2019 Shiraz Viognier

I love the way Viognier plays in seasons like this, its fragrant lift and supple texture so much more emphatic than in warmer years. Magnificently polished fine-grained tannins hold a finish of profound line and length. One for the ages.

This is an Australian classic, a Rhone style developed and perfected by the Kirk family, who last year celebrated 50 years of winemaking at Murrumbateman, outside Canberra. This is a wonderfully supple and stylish red with 5% of viognier aiding and abetting the 95% cool-climate shiraz in one of the finest Clonakilla shiraz viogniers I have seen.

The vinous equivalent of a Phil Spector song. Aromatic, floral, elegant, and layered, this is still seriously under-priced for the quality.

Medium-deep red with a good tint of purple, but not dark. The bouquet is light and lifted, fragrant and fresh, with red and blue berry and spicy as well as foresty nuances, some talcy floral nuances and lots to entertain.

The faintest echo of eucalypt forest-floor. In the mouth, it’s at the medium end of full-bodied, the tannins beautifully smooth and well formed so that it’s deceptively easy to enjoy already, but no doubt has what it takes to age gracefully.