Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier Canberra – 2023

Clonakilla, based at high altitude (around 700mts) in the Canberra Highlands, is one of Australia’s cult wineries; demand for their wines vastly exceeds supply every year. 

This Shiraz Viognier is their flagship wine, a careful selection of the best of the Shiraz and Viognier parcels they craft each year from their Murrumbateman vineyard.

Winemaker Tim Kirk’s comments on the 2023 vintage

There is no doubt vintage 2023 gave us some anxious moments. 

The spring was so wet and cool that the vines were very reluctant to emerge from their winter sleep. When they did emerge, the shoots grew so slowly that I wondered whether the grapes would ever ripen. 

Thankfully, the summer did finally arrive, and the vines embarked on the long but determined journey of ripening grapes through the warm late summer and mild but generally sunny autumn.

We ended up picking in mid-April, with the fruit exactly ripe and in excellent condition.  

You really have to smell this wine to believe the intensity and purity of fruit we received in the 2023 Shiraz Viognier.

Press comments

“The 2023 Shiraz Viognier leads with wet garden rose, sage, apricot, raspberry, pomegranate and blueberry. The wine is bloody, mineral, very fine and with a honed, wet stone feeling to the tannins. I’ve tasted Pinot today with bigger, more loose-weave tannins than this superb beauty of a thing. This takes svelte to a whole new level. Once again, this is highly recommended. It’s one of my favorite Shirazes from this great country. It is made with 6% co-fermented Viognier. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.” 97pts Wine Advocate

“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.” Tyson Stelzer