Shiraz Viognier 1999

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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 where generosity of spirit as much as vineyard site and winemaking practice inextricably weaves through the wine. The perfumed, sensuous, Clonakilla style is essentially about “fruit leading the wood”. It is a highly aromatic wine with ginger, white pepper, apricot fruit, some savoury French oak nuances and fine slinky/boney tannins.