Clonakilla Shiraz-Viognier 2023 (750ml)

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. 

“Virtuoso winemaking...a masterpiece.” - Ken Gargett

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.  

“Orchestral. Spellbinding.” - Campbell Mattinson

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

“Achingly beautiful” - Nick Ryan

As Clonakilla SV goes, this vintage strikes me as archetypal, style-defining, the essence of cool-climate Shiraz. It is certainly beautiful; aromatically thrilling with a classically luminous, elegant palate.

Alcohol
13% Alc/Vol

TA
6.0 g/L

pH
3.6

Sugars
<0.3 g/L

Reviews

There can be no question that Tim Kirk’s Murrumbateman masterwork is one of Australia’s most important wines, and this latest release builds on the legacy of previous vintages and elevates it even more.

“Achingly beautiful and intricately layered”

the wine presents a fine tapestry of fragrant fruit and heady spices, moves through the mouth like unfurling silk and finishes with a plume of finely pixelated tannins.

Nick Ryan, Top 100 wines of 2024, The Weekend Australian Magazine

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.

“joint winner of my Shiraz of the Year”

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

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.

“one of the world’s very best Shiraz Viognier blends”

Deep magenta, the nose exhibits all the joy and complexity that we have come to expect from this stellar wine.

“Virtuoso winemaking resulting in a masterpiece.”

Focus, balance and seemingly endless length, this 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.

Fifteen to twenty years ahead of it, with ease. Virtuoso winemaking resulting in a masterpiece.

Ken Gargett, Winepilot

Just when we think we know the Clonakilla shiraz viognier style – all those red berries and rosehip aromatics – up pops a couple of cool years one after the other and with them a peppery spice explosion.

“It’s a wow!”

Following on from the 2022 shiraz viognier comes another cooler-than-cool example where the drinker is treated to a wonderful world of spice, fully laden with heady black pepperiness.

“a peppery spice explosion”

Cherry, cranberry, bramble, sage, black pepper, rosemary and spice. It’s a chockful aroma attack.

The aromatic intensity is heightened on the palate with black peppery spice a strong feature that also brings real energy, highlighting the bright cherry, red fruits, sage. Tannins are cherry pip savoury dry.

Has class and medium-bodied elegance to burn but with a youthful personality that just keeps on going.

Jeni Port, Winepilot

I’ve loved Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier since the 1997 release and I love them from all manner of seasons. But gradually, over time, I’ve come to really prize the results of the cooler seasons, and the 2023 season was one of those. In a wine like Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier, which comes from a micro-climate, seasonal variation makes a distinct difference.

“a wild party of spice notes flying through the wine like happiness itself”

The finesse of this release. The fragrance too, which leads to a palate where just enough, feels like extra. It’s buoyant, juicy and perfumed, with a wild party of spice notes flying through the wine like happiness itself, or like confetti, either way there’s an air here of celebration.

“It’s a masterpiece of twigs, nuts and strings”

This wine sits on the apex of the road, where the rain meets the oil. The fruit flavours have a water-colour aspect; the texture coats the flavour in satin. We’ve come to expect all the above from Clonakilla’s flagship wine.

“Orchestral. Spellbinding.”

What’s special, for me, in this 2023 release is the web of tannin, as dewy as it is strong. There’s a weave to this release. It’s a masterpiece of twigs, nuts and strings.

If Morricone had been a winemaker he’d have made something like this. Orchestral. Spellbinding. Itself.

Abandon all resistance, ye who enter here.

Campbell Mattinson, The Winefront

A new release of one of Australia's benchmark wines; and it's a ripper. I've been fortunate enough to try most of the Clonakilla shiraz viogniers over the years; and this is right up there with the very best.

“it's a ripper”

From another cool growing year in Murrumbateman, it delivers both aromatics and potency, with impressive opulence on the mellifluous palate, where myriad flavours combine with cohesion.

“impressive opulence”

The shiraz (22% whole bunch) was co-fermented with 6% of viognier to produce a wine in the style for which Clonakilla has become famous.

The price may have crept up over the years, but compared to many other Australian shiraz standouts, this is still at a very fair price point.

Lovely stuff even in its infancy.

Winsor Dobbin

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.

“effortless intensity and charm”

The wine is supremely elegant on the palate, 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.

Huon Hooke, The Real Review

The flagship is in fine form from this cool vintage, rendering it elegant and quite exotic. Plus, 22% whole bunches in the ferment make an impact.

“lovely and enticing; it feels light and ethereal, deceptive”

It’s a touch sappy yet laden with heady aromatics – all florals with a dusting of Middle Eastern spices such as sumac. Super peppery.

The mid-weighted palate is tight and a touch lean with red fruit accents, bright acidity and fine if plentiful tannins.

“time will reward the patient”

It’s a wine you keep coming back to as it reveals more and differently. It's lovely and enticing; it feels light and ethereal, deceptive.

Time will reward the patient as this builds more complexity, but it is seriously hard to resist now.

Jane Faulkner, Halliday's Wine Companion

Lifted, perfumed and complex aromas of damson plums, sandalwood, cocoa, rose hips and dark cherries.

“Exceptional balance of finesse and power”

The palate is lush with a full-bodied mouthfeel, finely integrated tannins and bright acidity, giving notes of wild blackberries, baking spices, wet stones and orange rind. Exceptional balance of finesse and power. Drink or hold.

James Suckling

The 2023 Shiraz Viognier leads with wet garden rose, sage, apricot, raspberry, pomegranate and blueberry.

“takes svelte to a whole new level”

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.

Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate