2021 Clonakilla, Shiraz Viognier, Canberra District, Australia

Thanks to the cool vintage, this 2021 Shiraz Viognier is pretty and ethereal, showing gentile raspberry, rose petal, and white pepper aromas lifted by stalky Chinese five spice. Supple and elegant in style, fresh acidity provides delicious impact supported by delicate sinewy tannins that support a fine and lingering finish. A refined expression of Clonakilla.

Drink 2022 - 2035  

Fantastic aromas of dark berry, thyme, white pepper, and lavender. Medium-bodied with firm and silky tannins that are fine textured, long and persistent that run the length of the wine. Energetic and focused. Drinkable but better in two or three years to take the edge off it. Screw cap.

I've been chipping away at a bottle of this 2021 Shiraz Viognier all week at nighttime, and a very interesting and impressive trend has emerged. Despite the wine in the glass being delicate, pristine and almost a little nervous a product of the cool La Niña year that was responsible for over 1,000 millimetres of rain when the average is only 630 millimetres) for a couple of days at first, it opened up beautifully, the significant impact being on the texture, which has silked right out and has brought all components of the wine into harmony. 

Onto days three and four, the wine has started to indicate little hints of the exotic spice, cocoa nib and roasted meat rind that it picks up in old age, yet it has yet to fall to the ravages of oxygen. This evolution tells me everything I need and wants to know about its quality and age-ability. So, what's it like? It has notes of rose petals, raspberry leaf tea, brine, liquorice root, redcurrant, tobacco leaf and even a hint of orange rind/bergamot. 

The palate is shaped by very fine tannins that cascade across the mouth, leaving a trail of cocoa nib, clove bud and again with the orange zest/bergamot suggestion. Such a beautiful wine in youth; it's no wonder much of it won't make its first birthday! As is the ongoing trend, this has 6% Viognier inclusion and is lighter in alcohol this year, at 13.2%. Highly collectable.

Drink 2022 - 2047