Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2016
Clonakilla
John Kirk planted his first vines at Murrumbateman in the Canberra District in 1971 and named his winery Clonakilla, meaning 'meadow of the church', after his grandfather's farm in County Clare, Ireland.
Eschewing the traditional Australian Cabernet Shiraz blend, John set about crafting single varietal Shiraz. After a visit to Guigal winery in the Rhône Valley's Côte Rôtie in 1991, John's son Tim returned to Australia and started to experiment in the winery, co-fermenting Shiraz with a small amount of Viognier as he saw in France.
The first vintage was produced in 1992. In 1996, feeling pulled in two directions; Tim left his teaching position at a Jesuit school to permanently take on the winemaking and General Manager roles at his family's estate.
The current Clonakilla portfolio consists of Shiraz, Viognier, Riesling, Chardonnay and a Bordeaux Blend. In 2013, Tim was awarded the coveted title of 'Australian Winemaker of the Year' by Gourmet Traveller magazine and his Shiraz-Viognier is often heralded as one of Australia's great reds.
SKU
CLSV201610 UCAU
$99.99
Per item
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This is a truly glorious wine that draws you back again and again to explore the wealth of red fruit flavours, and the majesty of its textures and flavours
This is a truly glorious wine that draws you back again and again to explore the wealth of red fruit flavours, and the majesty of its textures and flavours
Scores & Reviews
98 / 100
James Halliday
The perfumed, spicy bouquet of red flowers and fruits doesn’t prepare you for the intensity and piercing length of its beautifully balanced medium-bodied palate. This is a truly glorious wine that draws you back again and again to explore the wealth of red fruit flavours and the majesty of its textures and flavours. Tasted over two days, revealing ever more beauty.
97 / 100
Tyson Stelzer
This is a shiraz viognier of the highest order, with desperate purity of white pepper, whole bunch mixed spice and plum skin, and a super fine, gravelly tannin structure of breathtaking presence yet unerring finesse. In enduring line, undeviating persistence and sheer, glorious beauty, this vintage sits confidently among the greatest syrahs on earth.
Tyson Stelzer, WBM Magazine
96 / 100
James Suckling
The detailed layering in this wine is superb, as is the measured expression of exuberant fruit. Aromas of baking spices, pepper and bright red berry and cherry fruits make for enticing youthful appeal. The palate has an incredibly silky and elegant appeal. Bright red cherry and plum fruits.
96 points Nick Stock writing for jamessuckling.com
96 / 100
Campbell Mattinson
Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier has lost none of its charm or power over the years, but it has become a lighter, more elegant and more finely drawn wine. The subtle change is clearly evident with this 2016. For a long time we’ve played with the term Burgundian Shiraz, especially in relation to Clonakilla, but the phrase is becoming increasingly apt. This wine is light on its feet, perfumed, exotic, marshalled with fruit and spice, and tannic. It doesn’t wallop you upfront; it saves itself for the finish. It’s not an impetuous wine. There are candied notes here, dry spices, woody anise, a whisper of peppercorn. I would almost describe this wine as crisp, such is its lack of gloop, its finesse, its cleansing run of flavour-infused acidity. This release will age magnificently.
Drink : 2018 - 2036+