2008 was a great vintage in the Canberra District. The Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc ripened steadily and without stress over the cool, late summer. Picked in perfect condition in early March, the grapes have given us a deliciously fresh dry white, perfect for sipping in the warmer months. Light, bright and zippy across the tongue with a crisp finish. Ideal for seafood dishes or as an aperitif after work.

2008 was arguably a perfect year for Riesling in the Canberra District. The summer was warm, not hot, and the nights stayed cool. We picked just as the heat wave of early March was beginning. The resulting wine carries the ideal Riesling combination of delicacy and power. It shows fresh citrus notes, aniseed, spring flowers and a subtle mineral character. The palate is bright, racy and persistent. A great Riesling. Drink now for its freshness and perfume or cellar for 6-12 years and watch it develop honey and toast characters with age.

In 2007 drought and frost combined to reduce yields to only 20% of our normal crop. Barrel fermented entirely in French oak using natural yeasts, the 2007 Viognier is a full bodied white with potent honeysuckle, pear, ginger and apricot aromas. It shows the classic silky Viognier texture while retaining a tight structure and refreshing acidity.

Viognier Nouveau brings you Viognier at its freshest. The grapes were picked a little less ripe than the standard Viognier, fermented cool in stainless steel and bottled early. The resulting wine captures the vibrancy of the Viognier fruit and presents it in all its youthful glory. Rates high for deliciousness. Drink it now.

"This is pretty much the perfect Hilltops shiraz. It's tight, perfumed, juicy and sure, its long, ropey, chalky tannins giving it good potential in the cellar. What I love though is the flavour profile: licorice, dry chocolate, dark cherries and cedar smoke, a dab of mint helping it lift from the glass. This is beautiful. Drink: 2009-2016. 94 points."
- Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, April 9, 2008.

The 2006 Ballinderry is again a blend of the classic varieties Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Cabernet Franc (35%) and Merlot (35%). 2006 was a textbook vintage: excellent spring rains followed by a long, warm ripening period. The Ballinderry shows bright, ripe Cabernet characters: violets, blackcurrant and dark berry fruit. Cedar and wood spice from 12 months in fine-grained French oak complete the picture. Rich, round and full-bodied on the palate with ripe tannins and a long finish. Best drinking: 2008 – 2016.

This is the cabernet blend and this year's release needs an hour or so in the decanter to start strutting its stuff. It's then a lovely, perfumed wine, flush with flavours of blackcurrant and lead pencils, chocolate and mint. It rings surely through the finish and is ably aided by a fine, semi-discreet set of tannins. Nice cabernet this. Drink: 2012-2017. 92 points.
- Campbell Mattinson, Winefront, June 20, 2008

A smaller production but well worth seeking out, it’s roughly a third each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Aromas reflect the cool Canberra site, some blackcurrant and blueberry fruits, restrained and elegant. Lovely ripe cassis flavour floating on fine even tannins. Terrific balance.94 points
Nick Stock, WBM 100 – Wine News and Reviews, June 2008

Sean O’Riada is one of the heroes of modern Ireland. A talented musician and composer, he is credited with taking traditional Irish music out of the kitchens and pubs of Ireland and putting it on the concert stages of the world. He died, prematurely, in 1971, the year Clonakilla was established by John Kirk. He was John’s cousin.

The 2007 O’Riada Shiraz is made from fruit selected from five vineyards around the villages of Murrumbateman and Hall. The winemaking included the use of pre-ferment maceration, whole bunches, warm extended ferments, a small amount of co-fermented Viognier (2% overall) and twelve months maturation in French oak, 35% new.
This is classic Canberra District Shiraz: red fruits, spices, black pepper; wonderfully fragrant with a bright, medium bodied palate. Drink now after decanting or cellar for five to ten years.

In many ways the 2007 vintage is one that winemaker Tim Kirk would rather forget after a viscious frost destroyed almost the entire crop on his Clonakilla vineyard. But in other ways it worked in his favour, inspiring him to look further afield for fruit and try grapes other than those he’d grown himself. The result is this fine, dark, dense shiraz with rather luscious, slippery, spicy bramble/berry fruit, balanced by the kind of superbly handled, firm but fine powdery tannin structure you’d expect from this winemaker.
- Max Allen, Gourmet Traveller WINE, October/November 2008

Prepare yourself for one of the best new wines of the year. It’s pure transcendental meditation in a glass. When we first tasted this wine, we grinned, raised our arms in the air and shouted. If you are familiar with Clonakilla and its extraordinary wines you will understand.
- Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer, TASTE Food and Wine 2009

Opaque ruby. Potent, northern Rhone-like syrah aromas of dark berries, fresh violet, cracked pepper and smoky minerals. Blackcurrant and bitter cherry flavors are complicated by smoky bacon, cracked pepper and minerals. Energetic and impressively pure, with excellent finishing lift and cut. This could only be syrah. 92 points
- Josh Raynolds, Steve Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

At half the price of his Shiraz Viognier, Tim Kirk’s O’Riada is remarkably close in style. Co-fermented with two percent Viognier, this is an ethereally perfumed wine with pure black pepper and those same brilliant black fruits that have launched this estate to world fame. Very limited – be quick. 96 points.
- WBM 100, October 2008

Named after the cousin of Clonakilla founder, John Kirk, and Irish music legend Sean o’Riada; this is a collection of several parcels from around the district. Shows lifted, playful whole bunch aromatics, rose water, spice-dusted red fruits and plenty of pepper. The palate has youthful juicy appeal, some Viognier richness, plenty of red berry flavor and fine open-knit tannins. 94 points
- Nick Stock, The Penguin Good Australian Wine guide 2009

Excellent spring rains followed by a warm summer and a mild, dry autumn set 2006 up as another top year for Clonakilla. Our fifteenth Shiraz Viognier has a core of ripe fruit displaying layered spices, red fruits, dark cherries, black pepper and violets. Medium bodied and finely textured, the palate shows classic cool-climate structure with a supple, silken mouth-feel. There is 6% Viognier in the blend in 2006. Now available in magnum.

" Exceptionally powerful, rich and concentrated; a full-bodied, lush velvety texture and mouthfeel; black fruits and spice... To 2026 96/100"
- James Halliday's Wine Companion 2008

"It is another wonderful release under this label. It's steely in its structure, smoky and floral and blessed with a gorgeous mix of red and dark fruits. Of course, trademark spice lifts off the wine, and the texture is again silken and smooth. But what's really taken me with this release is the long, smoky, gunmetal-like tannins, which give the wine an overwhelming sense of sophistication. This release will need a good few years to show its best, but it's another classic. Drink: 2014-2023. 95/100."
- Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, August 9, 2007

"Tim Kirk's Shiraz Viognier - inspired by Rhone Valley winemaker Marcel Guigal - remains the benchmark of this blend in Australia. The 2006 continues the beautifully fragrant, graceful, supple style."
- Chris Shanahan, The Canberra Times, July 8, 2007

"This is the 15th release by Tim Kirk, who blazed the shiraz viognier trail for the galloping herd to follow. Six percent co-fermented Viognier gives the usual bright, clear colour and a silky mouth feel to the luscious, spicy, red and black fruits on the extremely long palate, with precise tannins and perfect oak balance. 96 points"
- James Halliday’s Top 100 2008

"The challenge every year for Tim Kirk is to keep his adoring fans happy and satiated – no easy task when he has not only set the benchmark for SV but raised the bar every year. We are delighted to report that this year’s ‘Killa is doing much more than this and sending us into raptures. It is one tasting sample that got completely demolished with every perfumed aroma adored and every soothing drop savoured. This gorgeous wine remains in a class of its own – it is truly monumental."
- Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer, TASTE FOOD AND WINE 2008.

"Considerably more serious is the Cote-Rotie-like 2006 Shiraz-Viognier (with 6% of the latter co-fermented). It offers a splendid bouquet of pain grille, smoky bacon and sausage, violets, blackberry, and blueberry muffin. This is followed by a full-bodied, savory, opulent wine with gobs of fruit, layers of flavor, and well concealed tannin. All components are nicely integrated and the finish lasts for 60+ seconds. Give it 6-8 years of additional cellaring and drink it through 2036. 95 points. Drink 2013 – 2036"
- Jay Miller, The Wine Advocate #173, October 2007

Every year at Clonakilla we make a small batch of straight Syrah from our Murrumbateman vineyard. Normally we blend it into the Shiraz Viognier just prior to bottling. This year we decided to bottle the Syrah separately. Whole berries were fermented warm by their own native yeasts. Three weeks maceration on skins stabilised colour and took the rough edges off the tannins. 20 months maturation in French oak, 40% new, delivered another level of refinement and a touch of finesse. This is a serious, complex, alluring cool-climate Syrah: Potent spice aromas, red fruits, smoked meats and black pepper lead onto a finely textured, medium bodied palate. Intriguing now, careful cellaring over five to ten years will reveal more of the mystery.

" If you have a Clonakilla collection on the go then you must add this wine to it. It's a Clonakilla syrah minus the viognier - this syrah usually makes its way into the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier icon wine. Whole bunches and wild yeasts have been used and of course it's been matured in the best French oak. It's quite a fascinating wine. It's lighter than you might expect, intensely focussed, juicy and earthen and persistent. It has elements of bitterness and elements of gunmetal, though the main strike is of cherried, cranberried fruit. For all its lightness it still manages to make a powerful statement, mainly because it's so articulate and defined. I suspect that in twenty years time it will be mesmerising. Drink: 2016-2028. 95 points.”
- Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front, April 9, 2008.

Clonakilla’s shiraz-viognier blend from the Canberra district is one of Australia’s greatest red wines. A tiny proportion of Viognier and whole bunch fermentation give its core of cool-climate shiraz French-accented finesse and complexity. This Syrah, a 100% shiraz, follows a different path. It’s made without whole bunch and Viognier components, using more traditional Australian red wine methods. The result still has elegant fragrance, but it’s a more forceful type of wine that’s still raw and immature. Earthy, slightly wild, dark fruit aromas, meaty notes, spice, new oak and a hint of leather give the nose an Aussie slant, but the palate retains typical Clonakilla silkiness, albeit in a warmer, more powerful vein. It’s persistent, with excellent texture, and fine ripe tannins.
Ageing? Three to twelve years
Food ideas: Braised beef cheek; venison.
FIVE STARS
- Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age, July 8, 2008