2025 Clonakilla Pinot Noir, Canberra District

John Kirk, founder of Clonakilla, planted Pinot Noir in his vineyards back in 1978, making it some of the earlier plantings in this country. Only 130 vines at the time, but current winemaker and son, Tim, as added to that over the years. When making the wine, Tim uses a mix of whole bunch ferments and whole berries. The final wine is a blend of clones. Pale russet, this is quite a savoury style with notes of red cherries, leaf litter, truffles, raspberries and a character a little like an Asian spice market. There is excellent balance throughout, with focus and length, leading to satiny tannins. On the palate, we see the emergence of gentle notes of anise. Early days at the moment, but this is a cracking Pinot Noir by any standards, which should drink beautifully over the next ten years. Dink 2026 to 2036.

94 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, March 2026

Eminently pretty from the outset, with wonderfully lifted aromas of mashed strawberry, raspberry coulis, red cherry and lashings of perfectly ripe red rose bringing a beguiling perfume. A moment to unfurl reveals a substratum of baking spices — ground nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon — and flickers of violet adding to the floral dimension, with autumn leaves beneath contributing savoury complexity and interest. The palate is very lifted and pure in its red fruit and floral aesthetic, but there’s also intensity and fine-boned structure to anchor the wine. Raspberry and strawberry intermingle with red apple nuances as the florals permeate the mouth perfume, with autumn leaves again in the background. The tannins are firm and tight-grained, the acidity fresh and elongating to brilliant length. Classy Pinot Noir, capturing the pretty perfume and detailed complexity so enthralling about this grape. Excellent.

94 points Tom Kline for Wine Pilot, April 2026

Light red, youthful and bright in the glass. Complex aromas of dark cherry, pomegranate, Asian spice, dried flowers and a briary earthiness. Firm, red fruited, fragrant and with plenty of grippy tannin, a touch of sap and crunchy acidity all bringing it home nicely. Will come together nicely. Drink 2026 to 2036.

91 points Aaron Brasher for The Real Review, May 2026

Clonakilla was founded in 1971 by Dr John Kirk, an Irish-born CSIRO research scientist who planted the first vines in what would become the Canberra District, one of Australia’s most compelling cool-climate regions. His son Tim Kirk has been chief winemaker since the late 1990s, and it is Tim who introduced the Shiraz Viognier that made the estate famous.

The vineyard sits at 600 metres above sea level near Murrumbateman on decomposed granite soils, and the combination of altitude, significant diurnal temperature variation and cool nights defines the elegant, aromatic and precise house style.

Tim’s Pinot Noir is a small batch passion project that includes fruit from the original 130 Pinot vines put in by founder John Kirk in 1978. These are complemented by more recent additions of the Abel and various Dijon clones, giving the wine a complexity that comes from depth of material rather than winemaking intervention.

The 2025 is perfumed and detailed. Red cherry, raspberry and rose sit alongside star anise, nutmeg, and a savoury undercurrent of autumn leaves and earth that gives the wine its backbone. The tannins are fine and tight-grained, the acidity fresh and elongating, the finish long and composed.

This Pinot will reward some patience but is already showing beautifully. Good company for roasted spatchcock, a mushroom and truffle risotto, or anything with enough earthiness to meet it halfway.