"Transparently clear purple-crimson; the perfumed bouquet of predominantly red fruits leads into a superfine palate with some darker fruit nuances; it is only on the finish and aftertaste that the quality of the wine fully expresses itself."
95 Points
James Halliday, The Wine Companion
"Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier is my Grange, if you like; it’s the wine I look forward to tasting the most each year. It’s also the only wine I buy every year. I opened a 2003 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier recently and it’s still a pup; the riper vintages of this wine will live for a long time. Interestingly, this 2011 is the 20th release of a Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier. There’s some history being built here. The lighter colour of this 2011 is the first thing you notice. It’s not pale or insipid but it’s certainly not dense or black; it’s pinot-esque. This release also feels tangy and acidic, in the way pinot and nebbiolo often naturally do. Cloves, mulch, black and white peppers, red cherries. Star anise too. In that order. It feels and tastes like a cool-year wine, but it doesn’t taste like an inferior wine. I consumed the bottle – without help – over a two day period and it held firm and remained pretty throughout. I don’t think it’s a long term wine but I don’t think it’s a short term one either. Cool and savoury, with ripe tannin and good length. It’s an insistent wine, in the way Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier so often is. I’ll be buying again."
93 Points
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front