Clarendon Hills Brookman Syrah 1998
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Parker
Robert
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Winemaker Notes
On the bouquet that this wine shows particularly savory characters with nuts, fennel and herbal touches along with a briary, woody overlay. Not forgetting that there are some lovely fruit flavors peeping through, and these are in the red berry spectrum.
When you taste the wine the fruit flavors are far more prominent, with raspberry and red currant dominating. The alcohol is a very respectable 13.5 degrees. The wine is soft at the finish, as this is in total harmony with the fruit and the aromas.
The softness certainly makes the wine an attractive drinking proposition in its youth, although the balance of the wine will allow it to develop further in the bottle. There is every reason to believe that this particular wine will still be drinking well in 7 to 10 years.
Look towards food that will spotlight the herbal aniseed flavors. Cubes of Veal braised slowly with some fennel bulbs amongst other vegetables will certainly bring out this character.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Other than Clarendon Hills’ flagship Astralis Syrah, the only single vineyard Syrah we tasted was the 1998 Syrah Brookman Vineyard, which exhibits abundant aromas of roasted meats, blackberries, earth, and pepper as well as hints of charcoal and smoke. This full-bodied, rich Syrah is in no danger of falling apart, and will easily last another decade. The mini-vertical of Astralis covered four of the older vintages I have in my cellar. All of these wines performed fabulously well, and, as suggested by their early reviews, are wines that will take at least 10-15 years to hit their peak, and should easily last for 2-3 decades or more.
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Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.