Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard Brooks Road Shiraz 2014

Scores

96 / 100

"Deep crimson-purple; a very complex wine, all the components handled with the skill of a circus juggler, keeping all in the air. Its extreme fragrance and intensity on the palate have a lightness to their touch, with spiced red and black fruits, licorice and fine tannins, oak the (almost) unseen hand."
- James Halliday

96 / 100

"Deep, brilliant red/purple colour; youthful. The bouquet is complex and inviting, with lots of savoury aromas, earth, charcuterie, spices, leather and subdued nuances of dark fruits. Some sooty and smoky touches. It's full-bodied and very supple in the mouth, with ample tannins which are smooth as silk. Red fruits rather than black. A delicious wine, superbly balanced and long."
- Huon Hooke

94 / 100

"Grown on a block planted in 1971. That’s when Walsh was a bub; which means these vines are very, very old. 1940 cases were made. It sees 15 months in French oak (Burgundy coopered). You can see people clambering for this. It’s soft and luscious but with a firm backbone of tannin; it lays on the fruit, covers it in velvet, then pulls the ropes taut. A this-is-how-it’s-done kind of wine. The oak comes spiced, the fruit has bitumen and saltbush aspects to it, and there’s a (dark) chocolatey sheen. It’s not dense or overwrought; it remains lively enough. I tossed up between 93-94 but ultimately few for the latter, on the basis that it squarely nails pure pleasure, in a warm-climate way."
- Campbell Mattinson

94 / 100

"Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2014 Brooks Road Shiraz possesses baked blueberries and Black Forest gateau flavors. This Syrah is meaty - savory in style rather than a fruit-bomb - with dark chocolate and licorice nuances. Rich and full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins, it is more structured on the palate. The finish is long and harmonious."
- Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Tasting Notes