2017 Coriole Estate Shiraz, McLaren Vale

The 2017 Estate Shiraz beautifully demonstrates the mixture of fruitfulness and savoury elements that  50 year old vineyards provide. The nose shows cherry, bitter chocolate and aniseed spice. The palate is bright and full bodied with succulent tannins and great concentration of fruit. A classic example from a superb vintage.

Mainly 50yo vines, some 100yo, 10 days on skins, matured for 20 months in French oak (25% new). Medium to full-bodied, spicy nuances throughout layers of red and black fruit, lifts on the textured, juicy, finish.

94 points James Halliday winecompanion.com.au August 2019

Coriole was started  in the 1960s. It is a beautiful spot looking south towards many McLaren Vale vineyards, the old Willunga Range and the Fleurieu Bight. The estate has a lot of Shiraz vines, the oldest planted in 1919. We have also had great interest in finding new and exciting varieties for the Australian table, starting with the Sangiovese vineyard planted in 1985, the Fiano vineyard (2001) and the Piquepoul vineyard planted in 2010, all three varieties pioneered in Australia by Coriole.

Vines were first planted in the McLaren Vale region in 1838. The McLaren Vale wine companies have formed a close and supportive community that work on cooperative wine and marketing projects together to make this region what it is today. McLaren Vale has a long history as a wine district and records show that vines were first planted at the Coriole site as far back as 1873. 

The Chaffeys road estate was purchased in 1967 by Hugh and Molly Lloyd and a small collective of friends naming it 'Coriole', which began as 12 acres under vines with the original Shiraz vineyard planted immediately after the first world war in 1919. Hugh and Molly became sole owners of Coriole in 1969 and released the first Coriole vintage 'Claret'.  The Lloyd family continues to manage and develop the Coriole estate with the third generation now at the helm.

The first wine, produced by Coriole in 1970, was from Shiraz grapes and called Claret which was the tradition at the time. Interestingly the very next year the tradition had changed and the same wine was labelled with its varietal name - Shiraz. After over a decade of success with traditional varieties at Coriole, and driven to find completely different wine and food experiences for the Australian table, Mark Lloyd made the move to alternative varieties with one of the first Australian plantings of Sangiovese. The 2016 release was Coriole's 30th vintage of this wine. This motivation has continued as many other varieties and new clones have been tried and tested...some of these have been rejected and others have flourished and are being increased.

Coriole is now responsible for introducing the nation to white varieties Fiano and Piquepoul, and are the longest continuous producers of Sangiovese.