Swinney Riesling 2023 (6 Bottles) Frankland River

by Fine Wine Cellars

$212.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

Vintage 2023 is, in the words of Rob Mann, “really exciting”. Conditions were ideal; cool and dry, with no prolonged heat spikes. The only downside was below-average yields owing to the dry conditions. As he is wont to do, Mann finds the silver lining, telling us the reduced crop levels meant fruit clarity, freshness and acidities were preserved.

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. In this, he’s nailed it; if you thought the 2022 was good, just wait.

“Striking pale straw with green hues. The nose is intense and aromatic with Meyer lemon, honeysuckle, beeswax and oyster shell. The palate is medium bodied with lively, pithy citrus fruits of pomelo and lime in addition to lychee and green papaya, complemented by a spine of slaty acidity and a moreish, briny dry finish.” Swinney

Category:

Description

About Us

In March 2021, the Swinney vineyard was named Vineyard of the Year in the inaugural Young Gun of Wine 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. It’s the Farvie wines below that are at the vanguard of this project.

George John Alexander Swinney was a pioneer of the Frankland River Region. Guided by the Swinney family motto, Quo Fata Vocant—Whither the Fates Call—George settled at ‘Franklands’ in 1922. Located on the banks of the Frankland River, the property features gently undulating hills, dominated by jarrah and redgum trees growing upon ironstone gravel and loam soils. This is where our story begins.

Fate is a funny thing. A perhaps spurious concept for some
 – but for us, a family motto.

Ours is a story that began over one hundred years ago, when George ‘Farvie’ Swinney sailed from England and put down roots in Australia, eventually finding his dream property in ‘Franklands’.

A large grazing property on the banks of the River, George and his beloved wife Mary made this place their home, setting the course for generations to come. And with each generation a new chapter begins. Because with every new custodian of his legacy comes a renewed ambition—to build on Farvie’s story and create something of lasting value.

Fine Wine Cellars

On the one hand, our role as a merchant of all things wine & spirits could not be simpler. We aim to source the most delicious, the most authentic, and the highest quality products possible from Australia and around the world in order to offer them to our clients. We live or die by how well we perform this task. Of course things are rarely as simple or as easy as they seem. Hunting for wines & spirits is no different. Apart from the months spent travelling, countless days and evenings spent tasting and the outrageous wine expenditure in the name of ‘research’, sourcing quality wine and spirits requires expertise and experience. Understanding the potential of a producer and their products is much more than just a slurp and a spit.

Related products