Opulent Cote Rotie-style Aussie red with clove and cinnamon spice and a distinctive twist of the pepper grinder overlaying sumptuous blackberry fruit.
- Anthony Rose, The Independent (UK), January 4, 2003

A new benchmark for cooler-climate Australian Shiraz, and a serious rival for the classiest Cote Rotie you could find (for three times the price)
- Max Allen, Decanter (UK), December 2002

Vibrant fruit flavours: gorgeous spice, and incredible fruit intensity. Could drink this all day: especially with another five or so years in the bottle. 94(95)/100.
- Tim White, The Weekend Australian Financial Review, August 24, 2002.

The aroma is sensational…the palate is sumptuous but beautifully proportioned…this is as good an example of cool-climate shiraz as Australia makes.
- Chris Shanahan, The Canberra Times, July 28, 2002.

What a wine! This could be the best yet in a very distinguished line. It has a marvelously aromatic, complex, fascinating bouquet of white pepper, mixed spices and herbs, with barely noticeable, subtle French oak. The palate is tremendously intense and alive, with great elegance and power. The tannins are forceful but smooth and it finishes with a twist of bitter chocolate, and no harshness. A seamless, wonderful red to serve with hard cheeses.
Best Shiraz - Best Red Wine- Penguin Wine of the Year
- Huon Hooke and Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2002/2003

Clonakilla 2002 Shiraz Viognier (6% Viognier)

...and the leader of them all, Clonakilla, becomes more exquisite by the year - so much so that now, in a relatively short time, it's become one of Australia's blue chip shiraz wines in a marketplace crowded with shiraz; quite some feat. The great 2001 release is a luminescent wine of licoricey depth and yet bright, brilliant cherry-spice, but this 2002 release is even better. The tannin structure is longer, ropier and better built for a haul (it's as good a tannin structure as you will ever see), the fruit is not as bright but is deeper and reaches further through the finish, and complexity wise there's just more going on: sweetened vegetables, five- and pepper-spice, smoked meats, plums and cherries and sugared oranges. This wine will become an Australian classic of it's style. Drink: Now-2014. 96 points.
- Campbell Mattinson - Winefront Monthly - August, 2003

Astonishingly perfumed, scented with honeysuckle, apricot blossom and rose petals, cloves and cinnamon, with underlying meaty aromas of intense cassis, raspberries and boysenberries, undergrowth and farm floor. Fine-grained, long and stylised palate whose tightly focused small berry flavours and meaty, farmyard complexity intermesh with powdery tannins, building on the palate towards a lingering, savoury finish. 19.0/20. Drink 2010-2014.
- Jeremy Oliver - On Wine - Volume5, Issue 10, June 2003

The 2001 was one of the best Australian reds of the past ten years and the '02 is not far behind. Magnificent aromatics courtesy of ripe, spicy shiraz and a twist of exotic viognier, and a long, fine beautifully structured palate that sings a love song to your tongue. If you like red wine with real character and quality, I strongly suggest you get on the mailing list. The shiraz viognier sells out incredibly quickly each year so don't be tardy.
- Stuart Gregor, Don't Buy Wine Without Me 2004 - Text Publishing, Melbourne

The '02 is right up to the stellar '01, with perhaps a little less weight and a touch more new oak in its youth. It's a lovely, elegant, cool-climate shiraz with alluring cherry, black pepper, clove and mixed-spice aromas. It's complex and long, with intensity, grip and balance. Food: saddle of hare. Aging: drink now to 2017+ Five Stars
- Huon Hooke and Ralph Kyte-Powell, Epicure Uncorked, August 19, 2003.

Excellent colour; fragrant, stylish and complex, rippling with licorice/anise, spice and black cherry; fine texture and mouthfeel; ripe tannins. Another outstanding wine. Six percent viognier. Rating: 95 Drink: 2012
- James Halliday Wine Companion 2005

One of my favourites is the 2002 Clonakilla Canberra District Shiraz Viognier. This sublime shiraz-viognier blend has all the smoky-tarry undertones of the northern Rhone combining with the plump opulence of ripe blackberry fruit and an elegantly savoury, distinctly Cote Rotie clove spice and pepper character that marks it out as capital stuff.
- Anthony Rose, The Independent, 22 May 2004

Clonakilla 2003 Shiraz Viognier (7% Viognier)

At last week's Shiraz Alliance in the Barossa, leading Cote Rotie producer Michel Chapoutier told me the best shiraz he tasted at the event was the 2003 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier, yet another superb vintage for this modern classic
- Huon Hooke, Good Living, Sydney Morning Herald, August 8, 2004

Vibrantly fragrant and spicy; elegant, medium-bodied black cherry fruit; long and balanced. 95 points .
- James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2006

Ripe, generous and assertive, this northern Rhone-like blend has a meaty fragrance whose viognier-derived perfume enhances the muskiness and spiciness of its earthy, red berry shiraz. Despite its sumptuous texture and powerful flavours, it's a silky, fine and elegant wine richly endowed with dark fruits and framed by firm, fine-grained tannins. Savoury, tightly focused and supremely balanced. (19/20,2011-2015+)
- Jeremy Oliver, OnWine, July 3, 2004.

Three in a row. Tim Kirk has done it again: he's been hovering around the mark with the sheer quality of this wine and if anything, this 2003 is as good or better than anything he's done yet. The viognier's a 7 percent and while it's apparent it comes across as just a small part of the show: what is dominant is a truly exquisite sense of finesse, a fine set of tannins, ripples of spice and cherry and the most seductive, dry, lipsmacking licorice flavour you could ever desire. This is a wine of rare complexity, real complexity, and rare quality. Drink: 2008 - 2020. 97 points
- Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly, July 2004

In something of a scoop for Winewise we tasted the just-bottled 2003 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier days before going to print. Although this wine won't be released for a few months, our sneak preview may encourage you to seek it out. We've commented in the past that Australian shiraz is heading in an exciting new direction, with makers in cooler areas producing exciting wines that rival those from Cote Rotie and Hermitage. Clonakilla is one of the leaders, and the 2003 is an intense yet supremely elegant shiraz with a subtly complex, slightly spicy bouquet and an exquisite fragrance derived from both varietal components. The palate is very long and very fine. Outstanding
- Lester Jesberg, WINEWISE, June 2004

Made by John Kirk's son Tim at Murrumbateman since 1988, this blend is the latest in a succession of beautifully crafted wines. From a dry, warm vintage, and with 7 per cent added Viognier - which was co-fermented with the shiraz - this fragrant, concentrated, savoury and fruit-driven wine has aromas of red and dark berry fruits, black peppercorns and earth that lead onto an equally complex and long palate. The wine's ripe, fine and persistent tannins means that, while the odd bottle can be enjoyed now with food, it will continue to improve for at least another 10 years and probably longer.
- Philip Rich, 2004 TOP 20
The Australian Financial Review Magazine - December 2004

Before everyone started blending these two varieties, Clonakilla was quietly crafting what remains our most convincing answer to Cote-Rotie.
- Philip Rich, Top Ten Wines of the Decade, The Australian Financial Review Magazine, May 2005, 10th Anniversary Edition

The leading Shiraz Viognier blend in the country and remarkably consistent... It has superbly expressive bouquet of mixed spices and berries, avoiding the outrageous apricot character of many of these blends. The palate is supremely graceful and texturally superb, with soft ripe tannins that flow seamlessly across the palate.
- Huon Hooke, The 10 best Australian wines of the past year Sydney Morning Herald Good Living, January 11, 2005.

Another superb, sophisticated red from this tiny but highly-respected winery. Fragrant, intensely-perfumed raspberry, blackberry and apricot fruit on the nose, with a mix of white and black pepper and mace spiciness. Savoury sweet and totally enchanting.
- Tim White, The Australian Financial Review, September 17, 2004.

Tim Kirk at Clonakilla helped instigate the Aussie trend toward co-fermenting shiraz with Viognier, a traditional practice in Cote Rotie. And his is consistently among the best. Both the color and the aroma are bright and vivid, a dynamic red cherry and red spice scent running straight through the wine. It's supple and glowing with sweet fruit when first poured, chewy and delicious. With air, the brisk tannin and acid structure become more apparent, balancing the sweetness in a long, satisfying finish. Decant a bottle for butterflied leg of lamb, grilled with rosemary. 94 points - 100 Best Wines - Best Australian Shiraz Blend
- Wine and Spirits (US) Winter 2005

Clonakilla 2004 Shiraz Viognier (7% Viognier)

Every Australian winemaker playing with blending Viognier into their shiraz needs to buy this to see how it should be done. Exquisite, pure perfume of tangy, spicy red fruit and pepper, and a concentrated, elegant texture. Stunning.
- Max Allen, The Weekend Australian Magazine, August 6, 2005

A first-rate wine of charm, focus and elegance. Its vibrant peppery perfume of pristine black and red berry fruits is both floral and spicy, revealing superbly integrated cedar/vanilla oak. Fine and supple, its smooth and silky palate bursts with intense flavours of blackberries, redcurrants and cassis wound tightly around some very classy and fine-grained tannins… Try to hang on to some, at least. 97/100, drink 2012-2016+
- Jeremy Oliver, www.onwine.com.au, June 15, 2005

Look hard and you see all the dizzying displays for which this wine is fast becoming famous: summer flowers, various cherries and berries and currants, firm cedary oak and inlays of star anise. This is becoming mildly ridiculous: four outstanding releases under this label in a row. Drink: 2006-2015. 95 points .
- Campbell Mattinson, Winefront Monthly, July 2005

Lots of complexity and it's still a pup, roasted meats and cinnamon spice, fragrant lift, ...blackberry fruit aromas and finely ground pepper open the score as layer upon layer peels away in full seduction mode... The palate is impossibly silky, fine and long, really ridiculously long with beautifully articulated structure and a full array of complex characters. 97+ points
- Nick Stock, The Adelaide Review, July 22, 2005

Aficionados of this Canberra red keenly await each vintage. The just arrived '04 shows a little more Viognier influence than usual at this stage, with floral and apricot touches, but the core of rich, slightly gamey, plummy fruit remains seductive. Oak is subtle and the mouthfeel velvety, with mellow, ripe tannins in perfect balance. Five Stars
- Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age Epicure, August 2, 2005

Sexy, exotic, and open-knit with a savory, expansive mouthfeel is the Burgundian-like 2004 Shiraz/Viognier. Soft, supple, and seductive, it reveals honeyed notes in the nose along with blackberry, cassis, and floral characteristics. This finesse-filled, hedonistically as well as intellectually satisfying Australian red should be drunk over the next 5-6 years. 92 points.
- Robert Parker Jnr. The Wine Advocate #161, November 2005.

It is said practice makes perfect, and Tim Kirk has had more practice than most with this blend, consistently fine-tuning the technique for a decade. Brilliantly coloured, the spotlessly clean bouquet has that hallmark whiff of apricot; blackberry, plum and spice drive the silky palate through to a long, perfectly balanced finish.. 96 points . Drink now-2019.
Drink now-2019. - James Halliday's Top 100, The Weekend Australian, November 19, 2005.

If I could only drink one Australian red wine at the moment, Tim Kirk's consistently superb shiraz viognier from his winery near Canberra would be it. Following on the heals of the majestic 2003, this year's release, while not as structured and long-lived will, however, provide enormous drinking pleasure over the next few years. Fleshy, supple and seductive, this perfumed (there is about 7% viognier in the blend) and heady wine is already an absolute joy to drink. But there won't be any problem if you manage to still have a bottle or two five to eight years from now.
- Philip Rich, 2005 Top 20 The Australian Financial Review Magazine, December 2005.

This is beautiful: pure apricot, raspberries and gentle spice. Gentle green pepper. So pretty. Has sweetness and a silky, raspberry-apricot core, with long, dry, fine tannins. Bursts in the mouth with brightness and develops lovely mouth aromas: gentle oak toast, spice and a lick of savoury soy to close. 95(96)/100
- Tim White, The Australian Financial Review, September 2-4, 2005

Tim Kirk makes immensely serious wines. This 2004 is a model wine for the world to marvel at. The depth and texture of fruit are heavenly.
- The Matthew Jukes 100 Best Australian Wines 2006

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