TN: Clonakilla O'Riada Shiraz 2015

[Waiters Friend]

Crimson in colour. Plums, red berries, charcuterie, licorice, vanilla and cedar on the nose. A touch of graphite as well.

The palate is quite complex, with bright fresh red fruits and more licorice over the top of savoury oak and fine but grippy tannins. Acid adds to the sensation of freshness, and there's some palate weight without being heavy. Finish is medium, but there's a hint of more.

All in all, a bright happy wine with hints of hidden depths. Maybe these will emerge with more bottle age, or perhaps it will remain a bright, medium bodied and appealing wine without too much richness.

[Matt@5453]

nice tasting note. I think it will evolve over time. I really like this style of wine and buy a couple each year. For my tastes, I tend to drink 7-10 years of age.

this guy did not like the 2015 on CT :

Deep red.
Spicey, ripe shiraz. Shows the "tea leaf" area character.
Palate is distracted/dominated by the same flavour character I identified in Doug Neal's new Alta Terra wines that hail from Mururmbateman. I struggle to describe it. Perhaps it is the tannins are more like black tea tannins, combined with overripe fruit. Does it get too hot there? I discussed this with Dough Neal, who observed it's probably no hotter than Giaconda at Beechworth.
I cannot say what it is, but I identified this 25 years ago and I bought two bottles of the Clonakilla 4 years ago, given the rave reviews of the year, to revisit my assessment, and Alta Terra out of respect for Doug. My modern assessment is the same.
So, Jeremy, if you read this, I stick with what you pilloried me for in your first words ever spoken to me. Based on these two examples, it's an area character and I simply don't like it and I will return to my 25yo avoidance of wines from the Canberra region. Foe perspective, I have drunk shiraz from most if not all areas where it is grown in Australia, NZ and the Northern Rhone and I am very happy to have a great many of them in my cellar. And no others have this character.

[Waiters Friend]

Thanks Matt. I am hoping it will evolve with time as well, and I have a couple of the surrounding vintages as well. 7-10 years seems like a reasonable drinking window given my impressions (and yours) so far.

As far as the TN from CT - you can't please all of the people all of the time. Each to his own. I'll stop the cliches now

[Mahmoud Ali]

Interesting subject that, about the terroir of the area. Personally, I don't dislike the idea of a 'tea leaf' character, in fact it might be quite appealing, but I do recoil from over ripe fruit, though surely not all producers in the area would be making overripe wines. Personally I have had only one Clonakilla wine and I'm sure it was their standard issue Shiraz. It was at an in-store Shiraz/Syrah tasting and the wines that came out on top, at least for me, were d'Arenberg's 1999 d'Arrey's Original and Graham Beck's 2000 'The Ridge' Syrah (South Africa). In my opinion I thought them better than the Lehmann Eight Songs Shiraz. I recall thinking there was something not quite right with the Clonakilla but it was a long time ago.

Cheers ..................... Mahmoud.

[Waiters Friend]

Three years later,I decided to check whether the wine would evolve with time (as per discussions below) and the answer is .... I'm not sure.

It's very faintly lighter in colour than in 2021. There's still plums, raspberries and red fruits on the nose, with a touch of charcuterie and licorice. Oak is not quite as overt as before (and I don't want to give the impression that it was overly oaky originally).

The palate is juicy, with more red fruits and licorice. Acid is keeping the wine fresh, and there's moderate tannic grip. The finish is reasonably long and clean.

Like my observation in 2021, the wine remains a bright, medium bodied and appealing wine, in a style I like. At 9 years old, I am not expecting further development, but it should plateau for 2-3 years, and I still have a few bottles to enjoy.

Cheers
Allan

Clonakilla.jpg

[Michael McNally]

Thanks Allan

I have a lone bottle of this and should open it soon.

Cheers

Michael

[GraemeG]

Thought it was a pretty crap vintage, wasn't it? Or was that just Hunter? I tasted the same year of both the SV and Hilltops back in Jan at the winery and wasn't really impressed with either.

[Matt@5453]

Three years later,I decided to check whether the wine would evolve with time (as per discussions below) and the answer is .... I'm not sure.

It's very faintly lighter in colour than in 2021. There's still plums, raspberries and red fruits on the nose, with a touch of charcuterie and licorice. Oak is not quite as overt as before (and I don't want to give the impression that it was overly oaky originally).

The palate is juicy, with more red fruits and licorice. Acid is keeping the wine fresh, and there's moderate tannic grip. The finish is reasonably long and clean.

Like my observation in 2021, the wine remains a bright, medium bodied and appealing wine, in a style I like. At 9 years old, I am not expecting further development, but it should plateau for 2-3 years, and I still have a few bottles to enjoy.

Cheers
Allan

I opened a bottle on the weekend, your tasting note is spot on.

It was an enjoyable wine without setting the world on fire. As you noted, I wouldn't expect any further development either.