Swinney Farvie Frankland River Mourvèdre 2023

66% whole bunch, wild ferment, 10 months in large-format seasoned oak. Gosh, there is so much vibrancy and concentration on the nose; this is alive. Some wines have so much energy that they encourage you to get up and dance, shout, sing…whatever the impulse may be. Plush fruit reigns, but there’s a meaty undercurrent and a hint of robust wilderness in the mix. Think bresaola studded with pepper berries. Saturated sour cherries, boysenberry, salt bush and a grown-up Ribena juiciness is foiled with red earth, burnt toffee and a bloody minerality seeping through on the finish. The palate offers up an intense fruit sweetness, balanced out with crushed stone minerality, an umami dried sea kelp note and oodles of black soil, tea leaf tannins. This is Mourvèdre, after all. There’s freshness and intensity, with animation, vibrancy, and yet a dig-your-heels in solidity. A percussive and electric wine with solid foundations. Exciting.