Mark Mannebach

9.0

Soft SB compared to NZ wines. Crisp & refreshing. Good value — 5 years ago

B K

9.6

Great red glug. Bears Eagles playoffs. — 6 years ago

Bill Bender

9.3

I’m a fan of both bears and this wine 🐻 — 7 years ago

Jody Scharf

9.2

This is what chard should be not too sweet not too dry. Just right. Like the 3 bears. — 7 years ago

Kristin the Wine Girl

9.0

Smokehouse berry nose with piney undertones. Big holiday berry mouth upfront with a soft long finish. Pleasing way to begin a winter night. — 7 years ago

Frank Bragg

9.4

Lions & tigers & bears!!! Sophisticated, but fun - super slutty! Waited too long to drink this!! — 8 years ago

Scott Fausel

9.0

Enjoyed fireside in Joshua Tree paired with gummi bears. — 8 years ago

Chris Harwick

9.3

3 little bears. Juuuust right. — 8 years ago

P A

8.9

Always good and perfect on a snowy Christmas Eve. Happy holidays to all. Cheers 🍷⛷🎄🇨🇦 — 5 years ago

Keith Eddleman

9.8

Chase is the grandson of the Vineyard owner... they’re saving each vintage that bears his name and on his 21st birthday he’ll receive a full vertical with his namesake. Now that’s cool. Cheers Chase! — 7 years ago

with Jill

Emiliano Falsini

9.2

Interesting nose of cherry and hint of mint and spices, the palate bears a generous fruit, traditional in character, but does not lack personality or potential. A super Chianti! — 7 years ago

Kristen

9.2

Enjoyed the oak! — 7 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.4

On the nose; ripe, syrupy dark currants, blackberries, sweet slightly liqueured dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries, blue fruits, dark fruit gummy bears, tarry notes, black pepper, soft leather, dry brush, black licorice, caramel, dry crushed rocks, loamy dry top soil, violets, lilacs and lavender. The body is warm, thick, ultra rich, lush & elegant. The tannins are round & velvety but still have strength...50% resolved. It has another 10-12 years of good drinking ahead. The fruits are gorgeous & ripe; blackberries, sweet slightly liqueured dark cherries, black plum, black raspberries & lots of blue fruits & strawberries that paint the palate on the long set. A fair amount of tarry notes, black pepper, dry herbaceous notes (bay leaf), dry black olive, medium dark spice, dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla, clove, soft leather, dry brush, black licorice, dry crushed rocks, loamy dry top soil, violets, lilacs and lavender. The acidity is round & excellent. The long fruit driven finish is beautifully lush, elegant, well structured with near perfect balance. Photos of; Owner/Winemaker Roman Bratasiuk, their old gnarly 80-90 year old and low yielding vines and two of their vineyards. Producer history and notes...Clarendon Hills was founded in 1990 by Biochemist Roman Bratasiuks. Roman sought to further his passion for great wine by making some himself. Roman never trained as a winemaker. He planned on using his insight as a wine taster and scientist alike to dictate decisions. Roman sought to make a version of the wines he loved. The beginnings of Clarendon Hills effectively started in 1989 when he knocked on the door a local grower whose fruit he liked. A great friendship grew from from this by chance knock on the door. A handshake ensued and it became the first Clarendon Hills vineyard. On Saturday 24 February in 1990, Roman with just a bucket and secateurs arrived. Much to the growers shock, he began picking fruit himself. Roman started at 6 am and finished at 9 pm that evening; he picked half the entire vineyard himself and returned on Sunday the 25th to finish it. This process was repeated in a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard which formed the 3 single site wines produced in 1990. Crushing was performed by Roman using empty bottles to squash the fruit in a bucket, then transferred by that bucket, to one of the 3 small ex-dairy tanks all bought for $100 and a quick, non-temperature controlled wild-yeast fermentation ensued. The wines were pressed in a borrowed basket press and matured in 3 separate third-hand barrels. The vintage was finished in 11 days. Much to Roman’s delight the wines were superb and they sold. With the money he bought more buckets, three more barrels and rent for a shed to house wines. The process was repeated the next year and the year after that. Clarendon Hills grew from his determination. This one man had to make wine after work and on the weekends after his 9-to-5 job. A local news paper even ran a story "Tin shed wines take on the world"; which made Roman cringe but slowly Clarendon Hills grew, it afforded him more equipment to make the process less labour-intensive and slowly grow his vineyard repertoire. In 1994, Roman left the Australian Government laboratories and devoted himself to Clarendon Hills 100%. In the 1994 vintage, Roman hired his first employee and rebranded his $30 Clarendon Hills Shiraz as 1994 Clarendon Hills Astralis. It was the first bottle in Australia to be priced at $100. It sold out. Roman went on for many years, making and selling the wines himself. Travelling the world over to show people the wines he made. Roman figured since he made the wine, he was the most logical choice to sell and represent his wine. This worked out so well, he continues to show the wines himself. Clarendon Hills produces; 8 Syrah, 6 Grenache, 3 Cabernet Sauvignon, a Merlot and Mourvedre wine. They are all single vineyards single varietal wines, produced from low yielding, dry grown old vines which are hand pruned and hand picked. All his wines are aged in high-quality French oak barriques. Quite a brilliant success story. This is also another wine I acquired on the secondary market for much less it’s release price and far less than their current release prices. It starts as a 9.3 with a half-hour decant. However, as it gets to an hour and half decant plus, it just gets better & better. Works it’s way to a 9.5 in a hour decant. — 8 years ago

Angel Free

9.4

Nice bold taste - cherry taste - bought at hy vee 12.99 — 5 years ago

Daniel M

9.1

Fourth time tasting Lapierre in 2017. I've got a bit of a cold so I'm not enjoying this one as the previous ones. The nose is still a cherry bomb and bears a violet stamp. The palate is still very well balanced with a strong acid backbone, lots of ripe cherry all over the place, some grip, some width. The palate is a cherry song that plays for a very long while. 24 hours later it's still singing. Great! — 6 years ago

AgeyFixey

9.0

Big peppery, ripe plum and dark berries. A bit of tannins but very enjoyable. I visited the winery a few years ago and they told me how bears paid them frequent visits and ate tons (literally) of their grapes. Great view of Skaha lake. — 7 years ago

Yarrow Beydoun

9.5

Smelled of gummy bears, wild strawberries and raspberries, light citrus notes. Beautiful minerality, fresh and lively. One of the loveliest Rosés I’ve had — 7 years ago

Sipping Fine Wine

9.3

Grabbed another bottle! Wine bears the vineyard named to honor the Red-shouldered Hawks and other birds of prey that play a vital role in sustainable farming practices. Bright yellow with aromas of tropical fruits and sweet floral scents. Aged for 14 months, 75% in new French oak and 25% in stainless. On the palate melon, pineapple and peach flavors and hints of citrus, subtle yet complex and well balanced. Lingering finish, savory, ending with mineral tones and toasty oak. Outstanding! — 7 years ago

Dmitri

9.5

Light effervescence, alive, moving on the pallette. Bears some similarity to Corniellsen's Contadino but with less Etna smoke. A little boarish (would pair well with a boar stew, manchego cheese) — 8 years ago

Willie Carter

9.1

Crazy motley of aromas going on here. Cherries, blackberries, cedar, and gummi bears on the nose. On the palate, vanilla, black currant, cloves, dark fruits, red fruits, I could go on and on. Smooth, spicy finish. Straight Bordeaux here. It's nice to drink wine made by people who know what the heck they're doing. — 8 years ago