The Farvie is a remarkable expression of Australian Shiraz and puts Western Australia back in the conversation regarding benchmarks for this variety. Only a selected area of soil in both the Wilson’s Pool and Powderbark blocks is earmarked for the Farvie Syrah, with the vines fostered in a way that nourishes and balances the fruit to optimum levels allowing for dry farming. Unlike the Swinney label—which is drawn from a range of clones and massale selections—the Farvie parcels are home only to a range of massale-grown vines, including Jack Mann’s Houghton massale selection. In case you didn’t know, Jack Mann was winemaker Rob Mann’s grandfather.
Unlike the bush-vine Grenache and Mourvèdre, the Syrah is trellised, although there are plans to plant single-stake Syrah in the future. The vines are meticulously managed, and the fruit is sorted in the vineyard and winery. Although Frankland River is cool-climate continental, Swinney also uses shade cloth for the Shiraz on the western side, creating a soft, mottled light to protect the skins and lower the temperature in the bunch zone. The wines made from this western pick present darker colours, lower alcohols and more perfume, alongside extra freshness and vibrant fruit character. Rigorous shoot positioning and bunch selection further refine the unique expression so critical to the personality of this fruit.
Picked twice—on the 24th and the 30th of March—and sorted berry-by-berry in the winery, this year Rob Mann incorporated 58% whole bunches to promote ethereal structure and a lightness of texture while also encouraging the bright and spicy aromatics. Everything was gravity-fed to a French oak vat and two demi-muids for wild fermentation. The wine spent only 12 days on skins before being basket-pressed directly to fine-grained, large-format, seasoned French oak, where it rested for 11 months before bottling.
Multiple critics have heralded the Farvie Syrah as the best of the best in Western Australia. Yet the quality of this label tells us Swinney’s ambitions aim further afield than the Indian Ocean to the west and the Nullarbor Plain to the east. They believe they have the site and the practice to rival the world’s most unique and authentic expressions of Syrah. A lofty goal indeed, but one Swinney is well on the way to achieving. Perhaps they already have. From a dream year for Frankland Syrah, it’s a wine with all the purity, depth and perfume we have come to expect from a Farvie Syrah, and then perhaps a little more; here, there is a fineness, intricacy and detail, not quite so apparent in the warmer and dryer years. It’s a wine that belongs on the finest wine lists and cellars nationwide.