The expression is marked by red and dark berries, primarily cherries and raspberries, with hints of black currant, pepper, and other spices.
Normally, Shiraz from Australia is potent and powerful, but at Clonakilla, they make wine in the French style. Here, the expression is meant to be cool, the wine elegant, and the flavor full of finesse. They have found a mesoclimate in the otherwise scorching land, where the temperatures are much more similar to France’s. This means that they can make Shiraz wines that a blind taster would confidently place in the Rhône Valley, rather than Australia. It’s a red wine that is light but full-bodied, where the typical fleshy and peppery notes known from French Syrah wines take far more stage time than one is used to in Australia. It is a testament to Australia’s formidable diversity, and it simply tastes amazing!
Syrah grapes from five different vineyards on southwest-facing slopes in the Hilltops district of New South Wales are used in this Northern Rhône-inspired Shiraz. The winemaking process takes place in open fermentation tanks and then in large oak barrels. The wine is aged for 11 months in a combination of French barriques and larger casks, of which 15% are new and the rest are 2-5 years old, followed by an additional 3 months in bottle before release. The result is a crisp, medium-bodied red wine that stylistically is significantly cooler and more “Rhône-like” than the Shiraz wines we are familiar with from Barossa and McLaren Vale.
