1995 Clarendon Hills Shiraz Astralis

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 black-raspberries, 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 well-integrated, 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. Importer: The Australian Premium Wine Collection, imported by Cabo Distributing, South El Monte, CA; tel. (818) 575-8090