Clarendon Hills' Astralis is the flagship of Clarendon's Shiraz range, and the 2002 vintage was rated 99 points by eRobertParker.com!

Clarendon Hills, situated 25 miles south of Adelaide, was established by Roman Bratasiuk in 1989, and in little over ten years the estate has risen to the forefront of the Australian wine industry.

Its rapid rise to stardom can largely be attributed to low-yielding 70-year-old vines and Roman's aim  to make the highest quality wines the world over. Grapes are hand-pruned and hand-picked, and wines are matured in imported Burgundian barriques and bottled without fining or filtration to capture the individual vineyard character.

"The 2002 Syrah Astralis Vineyard rivals the greatest wines Roman Bratasiuk has made in his 15-year career. This compelling, black/blue-hued offering from 75-year-old Syrah vines tastes like blood of the vine. An extraordinary perfume of flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, roasted meat, new saddle leather, and earth is followed by a wine with sweet tannin, sensational concentration, full body, an unctuous texture, and a full-throttle, tannic finish. Yet it reveals unbelievable elegance and finesse. Too many Euro-centric elitists argue that Australian wines are too rich and over the top, but all of these offerings have been made by someone with great talent and vision who takes the extraordinary ripeness and purity of fruit available from these old vine vineyards and crafts them into wines that are quite European in style ... just richer and denser. The 2002 Astralis is a tour de force." eRobertParker.com