2024 Swinney Mourvedre

95 pts
Swinney |Great Southern |Mataro/Mourvedre
A dry-grown Mourvèdre from Swinney – dark, spicy and textural, showing the depth and precision that come from generations of careful farming in Frankland River.

Price:
Sale price$45.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship, only 5 units left
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Description

The Swinney family have been working their Frankland River property for more than a century, and Mourvèdre has become one of their quiet triumphs. The vines are dry-grown in ironstone and gravelly soils, naturally low-yielding and perfectly suited to the variety’s tough, late-ripening nature.

The 2024 season was warm and dry, but careful canopy work and timing kept the balance just right. The fruit was hand-picked, destemmed and sorted by hand before a wild ferment with about 18% whole bunches. It spent just under two weeks on skins, then matured for 11 months in large, seasoned French oak before bottling – unfined and barely filtered.

The wine is deeply coloured and aromatic, showing dark fruit, spice and a gentle earthy edge. Medium-bodied with firm, powdery tannins and plenty of length, it’s both savoury and fresh – a fine example of this enigmatic grape.

95 points
"It's a finely tuned expression... Fantastic drinking."
- Mike Bennie (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points
"A stylish expression of mourvèdre."
- Ray Jordan (Ray Jordan)

95 points - "This comes from dry-grown bush vines, was wild fermented, and spent eleven days on skins; matured in used, large-format oak barrels. Violet floral lift, scents of game meat, a good dose of cinnamon, garam masala, dried cranberry, dark cherry and cola. The palate is similarly set up – chewy and dusty with slender tannins, a core of dark fruit and woody spice, game meat finishes and is accompanied by herbs (fresh, dried and cool). It's a finely tuned expression, pure and fine boned, detailed with fruit, spice and savoury elements. Fantastic drinking." - Mike Bennie (Halliday Wine Companion)

95 points - "This wine, grown from dry-grown bush vines on the Swinney Wilson's Pool Vineyard, illustrates the inherent qualities of mourvèdre in this region, along with distinctive vineyard character. It's medium-bodied with lovely fragrances and the regional influence of a slightly ironstone, ferrous note. The inclusion of 18% whole bunches with wild fermentation has added structure and texture, fleshing out the middle palate well. Further time on lees has built additional complexity. A stylish expression of mourvèdre." - Ray Jordan (Ray Jordan)

94 points - "Dark chocolate, hazelnut, black olive, tamarind, dried mint, quite some exotic spice. It’s inky and dark, a little orange and juniper tang through wholesome dark fruit, a grainy toasted hazelnut grip to tannin, savoury and sappy, quite sooty in texture, with a blood plum and orange tang to close on a finish of excellent length. You want it darker? I’m ready my Lord." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

94 points - "Dry grown vines from the Estate’s Wilson’s Pool Vineyard provide the fruit for what has become one of the country’s best Mourvèdre. Made with wild yeasts, 18% whole bunches and eleven months in large format, older French oak. Vibrant purple in colour, there are notes of warm earth, mulberries, cocoa powder, dry herbs and delicatessen meats. A slightly fleshy style, the wine offers concentration and power, with juicy acidity. It has serious length, finishing with fine powdery tannins. There is so much promise here, a wine which will provide pleasure for at least the next ten years." - Ken Gargett (Wine Pilot)

93 points - "The 2024 Mourvèdre is reductive upon opening, with notes of hung deli meat, pomegranate molasses, graphite, sweet pouch tobacco and hot tarmac. In the mouth, the wine is supple and yet laden with tannin, showing a minty leafiness that overlays the dark fruit notes. The 2024 season in Western Australia was very hot and dry, breaking records across the state. The wine here comes in at a modest 13.7% alcohol, as per last year's wine, and yet this year's iteration feels a little firmer, a little greener, a little drier than last year's magnificent release. Having said all of this, the length of flavor is impressive, owing to the quality winemaking, the vineyard site and the viticulture. This is very good. Sealed under screw cap." - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

90 points - "Deep, dark red colour. Heady and lifted aromas of charcuterie, dark cherry, underbrush, spice, iodone and ferrous earth. Dark fruited, mouth-filling, chewy, powerful and full of spice, dried herbs and grippy, textured tannins. The acidity brings snap and the length is impressive." - Aaron Brasher (The Real Review)

Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews

Based on 3 reviews
67%
(2)
33%
(1)
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G
Gary G.
Swinney Mourvèdre review

Beautiful fragrance spice and length. Very interesting and delicious.

J
John G.
Top Malbec

Beautiful WA Mourvèdre or Malbec as I call it. Special things coming out of Swinney - jump onit.

B
Ben G.
Moody Mourvèdre

Tightly wound and needs decanting, while young especially. Unique style. Solid Mourvèdre which will get the table talking - love it or hate it

Vineyard Notes:

Mourvèdre from dry-grown bush vines on the gravelly-loam soils of our Swinney Wilson’s Pool vineyard. Careful canopy management, fruit thinning and selective hand harvesting over multiple passes, all ensured we achieved as close to perfect fruit as possible.

Production Notes:

The fruit was hand picked in a single day when flavour and tannin maturity were optimum. It was then destemmed, berry sorted and emptied to a single stainless steel fermenter via gravity. We incorporated 18% whole bunches and wild fermentation to build structure and texture as well as highlight the distinctive ferrous qualities, fine structure and wild spice of Mourvèdre. The wine spent 11 days on skins prior to being pressed directly to fine-grained, large-format, seasoned French oak, and was aged on lees for 11 months prior to bottling. The wine was made with minimum effective Sulphites, is unfined and minimally filtered.

Other Notes:

100% Mourvèdre

Price Bracket $41 to $50
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Mataro/Mourvedre
Country Australia
Region Great Southern
Australian State WA
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Ray Jordan
The Real Review
The Wine Advocate
Halliday Wine Companion
Wine Pilot
Critic Score 95
Alcohol 13.5%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Swinney

The Swinney family's roots in Frankland River stretch back over 100 years.

George John Alexander Swinney was a pioneer of the region, settling a grazing property in Franklands in 1922. Today the property is run by fourth generation brother and sister, Matt and Janelle Swinney. They are taking the family property into great new territory.

Bush vines litter the property. Riesling, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre are fining a very happy home on the ironstone slopes above the Frankland River.

Now, with Rhys Thomas as viticulturist and vineyard manager since 2021, and sixth generation winemaker Rob Mann crafting the wines in the cellar, this label is on track to become one of the regional benchmarks in short order.

The Swinney family - Frankland River, WA Swinney

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