I have never seen this wine in the local mart where I shop occasionally so naturally I was obliged to try it having gone through most of the other offerings! This wine comes from the higher elevations of the Eden Valley and had a beautiful dark purple complexion. On the nose- black currants, plum and some tar, yummy. First impression, very smooth. Extremely smooth with fine grained tannins and a hint of juicy acidity. More black fruits and plums shine through as do some blueberries on the mid palate. Some earth and game come up later as do some herbs. A nice, medium finish caps off this excellent wine. I would drink this alone or with some lighter fare such as roast chicken, veal scallopini or maybe a cream based pasta dish. The fine structure will hold this wine until 2018 but it is drinking beautifully now. I can’t believe I never saw it before. I’m off to buy more of this 91 point, $11 wine that surely gets 5 stars from me. After yesterday’s abysmal wines it is so great to hit a home run! Salut….

Yet another tremendous effort from Clarendon Hills that had me refilling my glass quicker than usual.  I planned a rather extravagant night last weekend before I left town.  This bottle was the opener, going up against some Hanger Steaks, a piece of Flat Iron Beef and some peppercorn sirloins.  The match was perfect.

Purple jam and tar sprung out of the blackish-purple glass that really intrigued me.  The Clarendons are usually slightly restrained and refined, not bombastic.  More on this later…  A plum core with blackberry and spice box introduced me to the wine where I then got some oak and leather notes with bramble on the mid palate.  Well masked 14.5% alcohol is a becoming a regular feature of this winery.  I made note of the smoothness with a racing acidity and well integrated tannins.  This particular cuvee has full extraction but is restrained in style.  The winemaker has really worked these grapes to achieve depth and character with tremendous complexity yet still sticking to their Rhone style of making Aussie Shiraz.  I gave it 93 points which aligns with the pro’s and would drink this wine between 2014-2018 with no problem.  Pricey at $70 or so bucks it will make you look a star on a big dinner date when paired with some grilled meats.  4 stars from me.  Salut….