2020 Corymbia Tempranillo / Malbec

Corymbia

Australia / Swan Valley / Corymbia

This is a vintage where having a single vineyard red wine blend is so valuable. It was hot and dry and yields on our reds were tiny. Two separate picking dates were combined for co-fermentation to provide a buffer against any shortcomings and built a unique personality in the resultant wine that would not otherwise have been possible.
The organically farmed, dry-grown vines stand in Herne Hill loam on Rocket’s Vineyard, Upper Swan. Rob and his late father - Australian Test Cricketer Tony (Rocket) Mann - planted the vineyard together on their family property more than 35 years ago on what was an old currant vineyard. The site is now in conversion to organic certification.
The grapes were harvested on 1st and 10th February 2020 The Tempranillo (54% of the blend) and Malbec (46%) fruit was individually berry sorted and combined prior to carbonic maceration and natural co-fermentation in a single French oak vat. Maturation followed in the same French oak vat for 10 months. The wine was bottled on 7th February 2021.
Vibrant and aromatic with layers of interest, the wine smells of the first rain, aniseed, fresh-tanned leather and mulberry. Crunchy cranberry and blueberry fruits, squid ink umami and plush velvety structural tannins leave a lasting impression. - Rob & Gen Mann

August, 2021

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front

95 points.

So distinctive. So of a place. I’m thinking fresh blackberry, rain on a hot road, star anise, leather, pepper and rosemary. Black fruit, coffee, black olives, earthy and saline, boysenberry and tar, and yet spicy and vigorous, with a dirty come-hither chew and sooty tannin, and a long umami finish. Wonderful wine. Charismatic. Love this.

October, 2021

Mike Bennie

Gourmet Traveller WINE

Here’s Tempranillo and Malbec in an unlikely but positively wonderful alliance. The wine sits smack bang at medium weight and is shaped with fine, feathery tannin, while perfume and flavours settle into blackcurrant, sage and rosemary herbal notes with a flicker of sooty spice. What strikes you is the structure, tension and length here – a wine that may drink with charm now but feels like it’s in cruise control for greater things in the future. The drinking window should be 5-15 years.

November, 2021

Erin Larkin

Halliday Wine Companion

93 points

54/46% Tempranillo/Malbec. Aromatic and gorgeous, this has it all – firm tannins that are also pliable and supple. It has vibrant and lively fruit that pads out every aspect of the palate. The acidity that laces all these components together is subtle and juicy ... there's plenty to chew on after it's swallowed. Very impressive, and a triumph of nuance in a warm part of the Valley.

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About Corymbia

Corymbia is the deep-rooted, far-sighted vision of husband-and wife-team, Rob and Genevieve Mann. The Mann name is synonymous with Western Australia’s Swan Valley, where Rob’s pioneering grandfather Jack worked a remarkable 51 consecutive vintages for Houghton. Rob was just a boy when he joined his father - former Australian test cricketer Tony - in planting the vines on what is now the dry-grown, organically farmed Corymbia vineyard.
After building an exceptional reputation in their own right, the couple kicked off their homecoming dream, Corymbia, with the 2013 vintage, during Rob’s tenure as estate director at Newton Vineyard in Napa Valley. Now firmly ensconced back in the Swan Valley, Rob and Gen’s Chenin Blanc and Tempranillo-dominant red blend sit at the heart of a bright future for this brilliant duo. And their Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon, from their beautiful Calgardup Vineyard, is a new milestone for this region.

About

Rob was one of the crop of hotshots at Hardys during the reign of Stephen Pannell, before Rob himself took the mantle of senior winemaker at Hardys Tintara. From there he established a name for himself as one of the great talents of his generation during his time at the helm of Cape Mentelle - eventually being handpicked to radically ramp up quality at LVMH's Napa estate Newton Vineyard. Genevieve, meanwhile, worked in South Africa, France, California and South Australia prior to moving to Margaret River in 2007 in the role of winemaker for Howard Park.