12 pack - 2005 'Leopold' Shiraz Viognier - Easter Egg Hunt

This is a FULL CASE (12 bottles) of 2005 'Leopold' Shiraz-Viognier

40% off at $1,440 for 12 ($120/bottle). RRP is $2,400 ($200/bottle)

**Wine club is 50% off - please email us with your order.

Murrumbateman Cool Climate Trophy Winner - Best Dry Red. 2007 Murrumbateman Cool Climate Wine Show

This was our second ever Shiraz Viognier, with a very limited trial in 2004.

We have had a real soft spot for Shiraz-Viognier (or Syrah-Viognier) after it was introduced to us in the early 1990s by a great friend, the late Franck Crouvezier. Franck was the first Master of Wine in Australia. He was also then the sommelier of Stefano Manfredi's Bel Mondo in the Rocks. At the time he ran arguably the best wine program in Australia and the restaurant was a Sydney institution. He brought out this bottle of wine with a flourish. At the time it was relatively unknown, a Clonakilla, informing us that it would one day be one of Australia's most famous wines and he regarded it then as one of Australia's best wines for all time. Time has proven Franck correct (2024 being Clonakilla's 50th year), and the style and Clonakilla became a family favourite. Shiraz plus viognier were an obvious planting pair for us when we established ourselves at Rylstone in 1998 - the cool climate makes Syrah/Shiraz just that little bit too peppery, and it needs the viognier to give it the length, smoothness and to enhance the colour. 

It is a traditional blend of the Côte Rôtie Appellation of the northern Rhône Valley, where it was discovered that adding a small proportion of Viognier grapes (preferable before fermentation) enhanced the scent and stability of the Shiraz (Syrah). These wines include the 3 x 100 point wines by Marcel Guigal - La Turque, La Mouline and La Landonne (affectionately called the LaLaLa's).

Shiraz-Viognier was a passion project for us - a personal indulgence that we hoped would be good. Winning the Murrumbateman Cool Climate Wine Show Trophy in 2007 (against Clonakilla and a cast of other magnificent wines) was a bonus that has carried forward to the current release that also was recently also awarded Gold and 95 Points by James Halliday. 

This wine is 19 years of age. It's a milestone wine for us as a winery. It might be expensive but it's a piece of history and frankly, there aren't many 19 year old wines around for sale that won major trophies. This wine is more than ready to drink now. If anything, it's one wine you don't need to lay down in the cellar, waiting for it mature into greatness and risk being inherited by the kids. Cheers.