Clarendon Hills Piggott Range Shiraz 2002

Absolutely fabulous, but extremely backward, the saturated black/purple-colored 2002 Syrah Piggott Range reveals that minerality/crushed rock characteristic in the nose along with notes of roasted meats, blackberry and blueberry liqueur, truffles, sp... Robert Parker. A Syrah wine from South Australia in Australia. 2002 Clarendon Hills Shiraz Piggott Range Vineyard 750ml

October 2009

document.getElementById("NoProductImage").innerHTML = ""; Only 6 bottles or less available. Robert Parker 97 points!Absolutely fabulous- but extremely backward- the saturated black/purple-colored 2002 Syrah Piggott Range reveals that minerality/crushed rock characteristic in the nose along with notes of roasted meats- blackberry and blueberry liqueur- truffles- spice- and espresso. This dense- fabulously endowed Syrah inundates the palate with layers of creme de cassis- loads of glycerin- and unbelievable definition as well as focus. Four to five read more...years of cellaring is recommended as this is a wine for patient connoisseurs. It should easily age for two decades. The distinctive roasted character of the Piggott Range Syrahs is noteworthy since this vineyard is a natural amphitheater planted with 35- to 40-year-old Syrah vines. Roman Bratasiuk is one of Planet Earth's greatest winemakers- and obviously a top-notch viticulturist given his obsession with sourcing extraordinary fruit from ancient McLaren Vale vineyards. 97 points Drink 2008-2024 Wine Advocate #155 (Oct 2004) Robert Parker Clarendon HillsClarendon Hills- 25 miles south of Adelaide- was established in 1989 by Roman Bratasiuk- the owner/winemaker. Since its establishment just over a decade ago Clarendon Hills has had amazing success. Clarendon Hills has received excellent reviews from both critics and publications alike. From The Wine Advocate to the Wine Companion and Wine Spectator- to being named as one of Robert Parker's 'Wine Producers of the Year' in his newsletter Issue 108 - Clarendon Hills continues to impress. In August 2003- Robert Parker (Wine Advocate) names Clarendon Hills as one of Australia and the world's greatest wineries. The quality of Clarendons success can be attributed to a number of things. Firstly the age of the vines- the town Clarendon was established in 1845. Today many of the vineyards surrounding the winery are over seventy years old the gnarly and twisted bush vines are dry farmed and the grapes are hand picked. Secondly the soil variation and quality- the soil profiles of each winery are very different. This difference- from the rock and shale of Piggott Range to the heavy clay of the Clarendon Grenache Vineyard. Lastly Roman's dedication and philosophy to winemaking. His aim is quite simply to make wines equal to anything in the world. Special parcels of grapes are selected from old dry grown vineyards in the Clarendon- Blewitt Springs and Kangarilla sub regions of South Australia. All the vineyards are within six kilometres of the winery- about forty kilometres south of Adelaide. All grapes are hand pruned and hand picked. The juice is fermented using natural yeasts. The reds undergo a warm fermentation (up to 32°C) and an extended maceration. All the pressings are returned to the barrel (100% new if required). All the wines are matured in imported Burgundian barriques. The wines are then bottled without fining or filtration to capture the individual vineyard character. There are now fifteen single vineyard wines and they are 100% varietal. The above techniques are used to produce rich complex wines that will age very well in the cellar and also will complement food extremely well. The aim is to make these wines equal to anything in the world. www.clarendonhills.com.auPiggott RangeThis is another hillside vineyard planted in the 1960's adjacent to the Onkaparinga Valley. The soil here is notable by it's absence- just solid rock and shale prevail on this site and the vine roots have to work very hard to survive. Situated in a natural ampitheatre with 360 degree aspects- this vineyard is dry grown and produces small crops of deeply concentrated Syrah with high tannin levels. The yield here rarely exceeds two tonnes/acre and is often much lower. This old gone ungrafted Syrah vineyard has a unique character which I describe as 'the full meal followed by the cigar'! This wine is made in the same manner as all the Syrah vineyards and shows it's individuality purely due to vineyard influences. This wine develops slowly and positively for a most complete tasting experience. First vintage 1997.    (hide)

October 2008

Rating: (95-97) - As reviewed in Wine Advocate # 148 on Aug-03

Rating: 97/100 - As reviewed in Wine Advocate # 155 on Oct-04

No written review

September 2009