Kilikanoon Baudinet Grenache, Shiraz, Mataro 2022
G 95
A high-altitude vineyard is the source for one of the most consistent GSMs going round. Each year, the story is one of brightness and purity, and in 2022, recognised as an exceptional vintage, it excels. Red fruits to the fore in wild raspberry, cherry, plum, confection notes and spice with dusty cocoa and clove as it works its way with energy and life across the palate. Love the maraschino cherry, musk confection note – discreet but tantalising – through the finish. Drink now–2036 Kilikanoon Ashton 1920 Mataro 2021 G 95 Mataro (aka Mourvèdre) has a long history in the Clare Valley. This wine is testament to that history with century-old vines bringing a seamless quality to the glass in a fine-textured, silky tannined, medium-bodied, darkly fruited wine. Has a solid serve of ripe black fruits, blueberries and plums, spice and liquorice, fennel seed and bay leaf with earth, all beautifully delivered with just a hint of savouriness. Precision and grace. Drink now–2031 Kilikanoon Attunga 1865 Shiraz 2020 G 95 An engaging and commanding Shiraz from an historic single vineyard planted in 1865. The ancestor classified vines are believed to be the oldest continually producing vines in the Clare Valley. Intense and impenetrable dark red hues. Dense, rich dark plum fruit, blackberry, cassis, tapenade, earth and leather, bacon fat, allspice, star anise, chocolate, sage and more, so bountiful and deeply concentrated, tempered by time in French oak. There is so much complexity delivered across a number of layers, including the savoury, in this wine. As a five-year-old, it remains singularly youthful. Indeed, it pays to offer the wine a decant before enjoying in its youth. It opens up beautifully with air, and those spices take on an extra life. Savoury tannins remain firm, guiding the wine on its long journey. Drink now–2038
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The Vintage Journal
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