2016 Hickinbotham Clarendon Shiraz

96 POINTS

Jane Faulkner - Halliday's Wine Companion

A shiraz that's full-bodied and complex yet charming and swoon-worthy all at once. Excellent colour; the generosity of flavour comes through with red and black fruits, some licorice, cinnamon and a dusting of mocha. Freshness, bright acidity, length and beautiful, fine tannins seal the deal.'

95 POINTS

Toni Paterson MW - The Real Review

A quiet, though self-assured wine with excellent density. Bitter-sweet chocolate aromas followed by a savoury, composed palate. Reserved dark fruits and ripe, framing tannin. One for the cellar

95 POINTS

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Deep, bright red/purple colour, with a very appealing bouquet of black fruits, licorice and pepper spice. A hint of peppermint. There's an earthy, charcoal trace that is reminiscent of more conventional McLaren Vale shiraz. A delicious wine, the palate deftly balances fruit sweetness with savouriness and tannin dryness. (2433 cases made)

93 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

The Hickinbotham wines tend to combine powerful flavours with (comparatively) modest alcohol levels; i.e. they’re not overdone. There’s a best-selling novel to be written, set in the Australian Wine Industry, titled Power Without Heat. Tannin. Always the tannin. You wouldn’t say there’s a great deal of it here but what there is is ultra fine and steady-as-a-keel. We have blackcurrant and jubey blackberry, redcurrant and malt, a touch of molasses too maybe, but the general feeling is of freshness. It’s more of a 21st than it is a 40th, in human year celebrations, if that makes sense; it has power and strut but it feels eager.