Swinney

Frankland River Syrah

• 

  Vintage 2022
  94 points

“I looked at this over the course of 24 hours and fair to say that it transformed remarkably over that time. I wasn’t much of a fan on day one, so much so that I asked Gary to take a glance at it as well, which resulted in him using the descriptor “blood lip”, which was not only evocative, but deadly accurate. Blood lip. This wine tastes of blood and rust and iron. It’s a medium weight wine, smoky, meaty, sweet with roasted nut characters, peppery through the tannin as much as through the fruit, juiced with plum and red cherry but, as mentioned, bloody with it, ferrous, rusty, distinctive. It’s a dry wine, almost drying, but yet lengthy, and complex in shape as much as in flavour. In truth I disliked this wine, and then loved it. I’m not sure how that’s possible for the one same wine, but over the course of a day it was. As a result I’m recommending this wine, I think it’s excellent, but I’m also suggesting that it be given a decent-length decant.” 94 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

• 

  Vintage 2021
  96 points

“The 2021 Syrah is a haunting, glowing crimson in the glass. I love the tannins here—they’re so good that they compel me to look beyond the fruit and to the structure, which is a rare occurrence. There are notes of pink peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorn, and the fruit has purity, clarity and a supple flow through the mouth. The tension through the finish makes this wine a superb example of Australian Syrah. It is mineral and structured, devoid of heavy oak impact and layered with ductile tannins, supple fruit and spice.” 96+ points, Erin Larkin, The Wine Advocate