Producer · New South Wales, Australia

Clonakilla

Clonakilla, in the Canberra District, is famous for its Shiraz with a dash of Viognier. Dr John Kirk planted the vineyard at Murrumbateman in 1971, even though people said the Canberra area was too cold for vines.

In Gaelic the name means 'meadow of the church', after his grandfather's farm in County Clare. John looked after his parents' hotel wine cellar as a teenager, studied science at Cambridge and Oxford, and moved to Australia in 1968 for a research job.

His son Tim visited the Rhône in 1991, loved what he tasted from Côte-Rôtie, and began adding a little Viognier to the family's Shiraz. He has run the winemaking since 1997. They make only about 2,000 cases of their Shiraz with Viognier each year, and it sells out fast.

Syrah · £25.99 a bottle