Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2019

Description

What a remarkable jouney for Clonakilla. When John Kirk first planted vines in 1971 who would have thought it would be celebrated as one of Australia’s finest vineyards! Their first Shiraz Viognier was made in 1998 – by 2005 it was deemed ‘Outstanding’ in Langton’s Australian Wine Classification … by 2010 it was promoted to “Exceptional” .. up there with Grange and Hill of Grace!  Murrumbateman & Canberra wine region is all about cool climate shiraz … complex layering of raspberry, violets, spice, cracked pepper, roast game with darker blackberry, blackcurrant and aniseed in warmer years. Clonakilla’s shiraz across the board including the Hilltops and O’Riada remind me of syrah at it’s best from famed ‘Cote Rotie’ in France’s Northern Rhone.

“Any contemporary list of Australia’s greatest red wines must include Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier. It has few peers for elegant style, yet it has great underlying strength of character—the best of both worlds“. – Ralph Kyte-Powell

Winemaker Tim Kirk says about the 2019 vintage:  “The Shiraz Viognier is our flagship, a careful selection of the best of the Shiraz Viognier parcels we craft from our Murrumbateman vineyard.

A warm growing season followed a dryer than average winter. Yields were 20% down, but what we lost in volume we gained in intensity. 77mm of rain in January and 32mm in February were a timely blessing. Come harvest time we picked some of the richest, darkest fruit we have seen at Clonakilla. Deeply aromatic, opulent and powerfully ripe. Plush tannins and layers of dark fruit deliver a robust palate and serious cellaring potential. 6% co-fermented Viognier.”

96 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “It spent 18 months in oak, rather than it’s usual 12. Oak’s presence in the wine is no more than usual; if anything it simply feels more harmonious. To be released in March, I think.

In any case this is a wonderful release. It leaps from the glass with wonder on its lips. Plums and florals and spices and meats take a walk through a garden, woodsmoke suggested, summer alive. It’s elegant and refined and yet it’s all there, it’s all open. It gets you in the feels; it has a kind of satiny confidence, like it knows that it’s good and it knows that you’ve noticed. Fine fingers of tannin, curry leaf notes, berries. Florals here as mentioned but maybe not as pronounced as usual, as if viognier and shiraz have become one. Still there’s nothing reserved about this wine. Nothing. It’s just all there, ready, perfect.”

96 points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday’s Wine Companion “Some wines have such distinct DNA. This is one of them. It packs so many layers of flavour and depth, yet never moves much beyond medium body. It smells of a souk market; spicy, peppery and exotic. It’s replete with dark fruit, wood char and a touch of wintergreen. Raw silk tannins matched to a neat acid line give freshness, vibrancy and a promise it will last some distance yet.”

“The just-released 2019 has lovely freshness and purity with crushed berry aromas, a musky floral thread, complexities of spice, dry herbs and understated smoky oak. It’s medium-bodied with a lovely silky texture, impressive intensity of lingering flavour and ripe, soft tannins in perfect harmony. Delicious right now as a young wine, but its potential with bottle age is proven by past experience.” Ralph Kyte-Powell – The Real Review

“A special occasion to celebrate? May I point you in the direction of the opulent new-release Clonakilla 2019 Shiraz Viognier, a benchmark Australian red blend of red and white grapes (94% shiraz and 6% viognier c-fermented). Winemaker Tim Kirk says yields were down 20% but he cannot recall many vintages with more power and intensity.

This is powerful, dark, plush and cellarworthy. Clonakilla is a small, family business at Murrumbateman, outside Canberra, that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Buy a bottle and raise a toast to this Rhone-influenced standout.” Winsor Dobbin

RRP $148   Our Special Price $109.99 – LAST BOTTLES LEFT!