Swinney Tirra Lirra Shiraz 2015 Frankland River, Great Southern, Western Australia 75cl

Swinney is a family winegrowing business in Frankland River, one of the most remote corners of Western Australia’s Great Southern. The family has farmed here since George Swinney settled the land in 1922, and four generations on the estate is run by a brother-and-sister team who tend rare bush vines that grow naturally without trellising.

The Tirra Lirra label is Swinney’s more relaxed, early-drinking red. This bottling is built around Shiraz grown on those unirrigated bush vines, which limit their own crop and give small, deeply flavoured berries. The intention is a wine of fragrance and freshness rather than sheer power, true to its cool upland home.

Frankland River is among the coolest wine districts in continental Australia, and the 2015 season played to that strength. A long, mild ripening period let the fruit develop slowly and hold its natural acidity, giving a red with real lift and a fine, savoury backbone rather than heavy, jammy weight.

In the glass it shows dark berry fruit, cracked black pepper and a savoury, peppery spice, framed by a medium body and fine, gently gripping tannins. It drinks well now and finishes long and fresh. Try it with roast lamb, grilled beef or a mushroom risotto.

For drinkers who lean towards northern Rhone Syrah or other cool-climate Australian Shiraz, this is a natural fit: aromatic, structured and food-friendly, with the honest character of vines that have been part of one family’s land for a century.