Print this Wine         1997 Clarendon Hills "Astralis"   CLARENDON                 January Release   Shiraz       This wine has made a huge impact wherever it has been tasted. There have only been 4 vintages of this wine, although the great quality of the wine comes from vineyards that are much older. The question everyone must be asking is ……can the Astralis maintain the quality vintage after vintage? Well it can and it has. Part of the consistency in both absolute quality and style must be attributed to the maturity of the vines. Old vines plot out their nutrient resource base and inevitably produce similar flavor profiles in succeeding vintages. The other reason for the consistency can be credited to Roman Bratasiuk who is totally dedicated to producing the best possible wines , without any notion of compromise. The color sets the scene. Deep dark and inky purple/ruby red. It is almost impossible to see through the wine such is the concentration of color. Plenty of charred vanilla oak immediately greets you on the bouquet, but the oak component is immediately challenged by the intense plum and raspberry fruit with a strong overlay of aniseed. There are also some roasted meat characters and whilst the fruit is ripe it is not overly sweet. Balance is the key word here. There is a luscious texture to the wine which coats the tongue as it swirls around the mouth, releasing the ripe fruit flavors which intermingles with oak. This is very rich and complex. These flavors never seem to end and the finish is prolonged even further with a grip of tannin from both the grapes and the oak. One can only guess when this wine will be drinking at its absolute best. It has the structure and strength of flavor to last for 15 - 20 years without any problem at all. However it certainly needs a few years from now before it will really open up, so wait at least 5 years before you start to drink the wine. Whilst it is a youthful wine it is best drunk with cheese that can provide some softening to the tannic grip. Creamy white mould cheese would be the most appropriate.

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