next step for Mount Barker, following in the footsteps of fiano and vermentino, which started as Small Batch wines and are now staples in our Great Southern range,” says Patrick.
By championing its renowned classics and experimenting with lesser-known alternatives that simultaneously thrive in Mount Barker’s diverse environment, Singlefile celebrates the Great Southern’s unique capability, as a single wine region, to produce one of the widest arrays of outstanding varieties in the world.
World-class Mount Barker Wines
Mount Barker has established a reputation for producing high-quality wines that consistently earn top awards. Pioneering wineries like Plantagenet and Forest Hill Vineyard have led the way, with their single vineyard rieslings, cabernet sauvignon and shiraz regularly achieving critical recognition. Other wineries, such as West Cape Howe and Howard Park, have also garnered accolades for their cabernet sauvignon and shiraz, attesting to Mount Barker’s capability as an award-winning wine region.
A Vision for the Future
Mount Barker’s unique combination of climate, soils, and pioneering spirit has made it a cornerstone of the Great Southern wine region. Its capacity to deliver world-class quality across a spectrum of varietals, from the steely and citrus-driven rieslings to structured and elegant cabernets, highlights its diverse and illustrious terroir.
Mount Barker’s role in the Singlefile story will only deepen in the coming years. With its established vineyards, expanding varietal palette, and reputation for quality, it is not only a workhorse of the Great Southern but a beacon of its innovative spirit.
As Australia embraces lighter reds and textured whites, Mount Barker stands at the forefront of this evolution, with Singlefile leading the charge. Whether through single vineyard wines like riesling and pinot noir, or the exploration of Mediterranean varietals, Mount Barker will continue to define and elevate the Great Southern narrative.