Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 1994-2021
BY ANGUS HUGHSON |
In the late nineties, an earthquake hit Australian wine. It was not in some historic wine region where you’d expect it, but in a place most of us had never dreamed of. No one could quite believe the first murmurs that something special was coming from vineyards planted near Canberra, the nation’s prosaic capital. It would take a little Guigal magic to light the flame.
Canberra has always felt like a big country town. Streets are wide, manicured and welcoming. With grand architecture dotting the landscape, traffic is rare. “Cutting-edge” and “revolutionary” have seldom been descriptors for Canberra. But then along came Clonakilla.
What Canberra did have was hundreds, if not thousands, of scientists. It was home to the national scientific laboratories and the Australian National University, so there were plenty of boffins with spare weekends on their hands, a handful of whom dedicated their time to winemaking and viticulture.
A minus 5-degree frost hits Clonakilla’s Eastern Vineyard.
Dr. John Kirk, an Irish biochemist, grew up in a family that owned hotels back in Ireland, including the Hydro Hotel in the spa town of Lisdoonvarna, near the country’s west coast. At a young age, Kirk was tasked with running the wine cellar, sparking an interest later passed down, particularly to his son Tim.
After arriving in Canberra, John Kirk was surprised to find no vineyards in an area where summers were warm to hot. Kirk then studied the local climate and found that the temperatures were not dissimilar to those of Bordeaux. So, he purchased a suitable block north of Canberra at Murrumbateman perched at an altitude of 600 meters that he liked the look of. Kirk named his vineyard Clonakilla after the family farm back in Ireland. There was little knowledge of viticultural science to back up his choice - Kirk just went by his gut feeling. It turned out that the rich soils were volcanic in origin, which has traditionally worked well for Shiraz. But Kirk had claret aspirations, so his first vineyards planted in 1971, some of the first in the whole region, were of Cabernet Sauvignon. Shiraz followed in 1972. Over time, it became clear to Kirk that Shiraz rather than Cabernet Sauvignon would become the hero variety thanks to the local climate. In particular, the diurnal temperature range, which can fluctuate in the summer from between 16 degrees before dawn to 36 degrees mid-afternoon, is well suited to this classic Rhône variety.
Rules are made to be broken. In the rich landscape of Australian Shiraz, Clonakilla was the original maverick, pioneering cool climate Shiraz Viognier blends in an unlikely new wine region. Serendipitous plantings of Viognier and travels to Domaine Guigal lit a spark that has grown into an unexpected, runaway success that has helped to redefine Australian Shiraz. This vertical tasting of the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier celebrated the winery’s 50th birthday and showcased a wine with unique finesse and longevity.
