Astralis, Clarendon Hills 1996

The blockbuster 1996 Astralis Syrah is the most Hermitage-like. Its dark plum/purple color is followed by a big, sweet kiss of roasted meats, creme de cassis, blackberries, pepper, and forest floor. Dense with superb purity, full-bodied power, and beautiful balance, it is the only Astralis we tasted that exhibited a strong tertiary/secondary aromatic development.

This wine remains a baby and in need of another … 10 more years of cellaring. A mammoth, blockbuster wine with awesome layers of flavor extract, huge, high tannin, and magnificent, concentrated cassis fruit, this full-bodied wine shows beautifully integrated tannin, acidity, and alcohol, but still has a personality more like a barrel sample than a wine that is already five years old. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2040 RP Feb 2002

Clarendon Hills' red wines are about as decadent and rich as red wine can get. The luxury cuvee of Shiraz, the 1996 Astralis (550 cases), is softer than its 1995 counterpart. Aged in 100% new oak, the wood is soaked up by the wine's extraordinary flavor concentration and massive fruit extraction. The nose offers aromas of pure cassis intermixed with pepper and spice. This blockbuster wine exhibits remarkable richness, compelling layers of flavor, brilliant purity and overall equilibrium, and a fabulously nuanced finish. The 1996, which is slightly more accessible than the more backward 1995, can be drunk, although this flamboyant effort will evolve for another 15-20 years. Frankly, along with Penfold's Grange, this may be the greatest Shiraz being made in Australia.