REVIEW: A taste of Frankland River grenache provides compelling evidence of just how good the variety can be when the planets align.
So, we’ve left the winter of our discontent – the time when thoughts generally turned to cabernet and shiraz – and stepped cautiously into spring.
The rain lingers but the temperatures are a little warmer.
Things are happening as vineyards awaken from their winter slumber and the first shoots of green are already starting to appear.
It’s also a time when we can start to think about other wines and varieties.
Grenache is one of those varieties that I love to drink all year round, but at this time of the year it seems especially apt.
The wines these days are lighter bodied, perfumed, beautifully seductive and deliciously drinkable. No more of those horrible shiraz replicas that were produced 15 or so years ago.
In Western Australia, there is one area where the variety has really found a home.
As comfortable as a pipe, slippers and port in front of an open fire. Frankland River has come of age in the past few years for its grenache.
And when you combine the wonderful 2023 vintage with this region you really have something special.
In fact, Frankland River has emerged in the past few years as one of the great wine regions of Australia. It has always made good rieslings, and shiraz in some years, along with cabernet.
But the consistency of the wines now, the emergence of different varietal clones, and the expansion of different alternative varieties has put this remote area on the viticultural map.
So significant has been the shift that there is justification in it having its own geographical indicator as a region in its own right, rather than sitting within the giant spread of the Great Southern.
Located inland from the Southern Ocean and including more than 1,600 hectares of vine plantings, the area is ideally situated for producing a range of wines.
Frankland River’s climate bridges continental and Mediterranean, with sunny warm days that produce ripe fruit.
Cool evenings help protect the integrity of the grapes and develop wines with a lively acid profile and an incredible length of flavour.
Cooling afternoon breezes can provide an additional drop in temperature, which increases that diurnal temperature swing.
There is little chance of humidity in these conditions.
The region’s ancient soils impart a distinctive character to the reds in particular, producing a distinctly ferruginous, rusty, ironstone character, which adds complexity and distinctiveness to the wines.
This week I am featuring three grenache wines that have crossed my tasting bench recently.
These will all be featured in my new WA Wine Review 2025, which will be available later in the year.
These are all from Frankland from the 2023 vintage and provide compelling evidence of just how good this variety can be when the planets align.
And there is no doubt the three producers featured – Cherubino, Swinney and Singlefile – are making some of the finest examples of this variety from anywhere in the country.
I have previously featured the Swinney Farvie grenache, but this week is their very good second tier.
Cherubino Uovo Frankland River grenache 2023 ($70)
Cherubino pushes boundaries with this marvellous grenache. It’s made in a clay cement ovoid tank, which is a giant egg that creates a vortex of continual movement. The outcome is stunning. There’s pristine purity and vibrancy here as the grenache elevates to new levels of seductiveness. You just keep going back for more. Terrific stuff.
Score 96/100
Cellar: Nine years
Swinney grenache 2023 ($46)
The near-perfect season in Frankland River has resulted in some of the best grenache yet released from this region. This is certainly a case in point. Yes, it’s soft and supple with plush red fruits and florals, but there is a more serious structure and purpose through the middle palate. Radiates brightness from its deep crimson red hues and bursts from the palate with unbridled enthusiasm. A ripper.
Score 96/100
Cellar: 10 years
Singlefile Single Vineyard Frankland River grenache 2023 ($40)
This has fast become one of my favourite grenaches from anywhere in Australia. It comes off the Riversdale vineyard in Frankland, so its pedigree is impeccable. Perfumed red berry aromas with a little rose petal and earthy spicy nuances. Brilliant and bright medium bodied palate delivers succulent fruit with balancing savoury notes. The tannins and light oak treatment combine to focus a very long finish.
Score 95/100
Cellar: Eight years
- Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected wine journalists, contributing to newspapers and magazines over more than 40 years. In 2017 he co-authored The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region
