95 Pts - Wine Spectator - June 2001

Amazingly rich and seductive, a towering wine with layers and layers of rich blackberry, plum, cherry and sweet spice flavors that cascade across a dense structure, polished to a fare-thee-well so the flavors ring, unopposed by tannins; the tannins are present, but totally submerged in the flavors. The kind of wine you want to roll around in.

93Pts - Wine Advocate 06/2009

The full-bodied, rich 1999 Astralis Syrah exhibits a gamy, floral, creme de cassis, and camphor-scented bouquet. It tastes like a slightly more layered, concentrated version of the 1997, but it does not possess the power, richness, concentration, and potential complexity of either the 1996 or 1998. The 1999 is 4-5 years away from full maturity, but it appears capable of lasting at least two more decades.

93Pts - Int'l Wine Cellar 08/2001

Deep ruby. Knockout nose combines black fruits, spices, espresso, meat and gunflint; very syrah. Tightly wound and unevolved, with black fruit, licorice and pepper flavors currently dominated by the wine oak element. Dense with extract but quite closed; doesn't yet show the sweetness of the Piggott Range bottling (or the '98 Astralis, for that matter). Strong tannins coat the teeth. Based on the track record of this wine, it's hard to imagine that it won't ultimately be the strongest of Clarendon's '99 shiraz bottlings.