2021 Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge Syrah

2021 was really positive for Syrah. Everything looked good, the crop was a healthy size, and everything ripened beautifully. We picked in April, pretty late, but the fruit was aromatically charged with lots of spice and pepper.

This wine is 94% Syrah with 4% Viognier and 2% Mourvèdre. 20% whole bunches are included, carefully sourced from among two blocks where the stems turn yellow early. The perfume from these leaps out of the glass and the tannins give a sense of width, with gentle chewiness. 45% of the blend is from the 1988-planted winery block. 49% is 470 clone which brings more complexity and another dimension to the tannin profile. The 470 also reaches perfect ripeness at slightly lower sugar levels, which serves the restrained balance of this wine. Mourvèdre and Viognier add complexity of flavour and texture while Syrah remains the hero.

Our aim is delicacy with power. The wine was matured for 14 months in 3,500-litre foudre and a few additional 500-litre puncheons. A calm, composed nose suggests great depth. Violets, cinnamon, peppercorns, smoke, stones and dusty earth mingle with redcurrants, cherries and plums. The palate has to-die-for weightlessness and is perfectly poised between a range of ripe, velvety fruits and savoury tones. The whole bunches and our ironstone soils conjure a slew of sweet and exotic spices threaded through the fine, ferrous tannins. Thoroughly compelling and cohesive from first sniff to the soaring finish. – Hunter Smith, Frankland Estate

I love the direction we’ve taken with this wine, pursuing that Syrah style. The whole-bunch parcels we’re getting are absolutely amazing – brilliant wines in their own right. The 470 clone has a lovely fruit profile and the big barrels are retaining brightness and uniqueness of site. – Brian Kent, Frankland Estate