Attunga Mataro
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2042
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Slow-roasted lamb shanks, venison stew, aged hard cheeses
✨ Technical Specifications
The Kilikanoon Attunga Mataro is sourced from the historic Attunga Vineyard in the Clare Valley, home to some of the oldest producing Mataro (Mourvèdre) vines in the world, planted in 1865. The name 'Attunga' translates to 'high place' in local Indigenous dialect, referencing the vineyard's elevated, cool-breeze-swept site. These ancient, dry-grown, ungrafted vines yield tiny, highly concentrated berries. Traditional winemaking techniques, including open-top fermentation and basket pressing, followed by aging in seasoned French oak hogsheads, preserve the unique heritage of this fruit. The resulting wine is a profound expression of Clare Valley history, offering a dark, brooding profile rich with black fruits, wild game, earthy spice, and a powerful, age-worthy tannic structure.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1997 by winemaker Kevin Mitchell alongside his viticulturist father Mort Mitchell, Kilikanoon has evolved into one of the Clare Valley’s definitive benchmark estates. Headquartered at an 1860s stone farmhouse in Penwortham, the estate commands access to premier vineyard parcels spanning diverse subregions, including Watervale, Leasingham, and Auburn. Altitudes range from 220 to over 600 meters above sea level, engendering dramatic diurnal shifts that preserve vital acidity and balance the Mediterranean sun. Kilikanoon champions sustainable farming across varied terroirs characterized by red terra rossa over limestone and slate-rich soils, most famously showcased in the ungrafted, dry-grown 1865 Attunga parcel. In the cellar, the winemaking philosophy pairs traditional fermentation techniques with precise maturation in French oak and unadorned vinification for aromatic whites. Revered for power paired with structural elegance, the estate's benchmark bottlings include the storied Attunga 1865 Shiraz, Oracle Shiraz, and the piercing, mineral-driven Mort's Reserve Watervale Riesling.
🍇 Grapes
Mataro
🍷 ABV
14.5%