Clarendon Hills Astralis Shiraz 2008 750mL

This is Clarendon Hills’ flagship wine. It is a member of Clarendon Hills’ ‘Grand Cru’ classification. Every year, the Astralis vineyard produces the most beautiful wine in our cellar. Despite its non-differentiated treatment in the cellar, it always reveals the most rounded, sublime and seamless expression of syrah which ages like a rock. This is a wine that is always the most beautiful in our cellar. "The exotic, highly perfumed, concentrated, massively structured, rich and complex single vineyard Clarendon Hills Astralis (“pertaining to the stars”) derives from 35 to 70 year old dry grown vines planted on a complex mixture of clay, ironstone and gravely soils. A laissez-faire wine making philosophy is central to style allowing the wine to speak of its origins. Fermentation takes place with natural yeasts in an open stainless steel tank. The wine is matured in 100% new French oak barriques for around 18 months before bottling without filtration. This is a contemporary Australian classic with strong regional definition and long term cellaring potential. In recent times it has transcended the cult wine scene bringing extra dimension to the Australian ultra-fine market." Andrew Caillard MW