Regions

Margaret River

Sauvignon Blanc

Oh yes. First sniff and you know you’re in the savvy zone. Bursting with vibrant fresh passionfruit and apply characters with a decent hit of citrus/ The palate is lively with punchy fruit flavours showing those slightly gooseberry and minerally herbal notes. Zingy acid completes an excellent wine. This is a pure savvy, but there’s a little more here in...

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

An elegant and polished medium bodied cabernet from this cooler Margaret River vintage. The aromas are leafy blackcurrant with black olive and oyster shell nuances. The palate is smoothly integrated with fine chalky tannins threading through the fruit. Dark plum and blackberry with the sweet berry fruit offset by the minerality and chalky tannins.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

A more opulent and richer cabernet than the previous cooler vintage. The aromas of black cherry and blackcurrant burst from the glass, chased with a little bay leaf and cedar. The palate is loaded with dark fruits and delivered with a medium body. Richer dark chocolate and mocha-like nuances emerge. Excellent drinking in the shorter term.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

You're getting tremendous bang for your buck with this classy cabernet from the '24 vintage. The nose is unmistakably Margaret River. Lashings of blackcurrant, black olive, a little bay leaf, dark chocolate — it's all in there. But then the palate delivers with perhaps the most structured and classically defined expression of Margaret River cabernet yet under this label. It's...

Margaret River

Chardonnay

An appealing chardonnay from this very good vintage. The aromas open with a citrussy butterscotch and quince paste combination. The light bodied palate is loaded with crunchy melon and citrus fruit laced together with a fine juicy acidity and neat use of oak. Has a lively minerality to lift. Idea drinking in the shorter term.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

An appealing chardonnay from this very good vintage. The aromas open with a citrussy butterscotch and quince paste combination. The light-bodied palate is loaded with crunchy melon and citrus fruit laced together with a fine, juicy acidity and neat use of oak. Has a lively minerality to lift. Idea drinking in the shorter term.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

The early picking in this very warm season in Margaret River perfectly suited chardonnay. In this case, it's provided the basis for the best Ringbolt chardonnay yet released. Lovely aromas of melon and light grapefruit with a subtle quince paste and brioche element. The palate is rich and textured, medium-weight, with good length and a crisp, lingering acidity.

Geographe

Red Blend

This is an exciting example of what can be achieved with quality fruit from Geographe. Colby Quirk has handled it with kid gloves, not pushing it too hard. The bright red malbec was given 18 months in French oak and the shiraz 18 months in American before they came together. The Mulberry plummy dried herb thing on the nose works...

Swan Valley

Malbec

This is 80% malbec with the rest shiraz. It is a combination of fruit from Donnybrook, where ripe generosity is a feature, and the Swan Valley which brings a generous softness. It was treated with kid gloves that included hand plunging in small open fermenters and pressing into new oak. Has a powerful opulence about it from the intense driving...

Swan Valley

Red Blend

This has developed into an excellent wine for Riverbank, and it's sourced from a combination of Donnybrook Malbec and Swan Valley Shiraz from Riverbank's own estate. The two wines were kept separate in small open fermenters before pressing directly into new oak. The Malbec was in there for 20 months in French hogsheads, and interestingly, the Shiraz spent 20 months...

Pemberton

Chardonnay

This is a beautiful sparkling wine that clearly demonstrates the strength of Pemberton for sparkling wines that rank with the best in the country. The nose has a red apple and pear character with some richer stone fruits. The palate is creamy with a distinctive fresh bready brioche complexity. This is a classy sparkling wine.

Margaret River

Chardonnay

This is a most impressive intensely flavoured and expressive chardonnay from a vintage that produced wines of real power. A nutty cashew and stone fruit combo works with a rich mealy character. The palate is seamless with a butterscotch and slightly saline addition. Nice wine.

Swan Valley

Zinfandel

In Australia, this variety is known as zinfandel. But the decision was made to go back to its Italian roots some years ago. This is a generous and full-flavoured zin, but not to the extremes that it can be when it's allowed to get too ripe. On the nose, there's that vibrant lift of raspberry and sarsaparilla, with even a...

Swan Valley

Red Blend

This is about a 50/50 blend of these two varieties and it has had no oak. On the nose there is a fragrant blue and black fruit combination. It may not have had oak, but it has structure, with supple tannins in support. Quite a juicy and flavoursome wine. It is rich and delicious, with juicy fruit as it drives...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

This is a simply delicious example of this famous variety from the Swan. Aromas are quite floral with notes of pear, apple, and a slightly pastry crumble character. The acid is clean and crisp, and there is a lovely textural feel on the palate, which will continue to evolve with further cellaring. These are just thoroughly scrumptious wines for drinking...

Swan Valley

White Blend

Here is the quintessential Swan Valley variety. It’s grown in front of the winery. Beautiful, refined and delicate fruit, but with plenty of flavour intensity. Such beautifully integrated acidity. It’s a fine and precise wine, but there is tremendous fruit depth and drive within its light body.

Swan Valley

Rose

Riverbank Estate Rebellious Dry Rose 2025 ($26) This is a blend of mostly tempranillo and other varieties. Tempranillo is ideal as a rosé variety, with its floral flavour combination creating a complex and interesting wine, albeit with light body. Beautiful floral notes and then a palate which is textured and dry, with that savoury finish ideal for current drinking and...

Swan Valley

Rose

A blend of 10 red varieties that grow on the property. It’s a delightfully fragrant and refined rosé style. This has a nice fruit weight on the palate, with a purity and energy that is apparent immediately. Has nice texture, which is supported by a salivating crunchiness that makes it so appealing.

Swan Valley

White Blend

This is a combination of verdelho and semillon. Has plenty of fruit intensity here, with that punchy tropical citrus infusion from the verdelho so prominent. The semillon provides a nice edgy lemon character. Plenty of flavour through to a long finish. This is a very tidy wine.

Swan Valley

White Blend

This has verdelho, semillon and a little vermentino. Has a beautiful aroma of florals, spice and citrus. The palate is clean and crisp, with the vermentino playing a crucial role in fine-tuning and focusing through to a long finish. This is a beautiful current-drinking wine.

Swan Valley

Red Blend

Riverbank Estate Rebellious Field Blend Red 2023 ($19.50) This blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, petit verdot and malbec is from the Swan Valley. It is a delicious wine for current drinking. Loads of ripe red fruit presented with medium-bodied and typical Swan Valley softness. Bright and vibrant, screaming for some pasta. Score: 90/100 Cellar: 5 years

Swan Valley

Red Blend

This is a blend of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and malbec. An elegant and refined medium-bodied red with highly fragrant, perfumed fruits and a wonderfully approachable, fieldy, easy-drinking palate. Soft with fine, delicate tannins and was only in tank. It’s drinking so well now as a current-drinking wine that would even handle slight chilling in summer. Has good structure and poise.

Swan Valley

Rose

This is a combination of the pressings from all varieties grown on the property. Lovely floral, watermelon and cranberry notes on the nose. The palate is certainly slightly sweet, but the balancing acidity keeps it precise and long, with a balanced finish. It’s a beautiful current-drinking wine, and I reckon a plate of fresh fruit would be perfect.

Swan Valley

Grenache

A light to medium-bodied grenache brimming with all the bright red fruits you expect with grenache. Highly floral notes with a lift a juby raspberry and rose petal subtleties. A wine for drinking in the shorter term.

Swan Valley

Grenache

A variety that just does so well in the Swan Valley, and this year has proved quite exceptional. Opens with those typical red fruit aromas showing a nice strawberry–raspberry combination with a slightly confectionery character. The colour is quite pale, but that can be deceptive. Because even though it's medium to light bodied, there's a deep flavour intensity here with...

Swan Valley

Red Blend

Another ripe, juicy wine from this hot vintage. Hot it may have been, but clearly clever viticulture and winemaking have contributed to a wine that is distinctly fruit-driven and beautifully balanced and poised. Has a lot of stewed rhubarb character. Has 18 months in older oak. It’s drinking really well now.

Swan Valley

Red Blend

This is a terrific example of this blend, with the soft and generous malbec a feature. Loaded with a plummy, rhubarb-like red fruit aroma, while the palate is absolutely seamless, integrated and delicious. Has a beautiful chalky tannin influence.

Swan Valley

Grenache

Grenache makes some of the best wines from the Swan and this one in what was a very warm early start to vintage absolutely nails it. Medium-bodied with fragrant rose petals and earthy raspberry nuances. The palate is just delightful with sweet fruit balanced by understated oak, fine tannins and a little herby savoury touches on the finish.

Swan Valley

Semillon

Another beautiful example of this site. Has a nice texture and flavour profile. Aromas of lemon zest and a little lemon meringue, and then a palate which is flavoursome and intense, but with such impeccable balance and purity. Has a certain minerality. A little barrel-fermented pressings have been added to give it texture and richness. Contributes to the texture.

Swan Valley

Tempranillo

Tempranillo from this estate is consistently outstanding. The bright red fruits with the raspberry nuances and leafy dried herbs characters provide such a beautiful opening on the nose. The palate is loaded with confectionary red fruit carrying that slightly raspberry character through to the long finish. A cracking wine for current drinking.

Swan Valley

Red Blend

There have been some solid temps from this vineyard, and this blend with just a little grenache works mighty well. Ripe red cherry and raspberry fruits with some nice spicy dried herb notes. It’s soft and supple with a generous middle palate displaying typical plumpness. Oh, yeah, we’re ready to drink.

Swan Valley

Red Blend

Plenty of ripe red berry fruits evident, and the dominance of the Mediterranean tempranillo has obviously contributed to that. Beautiful raspberry and slightly spicy red fruits, with a palate that is soft and generous, with fine, understated tannins and a little oak. Had about 18 months in largely older oak. Has a nice soft, medium-bodied style but plenty of flavour.

Swan Valley

Verdelho

This was quite a cool year in WA, and it suited the Swan Valley and this variety in particular. It shows you the remarkable lingering qualities of verdelho in the Swan. Still has a zingy fresh acidity, some lovely stone fruit, and a nice lemony, slightly melon character adding to the mid-palate. It's still drinking with remarkable youthfulness and vibrancy....

Swan Valley

Verdelho

You can clearly see the link between this young verdelho and the mature release 2017, which has also come out this year. This one's just bursting with lovely fruit qualities. There are some nice nectarine and guava characters, with plenty of tropical fruit complexity. It's quite fine at the moment and holding things pretty close, but it will continue to...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

This fits snugly into the Swan Valley verdelho style. Plenty of flavour and intensity with great length and power. Lightly tropical and neatly integrated lemony citrus. Plenty of flavour on the palate with a clean, crisp, long finish.

Swan Valley

Verdelho

Another beautiful example of the finer, cleaner style of verdelho that shows great intensity and power. Has a nice flavour profile with a nice spicy, gingery note. The striking feature is its vibrancy and vitality, which extends with a pure, long finish. This is classic verdelho character with none of the excessive phenolics that you can get.

Swan Valley

White Varietal

This is a variety that has worked really well in the Swan Valley. In this case, it's got just a few years of bottle age on it, and it's starting to show some attractive new characters. It starts with the typical pear and apple of young vermentino, but then has developed some nice, slightly nutty, creamy characters which bring a...

Swan Valley

White Varietal

This has been a consistent hit for Riverbank. The fruit comes from a low-lying vineyard in front of the winery. Aromas of pear and citrus with some spicy elements. It’s made without oak and is designed as a fresh, current-drinking wine with lively acidity. This one has nice texture and an excellent flavour profile.

Great Southern

Cabernet Sauvignon

A mighty impressive example of why the 2018 vintage in WA has been so revered. One take of the aromas and you are immediately engaged with the dried herbs, cedar and bright blue and red fruits. Then the palate captures those characters and more with faint hints of graphite and light bay leaf. Will cellar for many years.

Margaret River

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a vintage that I have increasingly come to appreciate even more than. And this stylish medium bodied cabernet is a perfect reason why. It’s an effortless wine the delivers with such poise. The nose has a slightly meaty blackcurrant character with traces of oyster shell minerality and black olive. The palate is seamlessly integrated with a deft touch...