Clarendon Hills in 1990. Knocking on the door of a local grape grower, a warm friendship grew from a handshake and harvest season saw him in the vineyard. Gathering the grapes by hand, the pragmatic vigneron taught himself the art of winemaking and pushed his wines a little further each year. International critics now consider Clarendon Hills one of the world’s greatest wine estates.
A commitment to quality and authenticity sees Clarendon Hills produce of the world`s finest wines, year upon year, each bunch of grapes is sculpted by hand to meet the demands of Roman Bratasiuk`s refined and worldly palate.
The extreme conditions in any Australian growing year are major factors in forecasting shoot counts, bud numbers and canopy management systems. Forecasting plays a major role in vineyard decisions, although constant readjustments are required throughout the summer to protect the assets of the vineyard. Here at Clarendon Hills, we evaluate the growing season, climate, and sub-soil moisture levels to predict the size of the next harvest. The harvest process is initiated by micro-managing each vineyard by way of picking decisions. Flavours and tannin profiles deviate substantially across vineyards, and in some instances, up to six distinct parcels may be identified. Picking decisions consequentially vary around these parcels and rows as we look to optimise flavours and contributions. At Clarendon Hills, Roman tastes the berries – and according to his evaluation, patches and individual rows are picked separately. Sometimes this may occur over a number of days or weeks. Importantly, all our fruit is hand-picked.
Once harvested, our fruit arrives at the winery to be crushed and fermented. A wild yeast fermentation of individual patches takes place in open, stainless steel tanks. This usually takes place following many, many tastings. Roman will navigate the tank’s direction as a result of every tasting and accordingly, may make several adjustments. For instance, he may decide to extend maceration, reduce it, adjust the temperature – and more. There are many approaches to fine tuning the fabric of each vineyard.
Pro Member |
|
|---|---|
Winemerchant Member |
|
Winery Member |
|
User |
|
We recommend you to share few minutes for watching the following video instructions of how to use the Tastingbook. This can provide you a comprehensive understanding of all the features you can find from this unique service platform.
Free 7 days Member trial |
|
|---|---|
Member |
|
Pro Member |
|
Winemerchant Member |
|
Winery Member |
|
User |
|