Kangarilla Road Shiraz Viognier 2007
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Aromas of spicy black fruits, with complex citrus notes of orange followed by a driving mix of savory mouth filling layers of spicy dark berry fruits. This wine is full and textured with wonderful integrated oak all combining beautifully with an abundance of soft sweet tannins.
Pair with osso bucco and grilled aged beef.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Shiraz (92%)-Viognier (8%) was aged for 14 months in new French oak. Opaque purple-colored, it has a splendid nose of pain grille, violets, lavender, pepper, and blueberry uplifted by the Viognier component. On the palate, however, the wine is a bit compressed by elevated acidity levels. The flavors are attractive and the wine will evolve for several years after which it will hopefully become better integrated. If so, my score will appear to be conservative.
Other Vintages
2005-
Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
Before creating the Kangarilla Road vineyard and winery, Kevin O'Brien was a winemaker educated at the highly regarded Roseworthy College in Adelaide. He spent 12 years in the wine industry managing wine companies, as well as two years as the international manager of the Australian Wine Export Council. Today, Kangarilla Road's reds display rich varietal character with finesse, structure and balance not always exhibitied by wines from McLaren Vale. Aside from the winery's Shiraz and cabernet, it can boast of one of the few successful zinfandel plantings in Australia.
Kangarilla Road is a fairly new brand on the Australian wine scene, but the grapes come from vines planted in the 1970's. For several years prior to 1997, Kevin and Helen O'Brien had been seeking a high quality McLaren Vale vineyard to purchase. When they were lucky enough to find the old-vine Cambrai vineyard, they jumped at the chance to purchase it. The winery's first complete vintage as Kangarilla Road was in 1998.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.