CLONAKILLA O’RIADA SHIRAZ 2022

Clonakilla is one of the true icons of the Australian wine scene. Since its inception, it has been one of the leading lights of the Australian cool climate wine insurgence.

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"Sean O’Riada is one of the heroes of modern Ireland. A talented musician and composer, he is credited with taking traditional Irish music out of the kitchens and pubs of Ireland and putting it on the concert stages of the world. He died, prematurely, in 1971, the year Clonakilla was established by John Kirk. He was John’s cousin.

2022 was a cool vintage with gentle ripening progressing well into autumn. The O’Riada is made from fruit picked from our estate vineyard and other fine sites in Murrumbateman and Hall. It’s a quintessential Canberra Shiraz, medium bodied with red berry and floral themes and plenty of cool-climate spice."

93/100 Huon Hooke, The Real Review, August 2023 (2022 Vintage)
"Bright, medium-deep red-purple colour with a distinctly peppery cool-climate nose. Aromatic, with floral and mixed spice aromas and lots of charm. It’s medium bodied at the most, with fine texture and delicate tannins that melt away quickly. A very accessible, light to medium-weight red that could be described as a pinot drinker’s shiraz. "

Reviews for the previous vintage below…

95/100 Mike Bennie, The Wine Front (2021 Vintage)
"Savoury, firm tannin, charming rusticity, a distinct style. This one hits the mark too. So savoury, but fresh too, and all that hazelnut and clove seems very fruit derived, with layers of spice, game meat and faint herbal inflection. Texture is bright, crisp almost but for the slinky, roughed up but silky tannins. Succulence to finish, a kiss of ripe fruit and the spice trails long away. Such a beautiful wine. Wow stuff."