Swinney Grenache 2020

Swinney Grenache is a Frankland River red from the region's first bush-vine Grenache plantings.

A love of southern Rhône and Priorat reds is what prompted Matt Swinney to plant Grenache in the late 1990s, when nobody in the Great Southern was doing it, using massale cuttings from David Hohnen and giving the vines the ironstone hilltops. The hunch paid off. Two wines now come off those bush vines, and both are fed by ruthless selection: each vine is picked over three times and anything short of perfect is declassified. The 2020 is 86 per cent Grenache with seven per cent each of Mourvèdre and Syrah, all off established, dry-grown bush vines, picked by hand. Wild ferment with 41 per cent whole bunches, a fortnight on skins, then 600-litre demi-muids with no new wood.

Red-fruited and spicy, with dried herbs, a saline savour and the fine chalky tannin this site is known for. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. It works with roast chicken and garlic, lamb backstrap or a tomato and white bean stew.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.