This cool climate Shiraz is superb - enticing the drinker with spice, clove and red berry fruit aromas. The palate is rich and concentrated, paying scant homage to its cool climate origins.

The Canberra District has quickly established itself as the Australian home of Northern Rhône style reds, and most notably Shiraz Viognier. With the cool-climate and the elevated nature of the Lark Hill Vineyards, the extra viscosity attributed to the addition of Viognier to the Shiraz as well as the fragrant lift, work perfectly for this wine.

Made with 25% whole bunches, the base wine for this vintage was given 20 months in a mix of old and new French oak before tirage bottling in early 2016. It then spent 22 months on lees before being finished in late 2017. It's a bright, rich red-purple in the glass with a generous but fine mousse, featuring aromas of spice, red fruit and dark berries. The palate is full, soft and silky with flavours of blackcurrant, plum and mulberry which are complemented by fine tannins and a long, dry finish. The wine was given a restrained level of dosage, making for a dryer style of Sparkling Shiraz that allows the quality of the base vintage to show through.

In the glass: Full deep red. On the nose: Delicate redcurrant, plum, cedar and a light leafy lift. On the palate: Textured with a medium weight core of dark fruit, elegant line and touches of coffee, cherry and savoury oak.

In the glass: Dense red black.On the nose: Black cherry with strong anise hints, black pepper and braised meats.On the palate: Porty-ripe black fruits with hints of jubey sweetness, iodine and liquorice power, velvety tannins and a sweet finish.

Whenever we taste a blind Shiraz line up where this wine is featured, it's hard not to be lured into its enticing character of purity and style. Hauntingly akin to a Northern Rhone example, violets, spice, wild herb and earth wrap around a delicious core of red fruits and plum. Bravo Nick O'Leary. 'Canberra's benign 201213 growing season produced, in abundance, grape quality not seen in the much cooler, wetter 2011 and 2012 vintages. Our exciting 2013 reds include Nick O'Leary's shiraz a jaw dropper that kept judges gaping as they piled gongs on it at the 2014 Royal Brisbane Wine Show. They gave it a gold medal, then three trophies: best one-year-old red of the show (Stoddart trophy), best shiraz of the show and best red of the show. This is a significant achievement for Canberra shiraz and not just for O'Leary. It provides yet more recognition, in a hotly contested national event, of our region's distinctive style. O'Leary's highly perfumed, medium-bodied wine shows the vibrant red berry- and-spice character of cool-grown shiraz on a luscious, silky palate, cut with fi ne tannins. This is a lot of wine at a modest price.' (2013 Vintage) - 4½ Stars. - Canberra Times, 03 Sep 2014.

Deep magenta in colour. Beautifully ripe, red fruit aromas coalesce in a generous and wonderful regional signature. Plum, cherry and raspberry fruit flavours occupy centre stage, while French oak influence provides further depth of flavour and supportive length.

Tempranillo and Graciano grown on the red soils of the Hilltops region near Young, NSW; were vinified seperately before blending and matuaration. The savoury and smooth Tempranillo is complimented by the spicey fruit and structure of Graciano, the resultant wine has greater intensity, depth and length.