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 Astralis
Vineyard Shiraz is the flagship wine in the Clarendon Hills
range. Planted in the early 1930's on the due east facing
slopes on clay, ironstone soil it is one of the earliest
blocks to ripen every year due to the old age of the vines
and the low crops of about two tonnes to the acre. The
grapes are fermented in the open stainless steel tanks up to
32°C to extract the colour and tannin for long aging up to
30 years. The first vintage was 1994 and the average
production is 600 dozen. Astralis usually exhibits great
purple-black colour and a very exotic bouquet of black berry
and mocha. The palate is extremely long on the finish and
the tannins are ripe and integrated - overall a most magical
wine.
Clarendon Hills Astralis, the story
 Named
"2001 Wine Personality of the Year in Australia" by Robert
Parker, Roman Bratasiuk has been at the forefront of
winemaking in Australia since 1990. Located in McLaren Vale,
South Australia, his winery produces only 800 to 1000 cases
from each of his 16 single vineyards planted with the oldest
vines of Grenache, Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon aged
between 70 to 100 years.
Robert Parker:
“Roman Bratasiuk is one of Planet Earth's greatest
winemakers and obviously a top-notch viticulturist given his
obsession with sourcing extraordinary fruit from ancient
McLaren Vale vineyards. If Penfolds Grange has been the most
legendary wine in Australia, my instincts suggest that in
the future, if any winery surpasses Grange, it will be made
by Roman Bratasiuk of Clarendon Hills in McLaren Vale.
Unlike many of the best Australian wines, Bratasiuk's
influences, more than most of his peers, have been formed by
his love of French wine. He has invested enormously in a
state-of-the-art winery, secured some of the finest old vine
Grenache and Syrah vineyards in McLaren Vale, and to his
credit, believes in aging everything in more subtle French
oak, which certainly puts him among the minority of
Australian producers, who believe the more aggressive,
sometimes overwhelming characteristics of American oak are
better suited for their wines. His wines are all made from
incredibly low yields, fermented with indigenous yeasts, and
bottled with no fining nor filtration.
 A
biochemist by training, he has been a Clarendon Hills for 10
years, and it still amazes me that his wines, even in
Australia, have not received the accolades they merit.
Perhaps it is because even his top old-vine Grenache cuvées
actually requiring cellaring and often do not show their
best until four to five years after the vintage. In the case
of his luxury cuvées of Shiraz, particularly his world-class
Astralis, ten years of cellaring is essential. I have been a
very enthusiastic supporter of his wines since I first
tasted the 1994s and have bought them in every vintage
since. This is undoubtedly the world's greatest wineries
that have yet to catch on with the consuming public."
Wine Spectator Magazine:
"Clarendon Hills makes some of Australia's most distinctive
reds. Few can match owner-winemaker Roman Bratasiuk's touch
with Grenache, and his Shiraz can compete at the A-grade
level."
James Halliday:
"Clarendon Hills produces some of the most concentrated,
rich and full bodied red wines in Australia. Its owner,
Roman Bratasiuk, is a larger than life figure who makes
larger than life wines from small parcels of old,
low-yielding vines."
The Wine
Planted in the early 1930's, the vineyard is about 70 years
old. This vineyard is planted with the old clones of Syrah
(low yielding) on their own roots, dry grown and yields
about two tonnes to the acre. The soils here are mainly
clay, ironstone and gravel facing due east and fairly steep.
The vineyard usually ripens early due to the low yields and
extensive root systems of these old vines. The grapes are
handpicked and fermented with natural yeasts in open
stainless steel tanks at temperatures up to 32 degree
Celsius. All the pressings are returned to the 100% new
French oak barriques and the maturation lasts for 18 months
before bottling without fining or filtration. This is always
the most beautiful wine in the cellar and is the flagship of
the Clarendon Hills Syrah Range. Due to minimal intervention
in the winemaking process this wine expresses the vineyard
characters as it develops in the bottle for up to 30 years.
Winemaker's notes:
"One of Australia's most prodigious Syrah, Clarendon Hills'
2004 Syrah Astralis is fashioned from vines planted in 1920,
and spends time in 100% new French oak from the cooper,
Cadus. It boasts off the charts intensity as well as an
opaque purple color, and notes of spring flowers,
blueberries, blackberries, roasted coffee beans, pepper,
smoke, and a hint of sweet toasty oak. This full-bodied,
rich, intense, backward Syrah needs 2-3+ hours in the
decanter if one is going to approach it at this point in its
life. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040+."
-The Wine Advocate(Robert Parker)
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