RED WINE

 Top of the tree Frankland Estate wine.

Soft, gentle, detailed red of spice, savouriness and very pure feeling and unadorned fruit character. Has some pretty sweetness balanced nicely by fresh acidity, a good deal of fruit concentration, and a general sense of elegance comes to mind. Bright finish, a little crunchy, says hold off drinking for a year or so. Excellent wine. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Front

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

The 2021 Farvie Syrah is lighter and finer than the Mourvèdre, yet it is darker in the glass and more mouthfilling. I suppose, in some ways, the flavour profile here is more expected, yet the tannic structure of the thing is more refined and sleek than I have seen in previous vintages. There are notes of blackberry, star anise, iodine, blueberry, licorice and a slash of bone broth. It also has black pepper and aniseed, but not in the warm-climate framework that we are used to seeing/experiencing from regions like Barossa or McLaren Vale. It is odious to compare, I concede, but important from a contextual standpoint. This is Frankland, with its own signature. It is a profoundly elegant wine now, but it will only be better, more complex, more svelte and more complete as time wears on. (97+) ERIN LARKIN, The Wine Advocate

This wonderful wine marks the continuing evolution of Syrah from Frankland Estate. It was a very good year with the cool ripening period allowing for excellent flavour build up. This is 94% Syrah, 4% viognier and 2% Mourvèdre. Each plays an important role in the final blend. The use of the 470 clone has brought a degree of perfume and elegance to the final wine that is quite beautiful. It’s spicy with a little regional ironstone and black pepper. Smoothly integrated and silky. The oak is deliberately muted with the use of 3500-litre foudres an important part. Outstanding wine. (97) RAY JORDAN, Wine Pilot

Since being planted in 2005, Mourvèdre has evolved with maturing vines to the point it is now ready to go under the Isolation Ridge label in its own right. It’s a variety that I really do like, especially from Frankland River where some very smart examples are starting to emerge. This is certainly one of those. Captures the savoury and slightly dried herb characters of this variety with a regional ironstone ferrous influence. It’s medium boded and beautifully weighted with fine sinewy tannins and well managed oak harmonising perfectly. Beautiful.(96) RAY JORDAN, Wine Pilot

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Nice to have this wine back in town after an absence in 2021. The power and concentration of the vineyard and the style is immediately evident. The intensity strikes immediately on the nose, while once the wine starts to roll across your palate you know you in a head zone of great power. It was a warm and concentrated vintage. Brilliant crimson colour with a bright luminosity and brilliant purity that lifts effortlessly from the glass. Floral notes with a dried herbie sage bush character engages immediately. Dry chalky tannins with a trace of minerally iron filings. It’s vibrant and fleshy with real volume of flavour. Continues to mark its turf as an Australian classic. (98) RAY JORDAN

Now that Farvie is a trio, and not a duo, and the Mourvèdre sits neatly in between the Grenache and Syrah in terms of hue, timbre and attitude, this Grenache seems more succulent, fragrant and blushingly attractive than ever. It is imperceptibly lighter, more rhubarb and pomegranate-tinged and creamier than ever. The colour is a crimson and carmine amalgam, and the nose is akin to a stroll through an Amazonian arboretum. It is sexy, and it knows it, and before it gets too lascivious, on cue, it firms up, dries out and ends with a vicious lick of stern acidity. After such a lavish welcome, this finish is fantastic because it snaps your senses to attention and reminds you that while Farvie Grenache is a consummate charmer, beneath the surface, it is a weaponised wine with extraordinary skill. (19+/20) MATTHEW JUKES

 

I think this has claims to be the finest Farvie Syrah yet in its relatedly short history. The colour is just brilliant and bright with a glowing purely crimson hue. Power, intensity and concentration delivered with such poise. Bright red fruits with floral dark cherry and a little black olive adds to its nuanced capture on the nose. The palate is sublime, almost perfect, in its structure, poise and delivery. The sweet natural fruits are balanced and aligned with the fine minerally, ironstone ferruginous characters. Continues to redefine the Australian varietal style.(99) RAY JORDAN

The colour alone stops you in your tracks because it is as near-black as possible, interwoven with ravishing midnight blue and sanguineous red tones. The nose seems to take its instruction from the colour, with a profoundly deep engine of malevolent, night-walker-style blackberry and black cherry tones, shot through with Swedish liquorice, fresh peaty soil and cracked black peppercorns. If Nosferatu, Voldemort, Moriarty and Sauron caught up on a day off, they would drink this wine. And given its freshness and purity, it wouldn’t leave them slow off the mark after their rendezvous because, for all of the awe-inspiring qualities in the glass, this is one of the most dynamic Syrahs on earth. Lividity and dynamism join forces to make this another remarkable declaration of the power and poise found in the great Frankland River terroir brought to the fore by inspirational winemaking. (19.5+/20) MATTHEW JUKES

Having fallen head over heels with this wine in the 2021 vintage, my stomach was in knots when I approached the 2022 in Perth. Would ‘second album syndrome’ strike? Not a chance. This wine’s fanfare is all-encompassing, with an epic nose that is striking, fruit-packed and sophisticated. There are abundant rose petals, plum and red cherry notes, and sensual waves of florality and bounteous juiciness are countered by intense, brittle minerality. The acid line scours the palate with masochistic striations that form the tramlines on which this wine delivers its message with tireless accuracy. And then you notice that something is missing. Unlike virtually every other mesmeric Mourvèdre on earth, oak is seemingly missing. Of course, this is an illusion because behind every cache of flavour molecules sits a silent oak nuance, hidden from view but doing the covert task of adding grandeur and detail without craving any credit. This is another jaw-dropping wine, and it stands a chance of running a longer race than the 2021, too, so be sure to secure your stock. (19.5+/20), MATTHEW JUKES

The second iteration of this wine (tasted pre-release), which is quickly rising to icon status in Swinney’s portfolio. Tiny production from bushvines, the fruit is harvested in three passes wild fermented in whole bunches and matured in old oak. Currently tightly wound and holding its cards close to its chest, its starry journey ahead is clear. Vibrant, densely knit dark black plum aromas with a jewel-like clarity, along with violets, star anise, eucalypt, heady ferrous notes and crushed earth. Tannins might be tight and bunched up in their youth, but they are chalky and fine in structure, and the long line of delicate acidity helps deliver waves of flavour long after the last sip. Complex, vivacious and nuanced; a new Mourvèdre benchmark has been set. (98) CASSANDRA CHARLICK, Decanter

This is the second vintage of the Farvie Mourvedre and takes the excellent ’21 up a notch. It has a dry, savoury and slightly ferruginous rusty nail character offsetting the sweet floral notes on the nose. The palate is a superb interpretation of the variety in these Frankland soils. There is a slightly greater volume of fruit than ’21, bit it retains the same Old-World charm and expression. Chalky tannins and balanced use of oak. Tasted this about 4 months apart and already the shy middle palate I first saw has started to unfurl. Energy and vibrancy set this apart. A worthy addition to the Farvie triumvirate. (98) RAY JORDAN

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!