Based on the strength of his 1994s, proprietor Roman Bratasiuk was named one of my "Wine Producers of the Year" in issue #108. His skill in turning old head-pruned vines into majestic wines of extraordinary richness and purity has been confirmed with the release of the 1995s. These wines are massive and rich as well as extraordinarily well-balanced and pure. The 1995 Astralis is a candidate for a perfect score. About 450 cases of this luxury cuvee are made (100 of which are imported into the United States). This single-vineyard, old-vine Shiraz made from 50-60-year old vines is aged in 100% new French oak, and is bottled with no fining or filtration. The saturated opaque black/purple color is followed by a huge yet tight nose of crushed blackraspberries, cassis, bacon fat, violets, and toasty oak. The aromatics offer only a glimpse of what will emerge with another 5-10 years of cellaring. In the mouth, this wine reveals phenomenal richness and purity, huge body, but no sense of flabbiness. The oak is remarkably wellintegrated, which suggests to readers just how concentrated this wine is. It is a winemaking tour de force, and unquestionably one of the greatest young red wines I have tasted. Since I have only tasted two vintages of Astralis, I have been very conservative scoring it, but this wine should prove to be uncommonly rich and complex after another 3-5 years of cellaring; it should keep for 25-30 years - a legend!

These are amazing wines.