2024 Ampersand Syrah, Frankland River

The 2024 Syrah is succulent and spicy, with lashings of fruit and tannin in the mouth. Raspberry, dark chocolate, aniseed, licorice and tapenade work alongside each other to present a wine of detail and concentration. It is very good. Drink 2025 to 2039.

93 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, June 2025

Ampersand Estates occupies the oldest vineyard site in the Pemberton region, the former Donnelly River Winery, brought back to life by Melissa Bell and Corrie Scheepers after years of dormancy. Pemberton sits in a cool-climate pocket south of Margaret River where deep karri loam soils, generous rainfall and slow ripening produce wines of natural elegance. The estate draws fruit from its own vineyards as well as trusted growers across the region and the Frankland River subregion of the Great Southern. The wines are made in partnership with Rob Mann.

The fruit for this Syrah comes from Swinney's Wilsons Pool vineyard in the Frankland River subregion of the Great Southern, a dry-grown site on ironstone gravel and loam soils, and one of Western Australia's most consistently exceptional sources for the variety. A small percentage of Viognier was co-fermented with the Syrah, adding aromatic lift and textural complexity to the wine. Fermented over 11 days in open fermenters before pressing to a large French oak vat and mix of mostly seasoned barriques and puncheons for nine months on gross lees.

Dark cherry, mulberry and raspberry on the nose with star anise, liquorice and a savoury tapenade thread running through. The palate is succulent and concentrated, dark chocolate and aniseed woven through vibrant fruit, with spice and tannin building through to a structured, persistent finish.

Detailed and generous, the wine's spice and depth suit slow-braised lamb shoulder with Middle Eastern spices and flatbread, or a Peking duck with hoisin and spring onion pancakes.

Drink now through 2034.