This upgrade pack includes five Exceptional, 97-point Clarendon Hills Astralis Syrah and a rare gift boxed Bin 95 Grange SA 2017 Shiraz. Clarendon Hills owner and winemaker Roman Bratasiuk’s impeccable fruit is sourced from single-vineyard sites home to some 85-year-old vines. Drawing inspiration from the Classified Growths of Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley, Bratasiuk’s Astralis is a stalwart of Langton’s portfolio. The upgrade – an Exceptional 98-point 2017 – is unmistakably Grange, with lifted dark cherry, berry, mocha and aniseed fragrance followed by dark and brooding velveteen textures, this is a powerful wine that lives up to its immaculate reputation. An ascendant Australian style recognised as one of the most consistent of the world’s great wines, this is the crown jewel in any serious collector’s cellar.
The suave single-vineyard Astralis and highly coveted rare Grange are delightfully unique expressions of some of Australia’s most adored wines.
This case includes the following:
5 x CLARENDON HILLS Astralis Syrah, McLaren Vale 2014
1 x PENFOLDS Bin 95 Grange (Gift Boxed) Shiraz, South Australia 2017
Cola, dried spices, menthol and blueberry notes all appear on the nose of the 2014 Astralis Syrah. A massive yet approachable wine, it's full-bodied and creamy-textured, with a rich, velvety finish that picks up awesome savory notes of anise, cracked pepper and roasted meat. It's simply a terrific wine that may be drunk soon or held up to two decades.
97 points, Wine Advocate (September 2018)
It takes richness and ripeness to extremes and yet it's elegant, controlled and long. It's precision engineering in wine form. The thrust of dark fruit, the sleek veneer of cedary, smoky oak, the attention-to-detail evident everywhere you look.
96 points, Wine Companion (February 2018)
Very deep, dark, dense colour with plenty of purple in the rim. The bouquet is classic Grange, loaded with toasty-smoky-oaky scents of smoked-meats and toasted barrels, dried herbs adding an extra fragrance, and hints of five-spice, especially star anise. It's very full-bodied and concentrated, powerful and long-lasting, but the tannins are beautifully crafted and supple, harmonious, and avoid any suggestion of astringency. The core of the wine is lusciously fruit-sweet and delicious, the robe of tannin complementary rather than domineering. The finish is tremendously long and satisfying. I can enjoy drinking this now: not usual with a new Grange release. A quite magnificent wine and a great Grange. (Barossa Valley & McLaren Vale. Only the 7th Grange to be 100% shiraz. 18 months in new American oak hogsheads)
98 points, The Real Review (June 2021)
One of those Granges that is immediately appealing. Is this the result of a long ripening period across the Barossa and McLaren Vale, the sources of fruit? Who knows, but there is definitely a case for thinking this is one of the more charming Granges to grace the table.
Impossibly deep purple, dense and moves slow in the glass. The scent is less fruit-inspired, more complex-driven: tight and focussed, everything is dark and exotic and malty and muscular. The palate comes therefore as a bit of a surprise. The sweet fruit rises to meet your lips; the violets and florals, the blackberries, blueberries, macerated raspberries, panforte, and oh so beguiling spice.
The 2017 is all about shiraz – no cabernet to be seen – and so it goes off down a shiraz lane of smoothness and near opulence, well, opulence is a relative term in the Grange vernacular, especially so early in the game. And then the tight tannins arrive on the scene, bringing everything together firmly, resolutely. Of course, having said all of that I am not suggesting we break open a bottle this year. But you can be confident to do it well before it reaches 10. It’s one hell of a charmer.
98 points, Wine Pilot
Delivers absolutely everything you want from Grange: the fruit is knee-weakeningly gorgeous, the oak fits in beautifully, and there's endless length that gives a thoughtful, engaging aftertaste.
