Swan Valley

Grenache

Another variety that excels in the Swan Valley, sourced from old, dry-grown vines. Open fermentation with wild yeasts and whole-bunch inclusion add dimension before maturation in French oak. Medium-bodied and brightly floral with raspberry and rose petal notes. The palate is beautifully integrated, supported by fine chalky tannins and understated oak. A superb expression of Swan Valley grenache.

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

A wonderful example of Swan Valley chenin blanc. Fermented in stainless steel and left on lees prior to blending and bottling. The result is tremendous depth of fruit with a lively, sprightly palate of spicy citrus, apple and tropical fruit. Lees influence gives a slightly creamy texture that balances fine, precise acidity, carrying through to a long finish. A terrific...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

This wine was introduced a couple of years ago, and it's an absolute cracker. It's made from hand-picked Swan Valley chenin blanc, which was then bunch sorted before a very gentle pressing. This gets the most from the beautiful fruit, which, despite the warm year, was exceptional. This isn't a big fruit bomb. In fact, it's quite spicy and fine...

Swan Valley

Muscat

Glorious statement of this famous Swan valley style. Multi-layered complexity of toffee and luscious honey and raisins. There's stone fruit vanilla bean and licorice swirling through the thick unctuous palate. Has been freshened with some younger material to add some zip to the finish. Average age of the wine is 20 years with the base blend of vintages between 1974...

Swan Valley

Grenache

The fruit source for this excellent current drinking grenache is the Swan Valley and that makes sense. It's made as a minimal intervention wine after hand picking and in this case was fermented with some whole bunches and then the use of carbonic maceration to really lift the palate and bring those vibrant fresh young red fruits to the fore....

Swan Valley

Shiraz

This has been a terrifically consistent wine from Faber, made from the best fruit they can source from their Swan Valley vineyard and some nearby vineyards. It was another very good year in the Swan Valley, and this one delivers with power and opulence, balanced with the typical Swan Valley softness and generosity. Bright floral notes with dark red fruits...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

The planets aligned in this season all across the state, especially in the Swan Valley, where the reds show incredible depth and intensity with beautiful aromatic floral notes adding to the appeal. Griffiths has been producing this for a while, and each year it comes up trumps. He uses seasoned American and French oak, which contributes to its richness and...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

This is a thoroughly exquisite mature verdelho from the Swan Valley. It shows the remarkable versatility of this wine and this variety. The extra time in the bottle has allowed it to develop a lovely toastiness that’s evident immediately on the nose, adding to the rich, textured feel on the palate. It still retains a delightfully fresh acidity, sustained through...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

Griffiths introduced this wine a few years ago, and you can immediately see the essential difference between this and the standard chenin. The richness and weight on the palate, along with the added complexity, are immediately apparent. It captures all that’s good about chenin blanc, with bright acidity, intense fruitiness, and, with the pressings, another layer of immense appeal. A...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

A brilliant expression of Swan Valley verdelho. It comes from what was a very good year, where the fruit came in impeccably balanced with crisp acidity and beautifully complete fruit characters. This one is laced with stone fruit, albeit restrained and highlights the fresh cut nectarine and subtle peachiness that is the variety. A little added citrus adds some tang,...

Swan Valley

Muscat

Oh, yes, we're in a heady zone here with a wine that speaks of the Swan Valley. The colour immediately suggests some age, and then the aromas lift with typical dark chocolate, fruitcake, and rich butterscotch with a slightly violet crumble character. The palate is deeply layered and intense, with extraordinary complexity that builds on the Solera system of blending...

Swan Valley

Grenache

Grenache in a good season in the Swan Valley is pretty hard to beat. A lot of detail has gone into making this wine, with vine selection, bunch selection, and then handpicking before further hand sorting. It's a dry-grown single vineyard of old bush vines, with the fruit wild yeast fermented, then bottled unfined and unfiltered using the gravity flow...

Swan Valley

Tempranillo

This exciting wine comes from a single vineyard in the Swan Valley, where there are five clones of this variety. It gets some interesting winemaking after handpicking and bunch sorting. It was tossed into open-top fermenters, then matured in seasoned oak. All of this retains the strongly fruit-driven characters of this variety. It was a warm year, and yet, it...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

It was a very good season for chenin blanc in the Swan Valley, and this one is living, vibrant proof. It's not the big fruit bomb that you often get, but instead, there is a highly flavoursome, controlled, linear expression of the variety with subtle, understated stone fruits and florals, with a fine citrus edge, and even a little lemon...

Swan Valley

White Varietal

It's good to see this Spanish variety making an appearance in Western Australia. It's such a popular variety in north-western Spain. The aroma opens with a lovely citrus, minerally floral note, and even traces of musk stick. The palate is light, but there's an intensity here, and it is beautifully balanced and precise. This is an exciting development for Sittella,...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

This is a more controlled and refined expression of the verdelho from the Swan Valley. The aromas have a floral, light stone fruit, and citrus edge. The palate is soft, yet with a fine, lively acidity that carries through to the finish. This is not a big fruit bomb, but there is flavour within, and it drives forward with precision...

Swan Valley

White Blend

This is a combination of Swan Valley chenin, verdelho, chardonnay, and semillon. And it's captured so much about what this style should be. There's flavour, there's mouth feel, and there's vibrancy and freshness. This is certainly one of the better wines I've seen under this brand. And if you said you were spending $25, that would be perfectly fine. Love...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

Rodgers and Hammerstein, Simon and Garfunkel, chenin blanc, and the Swan Valley. They're combinations that just make sense. This one's a cracking wine from what was one of the best seasons for chenin in recent years, and there've been some pretty good ones. Loaded with all the tropical, dried herb, spicy, cut line characters that you want with this variety....

Swan Valley

Verdelho

Not only is this one of the great wines of the Swan Valley, it is one of the great wines of Australia. Liqueur verdelho has found a home in the valley many years ago, and this example is absolutely stunning - a perfect example of the fortified style that the warm climes of Western Australia do so well. The aroma...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

A first-rate example of chenin blanc, a variety the Swan Valley does so well. The fruit comes from Rockets Vineyard, planted by Tony Mann many years ago. Cliff has used a combination of whole bunch pressing with a very high solids component, adding deep, rich complexity, with natural fermentation further contributing to that layered feel. It has had some time...

Swan Valley

Grenache

I do like this example of an old bush vine-generated Swan Valley grenache. It was an outstanding year, and it has been captured so well. The nose is highly perfumed with scented rose petals and raspberry. In the winery, it was naturally fermented with some whole bunches using a pinot technique, and then matured only in old oak. So, this...

Swan Valley

Fiano

Fiano is a variety that has found a home in most areas of the state. This one is interesting. It has had a little time with skin contact and was naturally fermented, which has given it that deeper, richer intensity that is so appealing. The wild ferment certainly brought additional palate and aromatic complexity. It is sort of nutty and...

Swan Valley

Red Blend

If you're looking for soft, supple and generous red wine drinking on a budget, it's pretty hard to go past this excellent combination of these two varieties from the Swan Valley. It has a nice aroma of plummy spiciness with a lifted rose petal nuance. The palate is vibrant, punchy and medium-bodied, and loaded with flavour. Excellent drinking over the...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

If you ever wanted an example of how good shiraz from the Swan Valley can be, here is a perfect wine. It illustrates the wonderful soft, supple fruit of Swan Valley shiraz, beautifully captured in what was a stunning year. This is as good as any shiraz I’ve seen from the Valley over the last few years. It's soft, it's...

Swan Valley

Red Blend

The first thing you notice is the colour—brilliant crimson and ruby red hues. The nose is all swirling red berries with lifted perfumed florals. On the palate, the three varieties combine in a mix of red berry, cherry and spice, with just a little sprinkling of dried herbs. It's medium-bodied with a fine thread of chalky tannin and a gentle...

Swan Valley

Rose

As rosés go, this one absolutely nails it. It's an interesting mix of grenache, tempranillo and cournoise. It's pale pink, lightly onion-skinned, and quite brilliant in colour. The nose shows a lovely light red berry and red apple mix, and the palate, while light-bodied, has a lovely texture and mouthfeel, sustained to a long finish by crisp, fine acidity. A...

Swan Valley

Chenin Blanc

It was a good year for chenin in the Swan Valley, and this stacks up with any yet released from Nicola. It's balanced, has great flavour, and shows wonderful length. This captures everything you want in the variety. On the nose, you get a mix of melon and light citrus, while on the palate there’s a crunchy, crisp acidity sustaining...

Swan Valley

White Blend

This is a wonderful blend of chenin blanc, verdelho, chardonnay and sémillon from the Swan Valley. It was such a good season and has produced fruit that is generous, refined and impeccably balanced. There are loads of stone fruits and citrus swirling through it, along with a sort of crunchy, apple-pear-like character that runs deep. Seamless, balanced, and just perfect...

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

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

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

Muscat

From one of the great names in Australian fortified wines. The base wine for this great liqueur muscat was picked in 1983 after which the best vintages were chosen to be regularly blended. It is a smooth and mellow wine with all the complex and intrigue of caramel, honey and chocolate swirling through the aromas and then into a multi-layered...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

The blend for this remarkable liqueur shiraz began in 1981 and now includes 15 different vintages. The wines are blended in old brandy casks and now reveal aromas of concentrated dark chocolate, coffee, caramel and raisiny toffee. It’s dense and multi-layered with richness and complexity that builds relentlessly to a very long finish.

Swan Valley

Muscat

This luscious, fabulous muscat from the Swan Valley remains a work in progress, in that when the vintage is right it is blended back into the older wine that dates back over many years. This is as good a blend as I have tasted. Raisiny, caramel, dark toffee, spice and dark chocolate. The colour is even starting to develop a...

Swan Valley

Muscat

Rich and unctuous wine made from Swan Valley muscadelle. Aromas of toffee and caramel with a high spirity tone adding lift. The palate is rich with a typical muscat texture. Good palate length from a mid palate of complexity

Swan Valley

Shiraz

The fruit for this exceptional Swan Valley shiraz comes from Griffiths’ Faber vineyard. Seriously dark, almost opaque colour of deep red and black. Aromas of spices, dark chocolate and rich ripe plum burst open on the nose. Then the inky palate releases a mass of rich black fruit flavours of great power but with an effortless almost elegant presentation. It’s...

Swan Valley

Petit Verdot

Griffiths has managed to coax and control the absolute best features from this variety. It can get away from you with, but everything has been expertly harnessed. Intense black fruits, with dark chocolate and a lift of cherry and violet. The mid-palate softness is a feature. A thoroughly engaging wine for current drinking while those jubey red fruits are so...

Swan Valley

Shiraz

A really bright and concentrated vibrant red wine from the Swan Valley. The colour radiates bright red and crimson hues. The nose has an intense combo of red fruit with raspberry and plummy notes. The palate is vibrant medium bodied with a jubey delicious red fruit flavour augmented with some nice oak treatment. What a brilliant wine for the medium...

Swan Valley

Verdelho

Wow. A seven-year-old verdelho from this slightly cooler but initially wet year, that in the end suited verdelho perfectly. It’s remarkably only just started to show a little toasty development, but it still has the vibrant tropical primary fruit characters. Griffiths aged this in a mix of American and French, which has brought that extra textural and flavour dimension into...

Swan Valley

Semillon

Talijancich has been making semillon since 1989, and I suspect there has never been a better one than this. Picks up the varietal characters of lemon and other citrus notes, but then adds the complexing richness of partial barrel fermentation. The palate reveals flavours of custard and lemon tart with a citrussy edge for balance and a slightly nutty finish....