Yet another remarkable Rhone variety expressed perfectly from Frankland River. The aim appears to have been to present this as true a reflection of the vineyard as possible. It’s from bush vines and then a combination of whole bunches to build structure, wild fermentation to build texture and then finishing off for 11 months on lees in older French oak. It all contributes to a beautifully expressive wine capturing the distinctive ferrous regionality and the soft supple fruit of the variety with a little dried herb and sage bush lift.
This marvellous rose makes a compelling statement of what modern rose is all about. Has a pale copper and onion skin colour. Then the aromas are a delightful red berry fragrance with light dried herbs and a tweak regional ferrous character. The light bodied palate has a spicy and faint strawberry nuance with just a little Turkish delight. Smooth and textured. Bewdiful.
95 POINTS
Mike Bennie - Halliday Wine Companion
A very fine example of the variety – deeply flavoured, touched with floral and game meat aspects, distinctly herbal and savoury and yet imbued with pitch-black berry fruitiness. It's svelte in the palate, almost a pinosity but for the variety's somewhat gruff exterior and tendency to earthiness and dusty tannins. Beautifully balanced and epic in drinking.
95 POINTS
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 2023 Mourvèdre is a masterclass in elegance: here, we have silty tannins, crushed rocks and spices, dried herbs, sumac, pomegranate and ferrous notes. This is lingering still, and I have more to write without tasting it yet again. The tannins feel smashed into the fruit, pulverized, obliterated within it, and they linger long after the wine has left the mouth. It is chewy, ashy, floral and distinct—super, what a treat. Varietal Mourvèdre can be a wonderful thing, as this is. It was produced with 30% whole bunches, fermented with wild yeast and spent 11 days on the skins prior to pressing to fine-grained, large-format French oak for 11 months of élevage. 13.7% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
94 POINTS
Ken Gargett - Winepilot
The fruit here comes from dry-grown bush vines in the Swinney Wilson’s Pool vineyard. Hand-picked, destemmed, though 30% whole bunches are included, wild fermentation and maturation for eleven months in large format, older French oak. The colour here is a deep strawberry red. Notes of leather, black cherries, licorice, animal skins, soy, cloves and bay leaves are all present on a delightfully perfumed nose. Leaning a little to the savoury end of the spectrum, this is a full force style of Mourvedre with firm tannins and good concentration. The wine exhibits quite a sleek texture and impressive length, with the intensity maintained throughout. Enjoy now and for the next ten to twelve years.
94 POINTS
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front
This is about as polished an expression of Mourvèdre as you will come by. It’s meaty, floral, dark berried, nutty and lightly infused with fragrant herbs, but as much as this it’s characterised by its firm, svelte form. It feels good in the mouth. It feels polished. It finishes with a dry, fruit-filled certainty. It has an admirable freshness as well, and for all its complexity it somehow manages a grapey quality. That’s a good thing. And this is a very good wine.
Angus Hughson - Vinous
The 2023 Mourvèdre Frankland River is a fleshy, upfront expression, offering brooding and compact aromas of leather, spice, animal skin and blackberry. The palate is mid weight, with pliable, powdery dry tannins and subtle textures that lead to a spicy finish.
