There are certain wines that simply define a region, a style, and even a moment in time. Clonakilla’s Shiraz Viognier is one such icon. Born from the cool climate of the Canberra District and inspired by the legendary wines of Côte-Rôtie, it’s a wine that has consistently pushed the boundaries of Australian Shiraz. And the newly released 2023 vintage is no exception—if anything, it may just be one of the most captivating releases to date.
Let’s take a deep dive into the brilliance behind this wine and why this vintage is already creating a stir among wine lovers and critics alike.
A Vintage to Remember
The 2023 growing season wasn’t a walk in the park for Clonakilla. A cool, wet spring had winemakers biting their nails as the vines were slow to bud and even slower to ripen. With such sluggish development, you’d be forgiven for thinking the vintage was doomed. But, as often happens in great vintages, nature turned on a charm offensive when it mattered most. The summer came through, mild and sunny, giving the vines the perfect conditions to finish their job. The result was pristine fruit, picked in mid-April, ripened to perfection and promising something special in the bottle.
This was a season that demanded patience and precision from winemaker Tim Kirk. It was a vintage that, according to Kirk himself, produced a Shiraz Viognier that is “aromatically thrilling” and “archetypal” of Clonakilla’s cool-climate style. And indeed, the 2023 vintage reflects the pedigree and precision that have made this wine such a sought-after icon of Australian wine.
"This vintage strikes me as archetypal, style-defining, the essence of cool-climate Shiraz. It is certainly beautiful; aromatically thrilling with a classically luminous, elegant palate."
- Tim Kirk
The Aromatic Explosion
What makes the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier so singular is the combination of Shiraz’s spicy, bold character with the fragrant, floral notes imparted by Viognier. This year, the perfume is nothing short of electric. You get waves of violets and black pepper, alongside an entire spice cupboard’s worth of aromatics. There’s a sense of vibrancy, almost like stepping into a wild garden on a crisp, sunny day—the floral Viognier essence intertwined with dark fruits, bringing intensity and lift to the bouquet.
Wine critics have been practically swooning over this aromatic prowess. Jeni Port described it as a “peppery spice explosion,” while Huon Hooke noted the “violets and roses” with a “good purple rim” that sets the stage for the rich but elegant palate to follow.
Palate Perfection
On the palate, this wine is an exercise in balance and finesse. The tannins are fine-grained, supple, and tightly knit, creating a structure that feels luxurious but restrained. There’s a savoury edge to it—an earthiness that grounds the vibrant layers of blackberry, plum, and spice, making it a wine that’s equally compelling to drink now or cellar for years to come.
Campbell Mattinson of The Wine Front gave it a stellar 96 points, praising its "buoyant, juicy, and perfumed" nature, with tannins that form a delicate but strong web, holding the whole experience together with a touch of grace. He waxes poetic, comparing it to a Morricone film score—"orchestral" and "spellbinding"—and urges wine lovers to "abandon all resistance" when approaching this masterpiece.
A Cooler Vintage, A Leaner Style
The 2023 Shiraz Viognier also stands out for its refined and slightly lighter style, a result of the cooler vintage. Jane Faulkner, in her review for the Halliday Wine Companion, points out that the wine’s “mid-weighted palate is tight and a touch lean with red fruit accents, bright acidity, and fine if plentiful tannins.” This leaner, more refined style lends the wine an ethereal quality, one that sneaks up on you, revealing layers upon layers of complexity as it opens up in the glass.
The cooler conditions of 2023 seem to have brought a new dimension to Clonakilla’s flagship wine, with pepper and spice notes taking centre stage, as Port mentions, giving the wine a youthful, energetic personality. It’s a wine that’s already thrilling to drink now but promises even greater rewards for those with the patience to let it evolve over the next decade or more.
Why You Need This Wine in Your Collection
If you’ve ever wondered why the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier is one of Australia’s most collectable wines, the 2023 vintage is all the answer you’ll need. It’s the essence of cool-climate winemaking—precise, elegant, and full of life. The mix of bright acidity, fine tannins, and intoxicating aromatics makes this a wine you can enjoy on a lazy spring afternoon or let age in your cellar for 10–15 years to come.
For the die-hard Clonakilla fans, this vintage delivers all the hallmarks you’ve come to expect: floral aromatics, dark fruit, spice, and an undeniable sense of place. But for those new to the wine, this is a perfect entry point—a masterclass in what Shiraz Viognier can achieve in the hands of a visionary winemaker.
If you’re serious about exploring the best that Australian wine has to offer, the 2023 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier is a must-have.
You can secure your allocations of the 2023 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier here.
Here's what the critics are saying:
96 points - "The finesse of this release. The fragrance too, which leads to a palate where just enough, feels like extra. It’s buoyant, juicy and perfumed, with a wild party of spice notes flying through the wine like happiness itself, or like confetti, either way there’s an air here of celebration. This wine sits on the apex of the road, where the rain meets the oil. The fruit flavours have a water-colour aspect; the texture coats the flavour in satin. We’ve come to expect all the above from Clonakilla’s flagship wine. What’s special, for me, in this 2023 release is the web of tannin, as dewy as it is strong. There’s a weave to this release. It’s a masterpiece of twigs, nuts and strings. If Morricone had been a winemaker he’d have made something like this. Orchestral. Spellbinding. Itself. Abandon all resistance, ye who enter here." - Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)
96 points - "The colour is medium-deep with a good purple rim and the bouquet is detailed and fragrant, violets and roses, an entire spice cupboard of aromas, with dark cherry to blackberry fruit underpinning it all. The wine is supremely elegant on the palate, jusy medium to full bodied and finely textured with plentiful tannins that are fine-grained and supple, the finish long and refreshing. Effortless intensity and charm." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)
96 points - "Just when we think we know the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier style – all those red berries and rosehip aromatics – up pops a couple of cool years one after the other and with them a peppery spice explosion. Following on from the 2022 Shiraz Viognier comes another cooler-than-cool example where the drinker is treated to a wonderful world of spice, fully laden with heady black pepperiness. It’s a wow! Cherry, cranberry, bramble, sage, black pepper, rosemary and spice. It’s a chockful aroma attack. The aromatic intensity is heightened on the palate with black peppery spice a strong feature that also brings real energy, highlighting the bright cherry, red fruits and sage. Tannins are cherry pip savoury dry. Has class and medium-bodied elegance to burn but with a youthful personality that just keeps on going." - Jeni Port (Wine Pilot)
95 points - "The flagship is in fine form from this cool vintage, rendering it elegant and quite exotic. Plus, 22% whole bunches in the ferment make an impact. It’s a touch sappy yet laden with heady aromatics – all florals with a dusting of Middle Eastern spices such as sumac. Super peppery. The mid-weighted palate is tight and a touch lean with red fruit accents, bright acidity and fine if plentiful tannins. It’s a wine you keep coming back to as it reveals more and differently. It's lovely and enticing; it feels light and ethereal, deceptive. Time will reward the patient as this builds more complexity, but it is seriously hard to resist now." - Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)