Clonakilla Pinot Noir 2023
- 93
- $60
- Drink by: 2024-2032
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Whoever said nothing good ever comes out of Canberra obviously has not tried the wines from Clonakilla. What surprises even those who know them well is that there are minute quantities of Pinot Noir made by the team. They have an acre of mixed clones, planted as early as 1978. An attractive crimson/garnet, the more time one can give this in the glass, the greater the rewards. Red fruits, florals, animal hides and forest floor notes, along with raspberries, cherries and spices. The complexity which will undoubtedly grow in the coming years is already emerging. There is the merest hint of oak, deftly handled in a wine of poise and class. Drink for five to eight years.
Ken was born and bred in Brisbane, Queensland. He had a non-trendy, perfectly happy childhood, in a family convinced alcohol meant instant condemnation to Hades. But a break fishing on the Great Barrier Reef, and some good wine, started a serious obsession that eventually took over. It did not stop Ken being chastised later for drinking Pol champagne, disgusted he’d drink anything made by a Cambodian dictator. Now, Ken mostly writes on wine, champagne and spirits for various newspapers, magazines and books, but is perhaps best known for his work in The Courier Mail. He also has a little sideline writing on cigars, fishing, travel and food. When not writing, fly-fishing for trout in NZ or bonefish on the flats of Cuba, travelling or smoking cigars, he is no doubt following a variety of sporting teams – the occasionally glorious Queensland Reds rugby, the dysfunctional Washington Redskins, the dodgy Arsenal and especially revels in the world restored to its proper axis with the return of the Ashes to their rightful home.
