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.
About this wine: 2025 saw another warm and dry year which, alongside well-maintained vine vigour and good vine health, allowed the Swinney team to harvest 1-2 weeks earlier than avaerage. The fruit was pristine and intensely concentrated: a winemakers dream.
The first key to understanding Swinney’s Riesling style is to appreciate the farming. All blocks are organic and dry-farmed, the vines are cane-pruned and the row orientation is north to south. The team uses shade cloth in the Riesling blocks, protecting the bunches from excessive sun exposure and avoiding any roasted character in the fruit. Such precise vineyard management goes some way to explaining the wine’s purity and transparency.
The second key is in the cellar, where Rob Manns’s search for structure and texture reigns supreme. The fruit (from two of Swinney’s oldest blocks in the Powderbark vineyard) is whole bunch-pressed and fermented with indigenous yeast in stainless steel with a high component of solids. This approach “builds nuance and a saline core in the wine”, according to Mann. He’s not looking for austerity, rather he is seeking something more textural and aromatic with flavour complexity and a high degree of fruit purity.
From the winemaker about this wine: “The nose is perfectly ripe with an intense combination of lemon pith, jasmine blossom, nectarine and green tea. Medium bodied on the palate, the wine carries a density of citrus fruit with touches of white peach and honeysuckle. Fine-boned. with a spine of pithy acidity, the wine is defined by its characteristic briny dry finish.”
93 points, Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion “From two blocks off the Swinney Estate vineyard. Whole-bunch pressed; three months on lees. Neat and tidy winemaking, plus the significant site, conspire to create a tightly wound, tangy and refreshing expression of classic lines and intense acidity. It’s piercing and zesty, with limes, pink grapefruit, just-ripe cumquat, a light talc note, some slate and steel, with a briny mineral profile in there, too. Compact, youthful and vigorous. A delicious drink, offering key simplicity with some pizzazz.”
91 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front “Whole bunch pressed. Three months on lees. It’s a little wooly, lime and grapefruit, lemon myrtle scents, with something of a cheesy character. Intense, a bit of grip and powdery texture, a little salty, some tangerine and apricot juiciness, a slightly rugged and grainy feel closes out a finish of good length. Quite a robust style but lots of flavour and vigour here.”
94 points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review “Pale lemon in the glass with papaya, nettle and seaspray aromatics. Good citrus and papaya intensity, saline minerality adding detail and accentuating the drive of acidity. Textural sweetness sits through the centre but allows a long, well dried finish.”
RRP $44 Our Special Price $36.50 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
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