Extended
tasting note 11
Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2004 and Riesling 2004 Canberra District,
Australia
The setting: it's a
lovely warm Canberra evening, and as the sun dips the gum trees are
lit up in generous, warm tones of orange and brown. Fittingly, as I
sit on my balcony, I'm drinking two wines from Cabnerra district
producer Clonakilla.
I begin with the Clonakilla
Riesling 2004. It's a good yellow colour - deeper than I'd have
expected - with the intense limey nose showing some honeyed depth.
It's unmistakeably an Australian Riesling: the savoury, limey
character gives it away. On the palate it is concentrated and bright,
with tightwound, savoury limey fruit and good acidity.
There's real
precision and focus to this wine. It's full flavoured and savoury,
combining delicacy with power. It's crying out for a fresh sea bass,
grilled with just a touch of olive oil and some gentle seasoning. Or
big juicy prawns.
What do you want
from Riesling? This is quite perfumed, but it's much more substantial
than say a Mosel Riesling. What I like about Australian Riesling (and
Austrian Riesling, for that matter) is that residual sugar isn't
needed to counter the acidity. New Zealand Rieslings, for example,
almost always have some residual sugar: they taste dry, but that's
because of the balancing effect of the acidity. The sugar plumps up
and rounds out the palate, sometimes at the expense of complexity or
finesse.
Moving on to the Clonakilla
Shiraz Viognier 2004. This is their famous wine. There's a hiccup
as the tamper-proof bridges on the screwcap won't snap and the whole
thing comes off in one piece, sleeve and all. I pour a glass: it's a
little warm, but immediately it's offering magical perfume of sweet,
ripe blackberry fruit. Chilled down just a touch, there's more
definition on the nose: more floral Syrah notes emerge, along with
complex spices.
The palate is
beautifully focused with generous, lush raspberry fruit and nice
complexity. Some savoury tannins add bite to the lush fruit, and there
are subtle tar and vanilla elements in the background. There's also
some Syrah pepperiness. This is a fantastic wine, up there with
Australia's best. I wouldn't say it is European in style, but it has
an elegance that hints a bit at the Northern Rhône. Catch one if you
can: this wine sells out fast, but in the UK Enotria have some.
Other
ETNs:
Grünhaus;
Roc des Anges; Gaillard;
Veratina; Arturo;
Wynns; Drystone;
Foundry and Columella; Meruge;
Foillard Morgon; Clonakilla
tasted
03/06
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