Winemaker Notes
The Shiraz Viognier is Clonakilla's flagship, a careful selection of the best of the Shiraz Viognier parcels we craft each year from our Murrumbateman vineyard. Deeply aromatic, opulent and powerfully ripe. Plush tannins and layers of dark fruit deliver a robust palate and serious cellaring potential.
Enjoy Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier with roasted chicken and sauteed mushrooms.
WineSlash Notes
“an icon wine, one of the best in Australia.”
-James Halliday Australian Wine Companion
“one of the most important advances in the development of Australian Shiraz since the release of 1952 Penfolds Grange Hermitage”
-Andrew Caillard Master of Wine
“consistently one of Australia’s best red wines, maybe the best.”
-Ralph Kyte-Powell Top Wine Judge
Say no more. If you're looking for a world-class Shiraz, look no further than this icon. It's one of the most sought-after wines in the world, and for good reason.
Talked about in the same breath as Penfolds Grange ($500), Henschke Hill of Grace ($800), and Torbreck The Laird ($800) this Shiraz is still affordable...for now. This is the best value super-premium Shiraz on the market. Grab some before it hits stratospheric pricing levels in the coming vintages.
97 Wine Enthusiast
Clonakilla’s Shiraz-Viognier was one of the first of its kind, ushering in a new era of more delicately aromatic and succulent Shiraz Down Under. It remains a benchmark of the style. The color of cherry juice, it’s beautifully perfumed, with aromas of rose petals and white pepper atop earthier, meatier notes. Warm stone undertones back fresh squeezed raspberry, cherry and cranberry juice. In the mouth there’s a succulence to the brambly fruit that comes like the pop of a fresh red berry in the mouth. Crunchy acidity and the raspy power of sappy, fine tannins add structure and complexity. This is finely crafted and distinctly cool climate Aussie wine that drinks well now.
The 2019 Shiraz Viognier is from a low-yielding (down around 15% to 20%), warm and dry year with some well-timed summer rain that allowed the vines to produce bright, lively fruit. The warm year brought higher alcohol with it (14.6% alcohol as opposed to the 13.2% of 2021), but the same 6% Viognier inclusion remains. The wine was matured for 18 months in French oak. Where the 2021 is bright, delicate and lacy, this 2019 is denser, muscular and layered with dark, brooding, exotic spices, cocoa nib, licorice root, roasted meat rind and tobacco leaf. In the mouth, the tannins are the most pertinent feature: still powdery fine and shapely, earthy (black) and savory. At no point does any feature of the wine break ranks. There are no strays, no breakaways; this is seamless and contained from all angles. It is an astounding wine and proof that very quickly after release these wines morph into shades of what they will become in older age. Rating: 95+
John Kirk planted his vineyard in 1971, 25 miles north of Australia’s capital city of Canberra. The vines, growing on sandy clay loam over decomposed granite, were the first in the region. Later, his son Tim traveled to Côte Rôtie and came back with the idea of cofermenting a small amount of viognier with his 1992 shiraz. The wine quickly attained legendary status in Australia, and this 2019 will quickly make it clear how the site is graced. This is a fragrant, subtle and welcoming wine, a shiraz of elegance, polish and textural complexity. The dark fruit is infused with energy, so it feels juicy without weight, layering scents of fenugreek, curry, violets and mushrooms over the cool tones of the fruit. The wine’s stamina shows as it keeps gaining supple depth with each passing day.
