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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 89.4 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 16 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Peter North on 4/12/2023 & rated 92 points: To my taste this wine is/remains in a very good spot right now. Definitely well into its transition from primary to tertiary notes.
I get plum, orange peel, a touch of spice and mushroom notes. High alcohol, medium-high acidity, medium tannin, with a long finish; oak is not obvious to me / well integrated.
Pretty shy right out of the bottle—takes about 90mins in the decanter to open up and express itself. (664 views) | | | Tasted by mpsocal on 11/28/2019 & rated 79 points: Major flaws in this wine now. Might be past it’s expiration. Medicinal nose and the wine tastes similar to grape juice. (2030 views) | | | Tasted by adipovino on 7/8/2019 & rated 93 points: Fabulous fruit bomb of an Aussie grenache. Has developed some addded personality with age. A bit like candy - not that sophisticated or subtle but undeniably tasty. (2272 views) | | | Tasted by mpsocal on 6/28/2019 & rated 90 points: I really enjoyed this one. It evolved quickly and had lots of layers of flavor. (2192 views) | | | Tasted by pgm on 6/19/2019 & rated 91 points: Somewhat boozy kirsch and framboise notes throughout, but has nicely balanced acidity and no really flabby characteristics or flaws. Delicious Grenache in an Aussie style, consistent with other vintages. (2310 views) | | | Tasted by wiscgrad on 5/1/2019 & rated 75 points: I agree with all of the previous CTers notes, and yet can't understand what folks liked about this wine. medicinal nose and a mess on the palate. complete miss for me (2053 views) | | | Tasted by Rezy13 on 2/20/2019: Cloudy maroon; strong nose of cherry liqueur, strawberry jam, and framboise, medicinal and Grenache notes more like a CdP but abut too much glycerin and oak notes; thicker texture on the palate, higher alcohol, oak, clove, glycerin, chocolate, and notes similar to nose; tasty. (1071 views) | | | Tasted by Willardjackson on 2/7/2019 & rated 92 points: Chocolate and cherries for days, nice acidity and medium-full bodied. I looked over my notes from our last bottle and I believe I enjoyed this one much more. (730 views) | | | Tasted by Angle Gold on 1/24/2019 & rated 92 points: Cranberry, light colored, and some heat from the alcohol. Very well received at an Australian blind tasting. (788 views) | | | Tasted by stevenjstein on 12/10/2018 & rated 91 points: Still holding up. Plenty of fruit left. (837 views) | | | Tasted by Willardjackson on 11/23/2018 & rated 89 points: Decant a bit, nice acidity. Medium body, dark berries and chocolate. Mellows after some breathing a little harsh right out the bottle as one might expect. (643 views) | | | Tasted by cooperscellar on 11/19/2018 & rated 92 points: Delicious! Beautifully aromatic and expressive. Notes of dried dark berries and chocolate. Wonderful candied fruit flavors on the palate. Still bright and food friendly. (749 views) | | | Tasted by gkotkiewicz on 4/27/2016: Soooo good. Chocolate and cherries. (1884 views) |
| Clarendon Hills Producer website
CLARENDON HILLS
Inspired by the classic South Australian wines of the 1950s and 1960s, particularly Penfolds, the visionary Roman Bratasiuk, a former biochemist, bought the old Elysium winery at Blewitt Springs, near Clarendon in McLaren Vale. By chance he found the nearby 10 acre Astralis Vineyard as a source of "as good as you can get" Shiraz. The vines were first planted in 1920 with 19th century colonial vine-stock derived from Chateau Reynella. Best known for the flagship wine Astralis Syrah, Clarendon Hills also produces a portfolio of single vineyard age-worthy Grenache & Syrah wines derived from 35 to 75-year-old dry grown vines, from the Clarendon, Blewitt Springs and Kangarilla sub-regions of McLaren Vale.Clarendon Hills Grenache RomasClarendon Hills are vineyard and varietal expressionists who strive for purity and perfection and seek to portray the story of the individual vineyard 'Terroir' within their wines. Clarendon Hills’ collection of the old vine vineyards in sub-regions of McLaren Vale assists in defining their international pedigree for making world class wines that rate extremely highly among the international press.
Clarendon Hills makes an array of 6 single vineyard, old vine Grenache each from 80+ year old vineyards. The Romas Grenache vineyard is located within the foothills of McLaren Vale and was planted in the 1920's atop some of the worlds oldest geology located in Blewitt Springs’ famous ancient deep sands. The result is truly magical.
Romas is named after winemaker Roman Bratasiuk's childhood nickname and is one of Australia's most highly rated Grenache. Featuring within Clarendon Hills' Grand Cru classification system it offers many years of enjoyment with floral rose petals atop raspberry fruit coupled with terracotta 'terroir' characters that reveal after 15-20 years in the cellar. The Romas vineyard is one of the ultimate Grenache 'terroirs' of the world
The Romas Grenache is a single-site wine from a bush vine patch planted in the 1940s. This is the steepest stoniest section of the Blewitt Springs Grenache site previously tasted. The old gnarly bush vines are dry-grown and are extremely low yielding. This site has a due East aspect and is located at 240 metres above sea level and represents Blewitt Springs’ higher altitude stony geology with fewer areas of sand and more quartz, ironstone, and shale content. The rocky soils impact most noticeably on reduced yields and added concentration.Grenache Varietal character (Appellation America) - Read more about GrenacheRomasABOUT THIS VINEYARD
The Romas Grenache site  is located in Blewitt Springs and was planted in 1920
The 'Romas Grenache' is the steepest, most elevated section of the Blewitt Springs Grenache vineyard -
its uniquely special characters warrant its isolation and quarantine from the lower part of the Blewitt Springs vineyard.
This patch sits at 280 metres above sea level and is approximately 7 Kms to the ocean.
It enjoys a perfect due East aspect on a hillside that in some places reaches above a +40Ëš slope gradient.
The old vines struggle to survive on a steep rock hill face with yields a microscopic 0.5 tonne / acre.
Each of the Blewitt Springs, Romas and Onkaparinga Grenache sites are planted on the same hill side. The Blewitt Springs and Romas patches are due East facing and the Onkaparinga site is at the uppermost hilltop/crown area but is western facing. All sites are within 200 metres of each other and offering special and individual expressions.
These vineyards are globally unique - the unparalleled combination of 95+ year old, pre phylloxera vines planted in the oldest geology planet earth - surveyed at 1600 million years old -produces rare and exotic exhibitions of Grenache, not seen anywhere else in the world.
Underneath these old vines are primordial, ancient formations. There is a complete lack in nitrogenous matter available for plants/vines seeking nutrient and this results in extremely limited growth capabilities (Romas vines are approx. < 30 cm tall and each site produces less than 1 tonne / acre)
The environment has effectively reduced the output potential of these vines. The rich and ancient minerals present in the root zone of these special 95+ year old vines also impart rare physiological components to the vines and excellent grapes are a result.
These are globally unique vines that reflect and express their ancient origins with subtlety and sophistication
The Burra Geological group is the one of the oldest geological sub groups on this planet. Visibly the quartzose veins sprawl across the hillside; and shattered shale and heavy mineral lamination are present deep within this ancient landscape. These rocks are among the most admired primordial ancestors on planet earth.Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia)Fleurieu Fleurieu Wineries & Cellar Doors (southaustralia.com) |
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