Clarendon Hills
Something of a maverick estate found in the heart of McLaren Vale, Clarendon Hills is a small but influential family-run winery. Today, we are delighted to offer a small parcel of their leading wine - the utterly perfect Astralis 2010.
Founded by Roman Bratasiuk, a biochemist by trade, in 1990, Clarendon Hills is a pioneering producer of Australian fine wine. This legendary estate is still shepherded to greatness by this self-taught winemaker, whose obsession with the great wines of the world has seen him produce one of them!
Deciding to focus on single-vineyard cuvées in order to convey the incredible terroirs available to him, Bratasiuk is determined to allow his wines to convey a sense of place. Thoughts of monstrously sweet, extracted, mass-produced Aussie Shiraz should be as far as possible from anyone's mind whilst considering Clarendon Hills. They are simply sublime expressions of varietal and regions.
The 1994 and 1996 vintages are in the "Greatest 1000 Wines of All Time 1727-2006".
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Wine Advocate (99)
The 2002 Syrah Astralis Vineyard rivals the greatest wines Roman Bratasiuk has made in his 15-year career. This compelling, black/blue-hued offering from 75-year-old Syrah vines tastes like blood of the vine. An extraordinary perfume of flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, roasted meat, new saddle leather, and earth is followed by a wine with sweet tannin, sensational concentration, full body, an unctuous texture, and a full-throttle, tannic finish. Yet it reveals unbelievable elegance and finesse. Too many Euro-centric elitists argue that Australian wines are too rich and over the top, but all of these offerings have been made by someone with great talent and vision who takes the extraordinary ripeness and purity of fruit available from these old vine vineyards and crafts them into wines that are quite European in style ... just richer and denser. The 2002 Astralis is a tour de force. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025+.Inc. GSTSG$2,324.34
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Wine Advocate (99)
The 2002 Syrah Astralis Vineyard rivals the greatest wines Roman Bratasiuk has made in his 15-year career. This compelling, black/blue-hued offering from 75-year-old Syrah vines tastes like blood of the vine. An extraordinary perfume of flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, roasted meat, new saddle leather, and earth is followed by a wine with sweet tannin, sensational concentration, full body, an unctuous texture, and a full-throttle, tannic finish. Yet it reveals unbelievable elegance and finesse. Too many Euro-centric elitists argue that Australian wines are too rich and over the top, but all of these offerings have been made by someone with great talent and vision who takes the extraordinary ripeness and purity of fruit available from these old vine vineyards and crafts them into wines that are quite European in style ... just richer and denser. The 2002 Astralis is a tour de force. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025+.In BondSG$2,075.00