2007 Clarendon Hills Shiraz Astralis

Clarendon Hills’ flagship is the 2007 Syrah Astralis. It is an exemplar of what old vines and a great terroir can achieve in a less than great vintage. Aromas of pain grille, pencil lead, tar, underbrush, meat, licorice, and blackberry lead to a burly, masculine version of Astralis. It has tremendous grip, plenty of fine-grained tannin, layers of savory fruit, and 10-12 years of aging potential. Patience will be required. In a sign of the times, pricing for Roman Bratasiuk’s Clarendon Hills portfolio has been reduced by close to 50% across the board. Suddenly, most of the wines offer an excellent price to quality relationship. As usual, the Clarendon Hills wines are unblended, 100% varietal, sourced from mostly old-vine, ungrafted, single vineyards, fermented naturally, and bottled without fining or filtration. Only seasoned oak is used for the Grenache bottlings, 100% new French oak for the Merlot and Cabernets, and 50-100% new French oak for the Syrahs depending upon the cuvee. There is a new addition to the portfolio, a Mourvedre sourced from 12 year old vines and aged in 2 year old French oak. The year 2007 was more difficult than the three that preceded it, marked by a 45-50% reduction in crop levels and elevated tannin from the resulting thick skins. As Bratasiuk notes, “Tight, drying tannin is the hallmark of the vintage.” Nevertheless, this is an impressive collection from one of Australia’s icon wineries. Importer: E & J Gallo, Modesto, CA; www.clarendonhills.com.au