A few weeks ago I send off my rather modest order for 3 Shiraz/ Viognier and 3 Riesling to Clonakilla.
When the wine arrived I opened box to find 3 Shiraz/Viognier and 3 Hilltops Shiraz. So I rang the winery and told them what had happened and they were very apologetic and promised to have Riesling sent out to me ASAP. I can't remember the name of the lady I spoke to, which I regret because she deserves a pat on the back for the helpful and friendly manner she showed to me. They then asked (reluctantly......they didn't want to put me out) if I would mind sending back the Hilltops once this was received and they would credit my Visa for the postage costs. No problem I said as didn't mind packing up and sending back the Hilltops.
The Riesling arrived today and as I unpacked the bottles I found a hand written note from Tim Kirk (I think from signature) which again apologised for the mix-up and he said to keep & enjoy the Hilltops. It was very generous gesture for what to me was only a minor problem (I actually feel a little guilty keeping it), but I believe it shows that Clonakilla is as committed to their front end service as they are to making the wine.
WELL DONE Clonakilla for going above and beyond the call.
Many Thanks Clonakilla - Customer Service Beyond The Call
michaelw wrote:That is great service Ben. Now I wish I had added to your order!
You just never know when good fortune will strike
Adair........cracking a bottle and sharing my views is a duty I am more than happy to preform. I have seen a post of yours regarding this wine and expect it be a bit feral (like my 2 year old daughter) so I am looking forward to trying what should be an interesting wine.
Just had an interesting discussion offline with another person who recently tasted the wine (the identify of the person is not hard to guess if you are a forum crosser). You will definitely form an opinion about it. Also, when you try it, please give me your thoughts on whether it will harmonise over the next decade turning into a delightful wine (it is not in harmony now but is agruably in great balance in a big and complex way now) or will it "smell like a hot freshly dropped steaming turd more than wine" in 10 years. 
Adair
Adair
TN Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2002
I finally got around to tasting the Hilltops Shiraz and I was expecting a monster but it wasn't as feral as I thought.
The initial aromas seemed to lack any fruit character it was dutch licorice, tar and bacon. This settled after an hour or so and I started to see some raspberry, cherry and pepper notes which become more obvious as time went on.
It was had good mouth fell and the meaty/tar flavours were predominate with undertones of sour cherries which came more to the for as the night went on. At times there was what seemed to be a medicdal character as well. There was good acid and I didn't find the tannins to big at the back of my mouth but the finish literally left me with a bitter taste in my mouth......just like tonic water.
My partner didn't like the wine and if fact couldn't finish the glass. I didn't mind the wine but I am glad I didn't buy it and I doubt I would go out of my way to try it again.
Adair I agree it is a balanced wine but imagine that in 10 years that it will smell like the bones I have to scrape the marrow out of for my dog (he can't tolerate much fat his diet in case you were wonder why I do this). That might be a bit rough but I would expect see that meaty/tar like character contintue to be pronounced as the primary fruit starts to fade out. This may prove interesting but I doubt I would describe it as a delightful.
The initial aromas seemed to lack any fruit character it was dutch licorice, tar and bacon. This settled after an hour or so and I started to see some raspberry, cherry and pepper notes which become more obvious as time went on.
It was had good mouth fell and the meaty/tar flavours were predominate with undertones of sour cherries which came more to the for as the night went on. At times there was what seemed to be a medicdal character as well. There was good acid and I didn't find the tannins to big at the back of my mouth but the finish literally left me with a bitter taste in my mouth......just like tonic water.
My partner didn't like the wine and if fact couldn't finish the glass. I didn't mind the wine but I am glad I didn't buy it and I doubt I would go out of my way to try it again.
Adair I agree it is a balanced wine but imagine that in 10 years that it will smell like the bones I have to scrape the marrow out of for my dog (he can't tolerate much fat his diet in case you were wonder why I do this). That might be a bit rough but I would expect see that meaty/tar like character contintue to be pronounced as the primary fruit starts to fade out. This may prove interesting but I doubt I would describe it as a delightful.
Hello Ben (I will refrain from replying to you, TORB ),
Thank you for spending the time to write your thoughts. I guess they are just another example of people not agreeing on the same wine. Life would be boring if we agreed! But as I said, I knew this wine would not be everyone's "cup of tea". The only thing I am surprised about in your notes was the lack of tannins. The rest of your notes definitely indicate to me that we were drinking the same wine. Anyway, I will crack open another soon with your comments in mind.
Thanks,
Adair
),
Thank you for spending the time to write your thoughts. I guess they are just another example of people not agreeing on the same wine. Life would be boring if we agreed! But as I said, I knew this wine would not be everyone's "cup of tea". The only thing I am surprised about in your notes was the lack of tannins. The rest of your notes definitely indicate to me that we were drinking the same wine. Anyway, I will crack open another soon with your comments in mind.
Thanks,
Adair
Life would be very dull if we all agreed! It will be interesting to see what the second half of the bottle is like when I (I doubt the other half will go there again) try tonight.
The lack of tannin could have been due to wine been pulled striaght out of the wine cabinet and opened. It was probably at about 13-14 degrees while we were drinking it with dinner.
I have a given a bottle to a couple of winemakers so it will interesting to see what they say. I will let you know what feed back they give me particularly regarding what they think will happen to it as it ages. At the end of the day I am only a rank amature so I would like to know what the professional thinks about this wine.
Have you (or anyone out there) tried any other shiraz from Young........are there any other? If so is the Hilltops representive of what we should expect.
The lack of tannin could have been due to wine been pulled striaght out of the wine cabinet and opened. It was probably at about 13-14 degrees while we were drinking it with dinner.
I have a given a bottle to a couple of winemakers so it will interesting to see what they say. I will let you know what feed back they give me particularly regarding what they think will happen to it as it ages. At the end of the day I am only a rank amature so I would like to know what the professional thinks about this wine.
Have you (or anyone out there) tried any other shiraz from Young........are there any other? If so is the Hilltops representive of what we should expect.
I look forward to your notes tomorrow. I think it will have changed over 24 hours. It also might change with a bit of heat!!!
Also, rank amateurs canÂ’t express wine like you did. However, I will too be very interested with a winemakerÂ’s comment.
If memory serves me correctly, McWilliam’s Barwang is also from Hilltops/Young – not as big, definitely not as savoury, but still with plenty of depth. It seems like a pretty good red wine growing region given my experience with the Barwangs and Clonakilla. I am sure there are other wines I have tried but don’t remember they came from the region.
Adair
Also, rank amateurs canÂ’t express wine like you did. However, I will too be very interested with a winemakerÂ’s comment.
If memory serves me correctly, McWilliam’s Barwang is also from Hilltops/Young – not as big, definitely not as savoury, but still with plenty of depth. It seems like a pretty good red wine growing region given my experience with the Barwangs and Clonakilla. I am sure there are other wines I have tried but don’t remember they came from the region.
Adair
Adair,
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Well 24 hours later the wine hasn't lost any of it is power but the nose and particularly the palate seem to have harmonised a lot. The bacon/meaty (it could be chicken as mention on the other forum) character has intergrated more with the fruit which now seems to be more dark cherry and blackberry.
In the mouth the fruit dominates but there still a fair bit of licorice there, but the savoury flavours are much diminished. It isn't as disjointed as last night but perhaps finishes a little shorter. That tonic water flavour on the finish is still there.
The tannins are much bigger
tonight but not to aggressive. I feel like I have fur growing on my teeth!
I thought that it was a better wine tonight (SWMBO still couldn't come at it) but it still didn't do it for me. But it is an interesting wine and based on tonights performance it may will harmonise over the next 5-10 years. I was quite amazed at how much the savoury and fruit aromas/flavours intergrated.
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
Well 24 hours later the wine hasn't lost any of it is power but the nose and particularly the palate seem to have harmonised a lot. The bacon/meaty (it could be chicken as mention on the other forum) character has intergrated more with the fruit which now seems to be more dark cherry and blackberry.
In the mouth the fruit dominates but there still a fair bit of licorice there, but the savoury flavours are much diminished. It isn't as disjointed as last night but perhaps finishes a little shorter. That tonic water flavour on the finish is still there.
The tannins are much bigger
tonight but not to aggressive. I feel like I have fur growing on my teeth!
I thought that it was a better wine tonight (SWMBO still couldn't come at it) but it still didn't do it for me. But it is an interesting wine and based on tonights performance it may will harmonise over the next 5-10 years. I was quite amazed at how much the savoury and fruit aromas/flavours intergrated.