2025 Swinney Riesling, Frankland River

It's pretty obvious that riesling in 2025 has emerged as a highlight variety. This one is an excellent example of the season. The aromas show a subtle lemon pith minerality with some quite distinctive spiciness, which you sometimes get in the Great Southern. The palate offers intense fruit with a lovely texture while still retaining that fine linear structure sustained by a gentle acidity. Excellent for current drinking, but with some cellaring if you wish.  

94 points rayjordanwine.com.au

From two blocks off the Swinney Estate vineyard. Whole-bunch pressed; three months on lees. Neat and tidy winemaking, plus the significant site, conspire to create a tightly wound, tangy and refreshing expression of classic lines and intense acidity. It's piercing and zesty, with limes, pink grapefruit, just-ripe cumquat, a light talc note, some slate and steel, with a briny mineral profile in there, too. Compact, youthful and vigorous. A delicious drink, offering key simplicity with some pizzazz.

93 points Mike Bennie winecompanion.com.au

The Swinney Riesling from Frankland River is a precise, vibrant and terroir-driven white from one of Western Australia’s most exciting vineyard sites. The Swinney family has been farming in the Frankland region since 1922, with their vineyards now recognised among the best in the country for both Riesling and Rhône varietals. The granitic soils and cool climate of Frankland River provide the perfect conditions for Riesling, producing wines with purity, minerality and remarkable age-worthiness.

In the glass it is pale straw with green hues. The bouquet is fragrant and lifted, with lime zest, lemon blossom and green apple interwoven with hints of jasmine and wet slate. The palate is taut and finely structured, offering citrus and orchard fruits carried by crisp acidity and a precise mineral line. A touch of saline complexity adds depth, leading to a long, dry and refreshingly clean finish.

Food pairings highlight its zesty freshness: freshly shucked oysters, grilled prawns, Thai fish cakes, or vegetarian dishes like Vietnamese rice paper rolls and goat’s cheese salad. With 10 to 15 years of cellaring potential, it develops richer notes of honey, toast and spice while retaining its core of citrus and mineral drive.