Swinney Mourvèdre 2025

95 POINTS

Ray Jordan

This Rhône variety has really found a home in Frankland, and this is another compelling example of the variety. Lovely savoury, mineral notes float across some nice red fruits, with a subtle ironstone edge. The palate is generous but supple, with that fine thread of chalky tannins supported by very gentle oak, handling and controlling the fruit through to a long finish. It's a wine of remarkable complexity and juiciness, with those ripe red fruits and a little blue-fruit character filling out the palate.

94 POINTS

Mike Bennie - Halliday Wine Companion

This has some mettle for the variety. It opens with violet florals, some lavender, a touch of salumi, cherry cola, salt bush, thyme and black pepper. There's a meaty profile to the flavours and richness, but a gravelly burr in the texture. Medium weight, a little sweet earthiness in the taste ledger, lots of dark cherry, a touch of boysenberry and a bit of salted plum. A sinewy pluck to tannin and a faintly minty finish make for a fresh finish. It's very nice drinking.

94 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Frankland River Mourvedre from bush vines which were dry grown, the fruit underwent fermentation with native yeasts after time on skins, before maturation in older large format oak barrels. Few people take on Mourvedre, also known as Mataro, as a solo varietal, and even fewer make a success of it. These guys certainly do. A near opaque, deep red core with a gleaming russet rim, there is an appealing savoury nose here, with notes of mushrooms, black fruits, bacon fat, coffee grinds and garden mulch. A wine of medium length with a firm finish, there is some serious grip to it, although there is good concentration through the entire wine. Superbly structured, it will see ten years in the cellar with ease and drink well for more than that.

94 POINTS

Cyndal Petty - Winepilot

With ripe black fruit and aromas of blackberry jubes hitting first, this is a pretty sleek Mourvèdre. Don’t fret though, there’s plenty of salami and blood sausage underneath. In the mouth, the fruit is tart and bouncy, with raging, sticky tannins and a lovely, effortless flow. The thing about Swinney is that they are meticulous in the vineyard, and this wine is a great example: varietal typicity and pristine fruit are evident before you even begin to ponder winemaking intervention. The finish is slightly charry. Drink with a thick-ass steak and a kick-ass friend.

93 POINTS

Gary Walsh - The Wine Front

Apparently Swinney are now making wines from the Brookland Valley Vineyard, which is a source of very good fruit! And also, very good to see that vineyard in safe family hands, rather than corporate ownership. Anyway, Mataro here. A bit nutty, some floral notes, dried herb and black olive, boysenberry and plum. It’s medium-bodied, a dry grainy silty grip to tannin, some mint, a saline character to the wine, with a nutty finish of good length. Quite fresh, but not a lot of stuffing. A nice wine all up.