The wines of Clarendon Hills are a conundrum. Roman Bratasiuk, who founded the winery in 1990, is playing at opposite ends of the spectrum. On the one hand, he takes advantage of his great vineyard sites in Blewitt Springs and Clarendon, which allow him to produce powerful, yet elegant Shiraz and Grenache. On the other hand, he started his business when Robert Parker's influence was at his peak. Making wine for his palate has allowed the shy Mr. Bratasiuk to direct the majority of his wines to the US for many years. I have found his wines very variable for my palate.
The 2016 Clarendon Hills Kangarilla Grenache was offered to me at an incredible price. I could not say no. Maybe I should have been warned.
The aroma is perfumed and quite strong. On the palate, ripe raspberry and stewed prune flavours hit the palate hard. The Grenache grape has the habit of hitting a peak in ripening quite suddenly, and then goes into overripe territory quickly. In this wine, I suggest, the best picking time was missed. The wine is intense, but overripe, thereby missing any nuances. One glass was all I could manage, and this with difficulty.
Score: 84/--
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