Clarendon Hills

Clarendon Hills live under the motto of ‘purity and perfection’ and Biochemist Roman Bratasiuk has been flattering the palates of consumers and critics alike since 1989. With no formal oenological qualifications, his obsession to attain a finished product of unrivalled quality has been fuelled by a personal love of exceptional wine.

At this McLaren Vale property he is now joined by sons Adam and Alex who help with management and winemaking.

Production is dedicated to varietal wines from vineyards that have exceptional soils, aspect and climatic conditions that aid optimal berry development and expression of the individual grape variety. Most vine stock is original French cuttings of more than 90 years old, which are dry farmed to prevent dilution of juice concentration. Harvesting of fruit is done by hand followed by rigorous sorting before pressing. Roman insists on using indigenous yeasts in the fermentation process as a means of expressing a sense of place and identity. This philosophy carries through to the pre-bottling stage where the wine sees no fining or filtration for maximum flavour intensity.