2013 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
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Tasting notes
The 2013 Shiraz Viognier is a savory, subdued wine that is possessed of the most awesome tannic structure of the lot. Perhaps it is because the fruit feels more pared-back here than in the other vintages tasted alongside (2006, 2009, 2015, 2019 and 2021), but the glorious, textbook year that morphed into an even, warm late summer and an early autumn has imbued the wine with a sense of quiet and calm. This is from a larger-than-average crop of beautifully ripe fruit, coming off the back of three lean years. With 23% whole bunches in the ferment and the typical 5% Viognier inclusion, this is sleeping currently... wonderful and poised, but sleeping. Patience is recommended.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
James Halliday
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier is a penetrating and complete wine offering powerful liquorice and black cherry aromas with brooding dark earthy tones carried by serious volume and intensity. It’s punchy, ripe and mouth-filling thanks to spicy fruit pastille flavours with tangy acidity and al-dente tannins providing shape and flow before delivering a long and powerful finish. Fantastic structure and youthful vitality suggest a long life awaits.
95% Shiraz, 5% Viognier. Light and lively – very fresh. Bony and very different from the Australian Shiraz norm. Dry finish with spice and subtlety. Most distinctive! Very northern Rhône really... (JR)
Seriously fragrant – no doubt of the Viognier influence. Black pepper too – this is sophisticated and complex, and 100% deserves its place among Australia's best. (RH)
About the producer
The Kirk family’s winery was one of the first to put Murrumbateman Shiraz on the fine wine map. Founded in 1971, Clonakilla pioneered this cool-climate region and today the estate produces some of the finest Shiraz in Australia and the world, inspired by the styles of the Northern Rhône.