Swinney Riesling 2023
$32.99
SPECIAL BUY 6 or more. Stunning Frankland River Riesling, stellar vintage in 2023.
Description
Siblings Matt and Janelle Swinney have created something very special in the Frankland River region of the Great Southern in WA. The vineyards are part of remote and isolated 2,500 (approx. 6,000 acres) hectare grape growing and grazing property which has been the home of the Swinney family for four generations.
George John Alexander Swinney was a pioneer of the Frankland River Region and settled at ‘Franklands’ in 1922. The ‘Franklands’ property sit on ironstone gravel hill tops above the Frankland River and produce wines that have a distinctly ferrous character – a character strongly associated with the highest quality Frankland River fruit.
Bush vine viticulture is their passion and, with the right site selection and varieties, produces some of the most site-specific fruit you will see. Growing vines this way is labour intensive and requires a lot of dedication and patience – everything must be done by hand, but the lower yield and greater effort is worth the effort! Low-yielding and growing naturally without trellising, bush vines are a rarity in Western Australia and exemplify the Swinney’s long term commitment to producing wines that are a true expression of their unique sites and variety and in as natural and unforced manner as possible.
Winemaker, Rob Mann (grandson of the legendary Jack Mann—the godfather of Western Australian wine)– joined the Swinney team in 2018, whose philosophy is simple—to reflect and preserve the personality of each individual vineyard site. To achieve this, we harvest by hand—often with multiple passes over the same vine—fruit and berry sort and co-ferment where possible.
“There is no question that this vineyard and the style being crafted under one of Australia’s finest winemakers, Rob Mann, have redefined syrah and grenache. These are now the established benchmarks and should be on the buy-now list for anyone with an interest in contemporary Australian wine.” Ray Jordan, The West Australian, 2021
When Matt and Janelle Swinney first decided to plant Grenache and Mourvèdre, many questioned their wisdom, saying the grapes wouldn’t ripen. As it turned out, under Swinney’s uncompromising management, this cool, ironstone pocket of Frankland River now looks like the promised land for these Mediterranean varieties.
Swinney was named 2020 Vineyard of the Year in the inaugural Young Gun of Wine Australian Vineyard of the Year Awards. “The scale of the vineyard, coupled with their pinpoint focus and pursuit of innovation, and the quality of the resulting wines, is truly extraordinary and inspiring”, the judges said.
As with all the wines, attention to detail is key. This dazzling riff on Frankland River Riesling is drawn from hand-selected fruit from two of Swinney’s oldest blocks, where precise vineyard management–including the rare use of shade cloth to protect the grapes from the afternoon sun–is employed to eliminate any excessive exposure to the sun. Careful bunch selection also eliminated any fruit that has been subject to excessive sun exposure.
In the winery, Robert Mann utilised whole-bunch pressing before natural fermentation in stainless steel, and the wine was rested on lees to preserve freshness and build texture prior to bottling.
About the 2023: “From a stellar vintage that produced outstanding wine quality across all varieties with concentration and vibrancy, great acidity and structure. Striking pale straw with green hues. The nose is intense and aromatic with Meyer lemon, honeysuckle, beeswax and oyster shell. The palate is medium-bodied with lively pithy citrus fruits of pomelo and lime in addition to lychee and green papaya complimented by a spine of slaty acidity and a moreish briny dry finish.”
Brand new release … reviews of 2022 – 92 points, James Halliday “This riesling’s citrus birthright ranges as far afield as orange and grapefruit, in addition to a whisk of passionfruit, but it doesn’t have the expected acidity to drive the finish and aftertaste.”
RRP $41 Our Special Price $33.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
Additional information
Producer | Swinney |
---|---|
Region or Country | Australia, Frankland River, Western Australia |
Variety | Riesling |
Vintage | 2023 |
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.