Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2017

"One of the more annoying phrases heard in modern life is “this just happened”, or it is when it immediately precedes some kind of highly or dubiously manufactured brag. So let me annoy myself by noting that we’ve reviewed 17 vintages of Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz on The Winefront but, having just opened the 2017, this just happened.

I’ve liked a great many of the previous releases of this wine but this is my favourite of the lot. It’s a ripper. Balanced, well fruited, spice-laden, perfumed, floral and then sweetly exotic. It smells and tastes beautiful, and is so finely etched with tannin; it has everything exactly where you’d like it to be. I’d send a case of this straight into the pool room but I’d like my stash kept a lot closer to me than that and, besides, I don’t have a pool room anyway. Buy." 94pts CAMPBELL MATTINSON, www.winefront.com.au

"Excellent dark crimson-purple; a savoury infused wine with wafts of prosciutto, smoked sausages, iodine, cherries and pips plus toastiness from the oak. Medium-bodied, slightly sinewy tannins. This needs more time to settle and will reward those who do so." 93pts JANE FAULKNER, www.winecompanion.com.au