Tim looks at the current condition of the vineyard and reckons “everything is perfectly tuned – we seriously good vintage on our hands.”
Our fearless production winemaker, Bryan Martin, keeps his nerve in the midst of heavy rain and lightning to report on the state of the vineyard and the progress of the 2011 reds. (watch for the flash on the barrels)
The 2010 O’Riada Shiraz has been receiving some positive attention from online wine reviewers. We share with you here a couple of the best. Our thanks to Jeremy Pringle and Julian Coldrey for allowing us to re-blog.
2010 Clonakilla O’Riada Shiraz
Posted on December 12, 2011 by Jeremy Pringle
I love the angular elegance Tim Kirk brings to Shiraz. The Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier has priced itself out of my range but this O’Riada makes that fact a whole lot more bearable. There’s 5% Viognier in the mix here and it’s masterfully integrated into the whole.
We would like to share with you an excellent article detailing the life and work of Sean O’Riada. Sean is one of the heroes of modern Ireland. A talented musician and composer, he is credited with taking traditional Irish music out of the kitchens and pubs of Ireland and putting it on the concert stages of the world. He died, prematurely, in 1971, the year Clonakilla was established by John Kirk. He was John’s cousin.
So while you’re sipping on a glass of our elegant cool climate O’Riada Shiraz have a read of the story of one of Ireland’s musical giants.
The following appeared in the Irish Times Oct 1, 2011
The composer’s groundbreaking arrangements of traditional music had a formative influence on an entire generation, writes SIOBHÁN LONG
FISHERMAN, PHILOSOPHER and polyglot; broadcaster, composer and arranger: Seán Ó Riada occupies a place somewhere between that of a tortured genius and what you could term an iconoclassicist. This year, the 40th anniversary of his death and the 80th anniversary of his birth, offers a timely opportunity to delve beneath the surface of this maestro whose legacy is still debated in both traditional and classical music circles.
Tim checks the progress of the 2011 reds
out of barrel. A few new varieties making an appearance here. Southern Rhone you say?