2022 Clonakilla O'Riada Shiraz
Grape
Shiraz
Its Origins
Clonakilla winery is a family business, established by John Kirk in 1971. Developing a vineyard and winery business was originally a weekend distraction for John. He had first developed an interest in wine when he was fourteen. His parents owned the Hydro Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare, Ireland. When he came home from boarding school one summer he was given the job of looking after the bar and stocking the hotel cellars. To get a handle on his new responsibilities he began to read about the great wine regions of Europe. He soon became smitten with the idea of wine. His personal knowledge of the subject was greatly expanded through his years of study at Cambridge University, his post doctoral work at Oxford and his time as a lecturer in biochemistry at the university town of Aberystwyth in Wales. In 1968 John took up an offer to come to Australia to take a research position with the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry in Canberra. John first planted Shiraz at Clonakilla in 1972. Through the seventies and eighties the Shiraz was blended with Cabernet Sauvignon in traditional Australian style. In 1990 it was decided to keep the Shiraz component separate. The Clonakilla 1990 Shiraz went on to win one silver, two gold and two trophies in three showings. James Halliday described it as “a tour de force in spicy/peppery varietal character”. Needless to say, the Kirks began to see Murrumbateman Shiraz in a new light.
What The Critics Say
94/100 RobertParker.com, Erin Larkin
"The 2022 O’Riada Shiraz is made from fruit picked from the Clonakilla estate and other vineyards in Murrumbateman and Hall. The 2022 season was cool and long, like its predecessor, 2021. On the nose, there are notes of pink musk sticks and rose petals, blood, black cherry, pastrami and iodine. In the mouth, the wine is everything that the nose has promised—vibrant, alive, delicious, exciting and shaped by very fine pumice stone tannins. Gentle dust and brush sway through the finish. What a lovely wine. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap." Drink 2023 - 2032
93/100 The Real Review, Huon Hooke
"Sean O’Riada was a noted Irish musician, and Clonakilla’s Irish-born founder Dr John Kirk, by all reports a great fiddle-player in his salad days, pays this tribute to his cousin.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."
95/100 The Wine Front, Mike Bennie (2021 vintage)
"O’Riada was always the one ‘we’ missed at the Canberra Regional Wine Show, in my tenure there. 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."
Variety | Shiraz / Syrah |
---|---|
Closure | Cap |
Volume | 750ml |
Alcohol | 13.00% |
Maturity | 2022 - 2037 |
This Wine Goes Well With
Taste
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