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Clarendon Hills

Clarendon Hills is owned and run by Roman Bratasiuk, a Ukrainian who arrived in Australia with his parents in 1950. The winery is situated 25 miles south of Adelaide, and is surrounded by vineyards largely populated by old bush vines. All of the Clarendon Hills vineyards, which include Brookman, Hickinbotham, Sandown, Blewitt Springs, Clarendon, Liandra, Piggott Range, Romas, Astralis and Kangarilla, are within just a couple of miles of the winery. The bush vines are dry-farmed and hand-harvested, and the grapes go into 100% varietal wines designated by vineyard of origin. The winery practices are old-school, with a warm fermentation and extended maceration, which results in deeply coloured, often turbo-charged wines. Some feel that it adds a rustic character to the wines. Eschewing filtering and fining means that the Clarendon Hills wines still have their colour and character when they go into bottle.

Clarendon Hills is best known for Rhône varieties, with Grenache perhaps leading the way for all Australia. The Shiraz wines are also very successful, but there are also very good Cabernet, Merlot and even Pinot Noir. The estate's flagship wine is Astralis, from the vineyard of the same name, a Shiraz cuvée of limited production, prices for which are sky-high. The Romas vineyard is responsible for what many regard as the leading Grenache. (30/5/03)

Contact details:
Address: 363 The Parade, Kensington Park, South Australia 5068
Telephone: +61 (0) 8 8364 1484
Fax: +61 (0) 8 8364 1484
Internet: www.clarendonhills.com.au

Clarendon Hills - Tasting Notes

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Clarendon Hills Kangarilla Vineyard Old Vines Grenache (Clarendon Hills, SA) 1999: This wine has a fairly deep, medium ruby colour with an earthy tinge. The nose takes a little while to open up, but then offers aromas of black cherries, smouldering hickory, white pepper and garrigue herbs. Medium to full bodied on the palate, with some peppery cherry fruit, slightly oily mouthfeel, chalky tannins and appropriate acidity. Plenty of pepper on the finish. But is there a trace of heat damage? Nevertheless, good wine. 15.5?/20 (May 2003) Label

Clarendon Hills Kangarilla Vineyard Old Vine Grenache (Clarendon Hills, SA) 1996: Very pure colour, very deep. Meaty, developed. Full, textured, rich, creamy, upfront, powerhouse Grenache style. A little hot and baked. Stony, grippy finish. This is very good, and much more impressive than the 1999 which was the last vintage I tasted (and I do wonder whether that bottle was 100%). 16.5/20 (April 2005)