Clarendon Hills was established in 1990 by biochemist Roman Bratasiuk in McLaren Vale owing to his love of wine. Fueled by his pursuit of perfection, with no formal experience, he made wines in the evenings and weekends after working full time with the Australian government. In 1994, he left his job to focus on making wine full time, it was also the year Astralis Syrah was born. Astralis is now one of 22 wines that has received the highest ‘Exceptional’ rating by The Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine and Clarendon Hills has received a five-red-star winery rating from critic James Halliday. They produce single vineyard wines from old vines in McLaren Vale from pre-phylloxera plantings. In the winery the wines are fermented using indigenous yeasts and there is no fining or filtration. The best way to get to know this iconic estate in the McLaren Vale is to pick a grape variety and pick a vineyard and taste your way through the range.
