The colour is medium-deep with a good purple rim and the bouquet is detailed and fragrant, violets and roses, an entire spice cupboard of aromas, with dark cherry to blackberry fruit underpinning it all. The wine is supremely elegant on the palate, jusy medium to full bodied and finely textured with plentiful tannins that are fine-grained and supple, the finish long and refreshing. Effortless intensity and charm 02 Aug 2024.

94% shiraz, 6% viognier, 22% whole bunches, wild fermented, gently plunged over 2-3 weeks of maceration, one-third new French oak barriques and puncheons

The third cool season in a row and the latest harvest in more than a decade has delivered a glorious shiraz viognier of exquisite detail and harmony. Whole bunches (22%) and viognier (6%) seamlessly unite to heighten aromas of violets, rose petals, potpourri, white pepper, fennel seed and curry, providing dimension to a delicious core of satsuma plum, black cherry and blackberry fruit. Super-fine, granitic-mineral tannins trace a magnificent finish and confirm a Clonakilla for the ages. A worthy joint winner of my Shiraz of the Year.

Put simply, this is one of Australia’s greatest wines, year after year, and one of only a handful that can be reliably called world class, without hesitation. It is also one of the world’s very best Shiraz Viognier blends, happily sitting beside the best from Cote Rotie. From a cool year, their third in a row, the blend is 94% Shiraz and 6% Viognier. 22% of the Shiraz was whole bunches and that was co-fermented with the Viognier, via wild yeasts. For maturation, the wine went into French oak barrels, both puncheons and barriques, with one-third of them new. Deep magenta, the nose exhibits all the joy and complexity that we have come to expect from this stellar wine. Focus, balance and seemingly endless length, this also has silky tannins and while there is an underlying exuberance with the fruit, everything is held in restraint. Cocoa powder, truffles, raspberries, spices, aniseed and tobacco leaves, the wine is utterly seamless with fifteen to twenty years ahead of it, with ease. Virtuoso winemaking resulting in a masterpiece.