Listed below and on the following pages (accessed by the links to the left) are a set of reviews on the Clarendon Hills range by esteemed wine critic, Robert Parker.

Astralis Syrah

2002 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz) (98-100)
The 2002 Syrah Astralis Vineyard is akin to midnight oil. A viscous, unctuously-textured, full-bodied wine of remarkable intensity that represents the essence of a particular varietal as well as vineyard, it will need 8-10 years before it begins to develop. It is a legendary Syrah that those lucky enough to taste in its prime (circa 2025-2035) will give the respect it most certainly will demand. Thankfully there are people in the wine world like Roman Bratasiuk who make wines for future generations as opposed to those that offer immediate gratification. But let none of us who care about quality dismiss the purists and non-compromising winemakers such as Bratasiuk who are trying to do something beyond what has ever been accomplished. This may be his finest wine to date. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050

2001 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz) (98-100)
The essence of wine, Roman Bratasiuk called it his “Gulgal Cote Rotie La Turque”. A potentially perfect wine, the inky purple colour offers up and extraordinary nose of sweet crème de cassis and blackberry liqueur, intermixed with smoke, liquorice and espresso. A wine of superb purity and perfect seamless harmony, with incredibly well-concealed tannin, alcohol, acidity, and wood. This blockbuster reminds me of Mohammed Ali – “It floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee”. It is majestic, large-scaled, and undoubtedly a future legend. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2040.

1999 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz) (92+)
Showing better than when I tasted it for the Wine Advocate, the wine seems to open a bit, but is still backward and, for a Clarendon Hills wine, showing slightly more new oak than other vintages. A saturated purple colour offers up concentrated blackberry fruit intermixed with liquorice and barbecue spice. The wine is large-scaled, very intense, with a multi-dimensional, layered personality. This wine should be at its best in about 7-8 years. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2025.

1998 Clarendon Hills Astralis (Shiraz) (98+)
Just beginning to emerge from a relatively dormant state, this prodigious wine was showing the best it has yet performed, suggesting again that Clarendon Hills wines behave more like European wines in terms of needing time in the bottle. The saturated blue/purple colour offers up notes of ripe black fruits intermixed with graphite, vanilla, mineral and spice. Extremely thick, with a viscous texture, good underlying tannin and acidity, and fabulous length (nearly 50 seconds), this is certainly a prodigious effort that is now living up to the fame and extraordinary quality of this vintage. Nevertheless, I thought the wine needed about five years of cellaring two years ago but now I tend to think it needs at least another 5-7 years of cellaring before it will begin to become an adolescent. It is a majestic, multi-dimensional, individualistic wine that certainly is world-class and undoubtedly profound. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030.

... read more Astralis Syrah reviews