This report covers a selection of producers from the Swan Valley, and while the tastings didn’t throw up any surprises for this taster, they certainly confirmed several solid home truths.  

  

Firstly, it is my opinion that the dry white wines made from Chenin Blanc and Verdelho (and a blend thereof) are some of the most distinct offerings from the Swan Valley compared to the rest of the wine world. Picked early, bottled early and with a prodigious ability for graceful aging in the cellar, these varieties tend to harness the heat and dryness of the region and turn it into a textural, complex, exciting wine style. I love them unashamedly and am routinely bowled over by them. I tasted one 40-year-old dry Verdelho in this report at John Kosovich Wines (formerly Westfield), and while it was mature, there was zero fragmentation of shape and acidity through the finish; the wine seems to have an interminable future ahead of it. 

Secondly, although there are very little included in this report, the best fortified wines from the Swan Valley number among the very best that this country has to offer and are wildly scarce. Some very old vines and some very old blending material exist in this place.  

Thirdly, Grenache. It’s the talk of the town here in Australia, and the Swan produces a distinct style compared to Frankland River in the Great Southern, Barossa Valley in South Australia and perhaps most pertinently, the seat of Grenache power in Australia—McLaren Vale. The wines from the Swan Valley continue to express the place and producer. Perhaps out of necessity, many producers are adapting viticulture to sustainably suit the warm conditions, and this is responsible for Grenache wines of finesse, balance and spice.  

With some very old vines across an array of varieties, the Swan Valley is a treasure-haven of history, with a future that is increasingly surrounded by the encroachment of urban civilization.  

Named the Swan River Colony, Swan Valley was settled in 1829, making it the second oldest wine region in Australia. It was an important trade center at the time due to its proximity to the main settlement of Perth, and its early days of production focused on dried fruit (mainly sultanas, currants and raisins) and sweet dessert/fortified wines. Prior to white settlement, the land was cared for by the traditional custodians, the Whadjuk Noongar people, for tens of thousands of years. 

 

The Swan Valley is classified as a hot Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. While there are several cooling influences on this warm place to consider, such as the mitigating coolness of the Swan River, the robust sea breeze, a.k.a. the Fremantle Doctor, and the elevation of some areas such as Gingin in the broader Swan District, you would do well to assume that the cooler, milder vintages are the ones responsible for the greatest table wines. The 2023 vintage can be considered an excellent, cool and mild season. For context, 2022 was extremely hot (multiple, sustained, heat waves over December and January and very little rain), yet many of the wines I have tasted from that searing vintage display a widespread understanding of sensible picking dates and sustainable viticultural management that mitigated the high solar radiation (and subsequent evaporation) of the season. 2024 looks to be a very warm, dry, early season, with some producers kicking off harvest in the first days of January. 

Fortified wine production remains a significant part of Swan Valley’s identity, and the best wines produced in this region and in this style number among some of Australia’s finest. Kosovich, Talijancich, Faber, Sittella and Pinnelli number among the success stories of the region, and many have soleras going back decades, some as far as the 1960s and earlier. In fact, I tasted a very impressive Liqueur Verdelho at Vino Volta, still in barrel at the time, which was a sign of potentially very good and exciting things to come. (To note, this wine was given a gold medal at the Swan Valley Wine Show in 2023, with one of the judges awarding it a perfect score.) 

 

Average rainfall in the Swan Valley subregion is 731 millimeters per annum. The seasonal rainfall, i.e., rain that falls upon ripening vineyards during the growing season, is far lower; on average, it’s just 160 millimeters. By way of comparison, rainfall in a region such as Margaret River averages a total of 977 millimeters, with a growing season average of 214 millimeters. Summers in the Swan are hot, windy and dry, so efficient water capture and management are crucial in successful vineyards.  

The Swan River is a complex river system that drains the Swan Coastal Plain with multiple tributaries and sources; it threads its way through the Swan Valley and flows in a curving, westward direction, going past Perth and Fremantle port before heading out into the Indian Ocean. It is a source of moisture and irrigation for low-lying vineyards, yet it poses a potential threat in wet years (like 2017 and 2019), where the banks are apt to overflow and flood those vineyards. This is not a common occurrence, but it has occurred recently in the history of the region.  

  

There is significant wind in the Swan Valley through spring and summer (September to April). As a resident of Perth, myself, it is widely understood that the hot easterly winds that blow on summer mornings sweep from across the inland desert, bringing with them the hot weather. A hot, blowy morning in summer can mark the start of a baking hot week. The “westerlies,” or the “Fremantle ‘Freo’ Doctor,” from the Indian Ocean to the west, arrive later in the day, depending on where you are, and bring much-needed relief from the heat throughout summer. The morning easterlies can average from 14 kilometers per hour in winter to upwards of 18 kilometers per hour in summer (peaking in February). The cooler evening winds are higher (propelled as they are from the southwest) and reach up to 23 kilometers per hour in the summer (peaking in December). Apart from providing relief from high daytime temperatures and assisting with the resistance to disease, the sustained wind speed can affect vine physiology, as wind speeds that exceed 14.4 kilometers per hour (nine miles per hour) can cause vines to shut down, impeding ripening.  

 

We are understanding more of our human impact on the climate as more data becomes available; summer temperatures are increasing, extreme weather events are escalating, and our sense of being small in the world grows with every lightning strike, storm, flood and heat wave. In terms of viticulture, specifically in the Swan Valley, what does it mean? There are three key evolutions that must occur and will occur—not just here but worldwide. Firstly, a shift in the grape growing seasons. Warmer temperatures may alter the timing of significant viticultural stages—budburst, flowering and ripening. This can affect berry development and the overall quality of the wines. Secondly, changes to vineyard management. Canopy management for solarization (more or less, depending on the region and variety); under-vine management in the form of cover crops; and healthy, biodiverse soil, water capture and irrigation are crucial adjustments that can assist in mitigating the effects of a warming climate and work to protect wine quality with less inputs required to get there. Finally, we may seek to change the grape varieties planted in favor of varieties more suited to their immediate environment and look to other regions around the world that are already walking a path of lower rainfall/hotter summers. 

 

The Swan Valley has spanned almost 200 years under vine, and we see no signs today that this is slowing. The Swan Valley of the future is no longer a high-volume machine for table wine but a focused, exciting and distinct wine region with one foot in the past and one in the future. What happens in the Swan may auger what can be expected elsewhere. We shall see.