Medium garnet-colored and showing a nice bit of earthy funk, sweaty saddle, dried berries, cloves, sandalwood and menthol, the medium to full-bodied 1997 Shiraz Viognier has a generous mid-palate shaped by soft, powdery tannins through the long and spicy finish. Drink now. I recently had the pleasure to taste through verticals of Clonakilla’s flagship Murrumbateman Syrah and Shiraz-Viognier labels with owner Tim Kirk. Named after his great-grandfather’s land in County Clair, Ireland, Clonakilla was established in Murrumbateman in the Canberra District by John Kirk (Tim’s father) in 1971. Tim’s father sent Tim from boarding school to his grandfather’s farm each summer. A standing stone in the paddock has a Celtic Cross on it – the one featured on the Clonakilla label. Tim went on to study theology and rather amazingly learned ancient Greek so he could learn to read the original Old Testament. He exudes an extraordinary combination of intellectualism and spirituality, attributes so clearly reflected in the wines of Clonakilla. “Shiraz is the grape variety that gives us the window into what our land wants to say,” Tim told me during our tasting of these labels. 1991 was the first vintage of the Shiraz-Viognier to include a small proportion of Viognier, coming from their 1986 plantings of Viognier. In 1993 they began to use 1/3 whole bunches in the fermentation and increased to post-ferment maceration time to forge a more structured and age-worthy style. Produced since 2006, the “Murrumbateman Syrah” is a very special and rare label from Clonakilla. The fruit for this label always comes from one small section of the “T & L Vineyard” at the top half of the hill – the warmest site on the estate. The fruit is harvested, de-stemmed and receives no additions (tannins, acid, yeast, etc.). After a natural fermentation, Kirk just leaves the wine for a month prior to racking and barrel maturation. Clonakilla did not produce the Murrumbateman Syrah in 2007 or 2011. Imported by John Larchet, The Australian Premium Wine Collection; www.tapwc.com.au