2024 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier
Australian Shiraz doesn’t get much more refined than this
I love this wine in pretty much every vintage condition; it varies each year, but it remains true to its fine, complex DNA. This is super.
Erin Larkin, robertparker.com, September 2025
2024 Clonakilla, Shiraz Viognier
£390 per 6 bottle case in bond
If an estate makes consistently great wine in vastly differing conditions, you have to be curious as that demonstrates winemaking skill as well as making a statement about the terroir – all the factors that make the location special.
I wrote up Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier last year when we released the 2023 from a notably cool year. It is a stunning wine, very classy and very refined. To then follow that with a remarkably refined 2024—even though it was born from a set of challenging conditions, marked by heat and dryness—is quite something.
Winter rainfall restored ground water reserves for what proved to be a very hot and dry year. Frost early in the season had already limited yield, so volumes were well down on the norm, yet the Shiraz still came through in fine form. It’s a complete contrast to the 2023 in terms of the conditions that shaped it, and yet the wine again showcases its hallmark elegance. You would struggle to find two more contrasting vintages than 2023 and 2024, and yet the end results are equally impressive and entirely in keeping with this wine’s reputation. Kudos to Clonakilla. To be frank, this is quickly becoming one of my favourite Australian Shiraz, and certainly one of the most distinctive.
Clonakilla was founded in 1971 by John Kirk. John grew up in County Clare, Ireland, and became interested in wine while working at his family’s hotel, managing their cellar. He began reading about the great regions of Europe, but it was during his biochemistry studies at the University of Cambridge that his knowledge deepened. In 1968 he took up a research position in Canberra. On arrival, he couldn’t understand why there were no vineyards; he was told the climate was too cold, but he disagreed.
He bought a 44 acre farm near Murrumbateman, about 40 kilometres north of Canberra, and quickly established a vineyard, naming the property ‘Clonakilla’—‘meadow of the church’—after his grandfather’s farm in County Clare. The soils revealed a reddish parna (wind deposited clay and silt) over yellowish clay, then heavy clay over decomposed dacite (a finely ground volcanic rock). Among other varieties, John planted Viognier, looking for a variety in which to specialise. Back then, the Shiraz was blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, but in 1990 he decided to bottle the Shiraz separately. The 1990 vintage caused a stir at various wine shows, winning several awards. John’s son Tim returned from a trip to the northern Rhône in time for the 1992 harvest and proposed co fermenting Shiraz with Viognier, as practiced by Côte Rôtie producers. The rest, as they say, is history.
The Shiraz Viognier has grown in reputation over the years, and in 2005 received an Outstanding ranking in Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine. In 2010 it achieved Exceptional status, one of only 22 wines in the country to do so, with Andrew Caillard MW calling it “one of the most important advances in the development of Australian Shiraz since the release of the 1952 Penfolds Grange Hermitage”. As comparisons in Australian wine go, that is quite a statement.
The 2024 is a touch rounder and fuller than the 2023, as you’d expect, and one degree higher in alcohol at 14%, though you wouldn’t necessarily notice that in the glass. I love the gently mashed blue and red fruit character in this wine. It has a floral lift on the nose and those distinctive peachy, orangey top notes. Layered, vibrant, pure, caressing—this is no blockbuster. It remains so refined, with a gentle creaminess to its juicy berry fruit and hints of spice. Sleek and effortless—Clonakilla continues to be an exercise in refinement. As I’ve said before, you could enjoy it now as it is already beautifully balanced, but it will be fascinating to see how it evolves. Another great Clonakilla—Australian Shiraz doesn’t get much more refined than this. Exceptional. And yes, it does in some way remind me of Côte Rôtie!
Below you will find Erin Larkin’s review on robertparker.com – I don’t know what a Boscobel rose is but I intend to find out!
2024 Clonakilla, Shiraz Viognier
£390 per 6 bottle case in bond
97 points, Erin Larkin, robertparker.com, September 2025
The 2024 Shiraz Viognier is so perfumed from the glass, with notes of orange blossom and Boscobel rose, raspberry seed and peppercorns. The wine is delicately layered, spicy and medium-bodied, with many nuanced levels of texture and flavor. In youth these wines express floral detail and an orange-peel lift, while with age they develop meaty nuances and ethereal dried rose petal complexity. I love this wine in pretty much every vintage condition; it varies each year, but remains true to its fine, complex DNA. This is super. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink 2025–2044
Please let us know of your interest.
Simon
simon.larkin@atlasfinewines.com