Mount Barker is a small Australian wine sub-region at the heart of Great Southern, near the southern coastline of Western Australia. It is named after the small town at its centre, itself named after the nearby Mount Barker Hill three miles (5km) away. There are a number of small, family-owned wineries here, but there is also growing interest from larger companies keen to add a unique 'Mount Barker' element to their wine portfolios. The area is generally held to be the birthplace of Western Australia's modern wine industry in the 1960s.
Mount Barker has only a relatively small output of wine every vintage, but is known for the high quality of its Riesling, Chardonnay and – as the early 21st century progresses – Pinot Noir. Riesling is the white wine specialty here (and across Great Southern), with its crisp, citrusy style matched in few Australian regions outside Eden and Clare. The cool nights and mineral soils are given credit for this fresh style – the former a relief after hot summer days, the latter a characteristic of the wider region best shown in the hills of neighboring Porongurup. Apples were widely grown in the area until the 1960s when vineyards began to take over.
The Mount Barker climate is of Mediterranean type, moderated by the mass of the Southern Ocean, just 30 miles (50km) away. The cooling effects are emphasized by the slightly increased elevation here, which reaches from 500 to 1000ft (150–300m) around Mount Barker itself. The regular sea breeze which blows inland on hot summer afternoons is a significant boon to local vineyards, and has certainly contributed to the style and quality of locally grown wines. In Albany, immediately to the south, this wind is known as the 'Albany Doctor', after the more famous 'Fremantle Doctor' which cools the baked vineyards of the Swan District near Perth. Typically Mount Barker receives a little less rain during the growing season than its neighbors and has a slightly earlier harvest – up to two weeks before Porongurup. In terms of soil, the region is distinguished by its free-draining gravelly loams and mineral-rich laterite.
Despite the current focus being on cool climate styles of Riesling and Pinot Noir, the standard Australian favorites – Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Chardonnay – are also widely grown here. Great Southern Shiraz often has a distinctly earthy, peppery, spiced cherry element, reminiscent of the northern Rhone. In general, local winemakers tend to use less vanillin-imparting American oak than their opposite numbers in the east of Australia, which permits this style to shine through.
