Swinney Farvie Mourvedre 2024

97 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

This is not simply one of the best examples of Mourvèdre from Australia, it’s one of the best in the world. Cracking stuff. From the Frankland River region, the fruit is entirely from the Wilson’s Pool Vineyard. These are dry grown, bush vines. The fruit is hand-picked and the team use 100% whole bunches in the fermentation. The wine spends two weeks on skins before maturing for eleven months in large format, older French oak. Deep maroon hue, the nose reveals notes of cassis, blackberries, plums, some fleshy notes, smoked meats, chocolate, dried herbs and a touch of fruitcake. There is a silky texture through to satiny tannins along with very good length. A supple style, this is nicely balanced and the oak has been deftly handled. A fifteen-to-twenty-five-year proposition.

96 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2024 Farvie Mourvèdre is ultra-aromatic from the glass. The fruit sits on the red-purple mulberry and raspberry end of the spectrum, while the tannins are spicy, dusty and profuse in the mouth. The spices err on the side of exoticism, with paprika dolce, pink peppercorn, nutmeg, campfire ash and something akin to persimmon. This is a beautiful wine; it is beguiling, intriguing and highly attractive. While this is a more restrained, tannic iteration than what we saw in 2023, it is defined by its tannic structure and medium-bodied fruit. It's a beauty. 13.6% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

96 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

CM: It’s expressive aromatically and it is in a pure way: it’s not floral, the fruit itself is ebullient. From there it’s one of the more seamless wines that you will encounter, in that the flavour notes all more or less meld as one. This wine presents the united colours of Mourvèdre. A bag of roasted nuts, fresh red and black cherries, leather, mint and almond paste characters all get a run, I guess, though I feel dirty trying to dissect such harmony. This is a wine of emphasis but it’s not a wine of density; it’s medium in weight if not lighter, though its general impact is significant. Tannin. I’ve been meaning to mention tannin. This is one of those wines where the tannin framework has no right to be so good. Drinking this wine is like staring at a large spider’s web, glistening with dew, and marvelling at its intricacy. It’s just bloody ridiculously good – as is the wine in its entirety. 96 Points. GW:Red and black berries, lavender, gum leaf, toasted nuts, spice, some Dutch liquorice. It’s medium to full-bodied, quite meaty and savoury, orange peel, tannin has a dry feel, somewhat desiccated, and kind of furry, acidity has some sappiness, finishes with raspberry and orange flavours on a husky tannin finish of good length. It’s a very good wine, no doubt, though I’m not quite as enthusiastic about it as CM. I most often prefer the standard Swinney wines over Farvie, a style thing perhaps. 94 Points.