Swinney Mourvèdre 2023

Ah, Mourvèdre. This isn’t just another red wine, it’s a full-on flavor festival in a glass, and Swinney’s version from 2023 isn’t here to play nice. This beauty kicks off with a vibrant magenta hue that practically screams for your attention. Pop it open, and smacking you in the face, you’ll get an aromatic bouquet that’s like entering a butcher shop with a side of fresh fruit market. Blood pudding, fresh plums, and a teasing hint of white pepper do a little dance on your nose, even before you take a sip.

When you dive in, be ready. This isn’t a lightweight wine that you can casually sip while lounging by the pool. Hell no! This is a medium-bodied beast packed with complexity. It’s as if the grapes literally combined their powers, tossing in pomegranate molasses and wildly ripe berries, all sprinkled with Chinese five spice, just to keep you on your toes. The tannins are here too, deftly wrapped around each flavorful note like they’re holding on for dear life. Those fine tannins are fastened together with rusty nails - yeah, you heard me right - giving it a structure that’s a firm handshake, not just a limp wrist.

Let’s talk about the vineyard because it’s worth noting. The Mourvèdre grapes come from the Swinney Wilson’s Pool vineyard, where dry-grown bush vines dig deep into gravelly-loam soils. These little soldiers were meticulously cared for. Hand-harvested (no machinery here) with obsessive fruit thinning and optimal canopy management, they’ve seen the kind of TLC usually reserved for pampered Instagram pets. And the wild fermentation? That’s like letting a wild horse run free in a field of dreams-each sip bursting with the ferrous qualities that scream “this is real!”

This bad boy spent 11 days soaking up all that skin flavor before being pressed right into some fine French oak. I mean, macerating in that loveliness for a whole year? You know it’s gonna have something to say. You might not be one to tell a wine to “shut up,” but this one definitely throws around opinions like a seasoned debater at a dinner party.

Swinney Mourvèdre is a wine that doesn’t just sit there looking pretty - it dives into delicious contradictions, a collision of everything you want and didn’t know you needed in your glass. Pair this with something hearty, like slow-roasted lamb or a spiced vegetable dish that feels like a warm hug. Or, you know, just drink it solo while you ponder life’s many mysteries.

So raise a glass to Swinney Mourvèdre, a 2023 vintage that’s here to spice up your life one sip at a time. Forget your bland, forgettable reds; this is a wine that snarls at banality and stands proud. It’s bold, it’s complex, and it’s unapologetically ready for anything. Cheers to that!

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