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  • Country ranking ?

    305
  • Producer ranking ?

    15
  • Decanting time

    -
  • When to drink

    Now

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The Story

The south facing 12 acre vineyard – located in the sleepy picturesque and biscuit-coloured Murrumbateman landscape – is planted on sandy clay loams over friable clays. The need to be different during the 1980s boutique winery boom moved Clonakilla away from the mainstream in 1986 and into the unproven but tantalising marriage potential and astounding nuances of Viognier as a co-factor in the vinification of Shiraz. This is a supreme example of...

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Vintage 1999

Australia Vintage Report:1999 also had a dry winter in Australia, with average temperatures for all months. However, there were a considerable amount of drizzly days at harvest time, causing some headaches with varieties susceptible to Botrytis cluster rot, ie. Grenache. It cleared up and the wines produced were all closed and slightly below average intensity. They look better and better.

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Written Notes

Frost in October of '98 meant that this wine was made from “second growth fruit”. 5% Viognier co-fermented; 1/4 whole bunches; 12 months in 36% new Sirugue and Francois Freres barrels. 13.5%.

There was near universal agreement, or as near to universal as one could hope for in a room of opinionated winelovers, about most of the wines but this was one that split the crowd. Behind the gamey/truffle-y tones, there appeared to be a whiff of VA. Some felt it lifted the wine; others were more sensitive, believing its presence marred the overall impression. I suspect it comes down to the level of VA each individual finds tolerable. Penfold's Grange was often used as the example of a wine where a slightly more elevated level, than that found in many wines, has long been considered a positive. Personally, it was not at a level to cause any problems for me, though I felt that the finish was a little curious. In addition, there was a peppery note, presumably the result of the cool and wet conditions. The pickers had been led a merry dance by intermittent rain. All up, even if one didn't have any issues with the VA or anything else, not in the top tier.

88?

  • 88p
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Information

Origin

Canberra District
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