I always enjoy reading the notes. Everyone gets something different based on their personal preference and I’m sure a bit of bottle variation too. I enjoyed this wine. It’s got a lot of fruit still, but rounded with plenty of savoury flavour, meats, mineral, graphite. A good balance. In the zone.
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Dark fruit with heavy oak with some black olive on the nose. Alcohol and tannins quite pronounced. Oak overwhelming on the palate. 90 from spouse, 87 from me.
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Getting notes of mineral and burnt rock. Deep flavors of dark fruit. Good balance of acid, fruit and tannin. Medium finish. Although the flavors are dark, it is not heavy at all. Actually quite nice.
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The line up: 06 Clarendon hills hickenbothen cab, 07 Clarendon hills hickenbothen syrah, 2010 pommard sebastian magnien, 2011 don Melchor cab, 1999 fontanafredda lazzarito, 07 Paolo conterno ginestra reserva, 04 ciabot berton roggeri reserva from mag. Absolutely no one guess this to be a syrah. While a good wine I think it was somewhat overshadowed by the other wines. Most placed this near the bottom of the list right above the palazzo. O good wine but I don't think it was worth the 50 price.
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Wow! Delicious Syrah! the window to drink is now. Great body with deep rich black rich fruits, medium/moderate tannins. Enjoy this wine with venison,beef ribeye,or rack of lamb. For under $70.00 this has very good value.
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Whew! This one has a lot going on - full on nose with everything from leather to florals, and the palate delivers too: really intense black fruit along with a long finish and medium but chewy tannins.. Graphite is a strong flavor here but in a really good sense... not 'hot' in the least bit and I'd imagine this will simmer down more with age. A beauty from down under.
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Stewed plum, overripe blackberry, blueberry pie, roasted game, cooked sugar beets, smoked rosemary, pen ink, black licorice, eucalyptus, crushed wet rock, violets, and almost no pepper. Big juice. Med+ to hi intensity on the nose. On the off-dry side with fine grained med+ tannins, and slightly hot alcohol. 14.5% abv. This should stick around for 10 more years of development. Good, typical terroir of S. Aussie Shiraz
Popped and poured. Impenetrable purple. Crazy bouquet - meaty, floral and berry notes. Dark fruits on the palate, with savoury spices. Smooth tannins. Would benefit from decanting.
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- Brick color with medium forming legs and aromas of coffee and has flavours of coffee - D inking well now. 1 hour decant. Was great 2.5 hours later. Some espresso along with cocoa
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color of purple / dark red. Scents of blackberry and blueberry with a little herbalness. Tastes consistent with scents. Drank prior bottle 18 months ago. Certainly better now.
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These wines are a big disappointment and I'm very surprised by the other TNs. I had the 2002 and in those years these wines were fab. Now they are very simple, very fruity wines with no character and similar to the critter wines. I may be missing something, but I have more in my cellar and they may become gifted (to non-friends).
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Lovely nose; red fruit cedar, earthh. Full mouth feel; a big bold wine with perhaps a bit too high alcohol. Tart acidity balances the red fruit. Pleasant yet noticeable tannins suggesting ample life to go. Did I mention a long 4 hour decant after reading various tasting notes. Almost a meal in a glass.
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A Rainy Wednesday Inside (Rocknroller's (Kevin's)): Very dark purple color. This got a hefty 3 hour decant and a run through the Venturi; drank 1+ glass over 2 hours. Very big, quite ripe, blackberry, cedar box, a bit earth, cassis and black plum. The palate is dark, dense and chewy, glycerin, full bodied, alcohol, a touch of green down the center, blackberry, raisin, fig, spice, oak, pepper. Many good things with a few detractors to hold this back from being more enjoyable.
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Pop and pour. Spice box, floral, white pepper, stone and red fruits. There is a flint character on the palate. Very Northern Rhone like and tasty. Drink now or hold for five.
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Nice bottle, better on the second day - definitely needs time to open up. Slightly tighter, some green notes compared to the '06 Brookman syrahs I enjoyed last year.
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I wasn't planning on drinking one of these so early but I was having Australian lamb chops on the grill so I needed a nice Aussie red to go with it. Perfect pairing! Amazing juice. I'm a big fan of Clarendon so I will re-stock more when WTSO (hopefully) puts it up again. Don't have detailed notes because it went with dinner, but it has all the flavors you expect form an aussie syrah. Deep purple, blueberry notes with a nice dark earthy flavor that I think will emerge even more with age. Recommended.
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The wine has low acidity. It smells like red currant, blackberry and clove. The wine finishes long. The wine looks inky colored. The legs are slow. There is heavy sediment in the bottle. The wine has round texture.
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Gave a couple hours in decanter. Typical black-purple and opaque in the glass. Nose brings light lavender wildflower, green herbs, dust and stones, cured uncooked bacon, woodsy branches and a caramelized nut note. Hints of prune and fig but not at all in a "past prime" way. Really intriguing. Crazy on the palate with melted chocolates, explosive red fruits overflowing with juice. In the mouth and through the finish smokey salty cooked bacon. PJG: 91
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Had at family X-Mas night dinner and did not take down any formal notes. Recall this as fruit-forward & dense with notes of dark plum, black/blue fruit, shades of white chocolate, framed by a little herbaceousness. Integrated soft, sweet tannins, low-medium acidity, and ending with a lingering finish.
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New World Blind Tasting Group $40+ (Bin 75): Black core with thin dull garnet rim; dense, menthol, blackcurrant, blackberry, harder, almost mineral, dark fruit, glycerin; good structure; tasty.
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Lovely example of refined Aussie Syrah, but this showed much better with time to open up (opened the 2007 Baker's Gully back to back and the Baker's is drinking quite well now). I'll give my remaining bottles of Hickinbotham more time in the cellar. Glad I have more.
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I was heading to the wine rack upstairs (where I keep everyday wine) and my wife commented "but it's Friday" so I quickly went to the cellar without any real thoughts of what to pick. I had some good luck with Clarendon's Liandra's from an earlier vintage so decided on the Hickinbotham for the evening. Warning: This bottle needs a good decant to get it in drinking shape. I did the pop'n'pour and it was muted, dry and bland and I was ready to head downstairs for another wine but decided to splash decant with vigorous swirling. After about 1/2 hour and into the second round of pours it was opening up with some spicy red fruits and a funky (in a good way) nose. As others have mentioned not as fruit forward as the Liandra but we ended up enjoying the bottle.
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Color of purple / dark red. Scents of blackberry and blueberry with a little herbalness. Tastes consistent with scents. Drank this against 2007 Liandra, which was a much more fruit forward Aussie Shiraz than this.
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Another nice Clarendon Hills Syrah. As usual, great fruit, but not overoaked or over-alcoholic as some Aussie Shirazes can be. Didn't really get a chance to take more detailed notes, but I have a couple more bottles.
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Tasted back-to-back with the 2007 CH Liandra. Both are wonderful examples of really good Aussie Syrah, but the Hickenbotham edged out the Liandra in my opinion. Just a tad smoother and with a touch of dark chocolate and cola; the Liandra was a bit more acidic. Both showed complex dark fruits, and a lovely lingering finish. Oddly, all of the guys preferred the Liandra, and the ladies went for the Hikenbotham. Strange, but true.
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Delicious stuff. Incredibly drinkable right out of the bottle, but opening up well as the day goes on. Cedar/wood and dark fruit (think plums) mesh together in a silky mouthfeel with a finish that sails on with just a tinge of spice notes. Wish I had more than 1 more bottle of this...
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12/14/2023 - mrwineface Likes this wine: 92 Points
I always enjoy reading the notes. Everyone gets something different based on their personal preference and I’m sure a bit of bottle variation too. I enjoyed this wine. It’s got a lot of fruit still, but rounded with plenty of savoury flavour, meats, mineral, graphite. A good balance. In the zone.
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5/3/2020 - JCGuthrie wrote: 88 Points
Dark fruit with heavy oak with some black olive on the nose. Alcohol and tannins quite pronounced. Oak overwhelming on the palate. 90 from spouse, 87 from me.
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4/30/2020 - Ranjan wrote: 93 Points
Bold fruit, well balanced, oak, lots of tannins.
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4/22/2020 - bablues wrote: 92 Points
Getting notes of mineral and burnt rock. Deep flavors of dark fruit. Good balance of acid, fruit and tannin. Medium finish. Although the flavors are dark, it is not heavy at all. Actually quite nice.
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9/26/2019 - bowesmana wrote: 89 Points
Still deep and purple, but flavour no longer smooth, long finish, but with a slight bitter taste.
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8/3/2019 - americanstorm Likes this wine: 91 Points
The line up: 06 Clarendon hills hickenbothen cab, 07 Clarendon hills hickenbothen syrah, 2010 pommard sebastian magnien, 2011 don Melchor cab, 1999 fontanafredda lazzarito, 07 Paolo conterno ginestra reserva, 04 ciabot berton roggeri reserva from mag. Absolutely no one guess this to be a syrah. While a good wine I think it was somewhat overshadowed by the other wines. Most placed this near the bottom of the list right above the palazzo. O good wine but I don't think it was worth the 50 price.
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12/8/2018 - vatausae wrote: 85 Points
Very jammy and loads of stewed fruit to the point of being excessive.
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10/21/2018 - samsneed Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drinking well right now with berries and plum. Sediment is starting to form.
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3/3/2018 - Jettoy1992 wrote: 92 Points
Still drinking well. Probably some time left. Very raspberry chocolate
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10/5/2017 - R.Jos.Valent Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow! Delicious Syrah! the window to drink is now. Great body with
deep rich black rich fruits, medium/moderate tannins. Enjoy this
wine with venison,beef ribeye,or rack of lamb. For under $70.00
this has very good value.
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7/17/2017 - YuriyG Likes this wine: 91 Points
Whew! This one has a lot going on - full on nose with everything from leather to florals, and the palate delivers too: really intense black fruit along with a long finish and medium but chewy tannins.. Graphite is a strong flavor here but in a really good sense... not 'hot' in the least bit and I'd imagine this will simmer down more with age. A beauty from down under.
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7/6/2017 - dwmichel Does not like this wine: 88 Points
Stewed plum, overripe blackberry, blueberry pie, roasted game, cooked sugar beets, smoked rosemary, pen ink, black licorice, eucalyptus, crushed wet rock, violets, and almost no pepper. Big juice. Med+ to hi intensity on the nose. On the off-dry side with fine grained med+ tannins, and slightly hot alcohol. 14.5% abv. This should stick around for 10 more years of development. Good, typical terroir of S. Aussie Shiraz
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11/20/2016 - danielbleier wrote: 92 Points
consistent with notes of 11/28/2015
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9/16/2016 - AnonymousCoward wrote: flawed
Brett contaminated. Nose is terrible. Palate of dark fruits with smooth tannins. The nose is just too distracting here
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8/14/2016 - AnonymousCoward Likes this wine: 90 Points
Popped and poured. Impenetrable purple. Crazy bouquet - meaty, floral and berry notes. Dark fruits on the palate, with savoury spices. Smooth tannins. Would benefit from decanting.
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8/7/2016 - mhewitt wrote: 94 Points
This is drinking great, and has improved since the last time I had it a year ago. Seems have 5+ years left, but no reason to wait.
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6/12/2016 - JCGuthrie wrote: 91 Points
Better on second day. Still definitely needs time to open up.
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3/29/2016 - Jettoy1992 wrote: 92 Points
- Brick color with medium forming legs and aromas of coffee and has flavours of coffee - D inking well now. 1 hour decant. Was great 2.5 hours later. Some espresso along with cocoa
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2/24/2016 - dase13 wrote: 90 Points
color of purple / dark red. Scents of blackberry and blueberry with a little herbalness. Tastes consistent with scents. Drank prior bottle 18 months ago. Certainly better now.
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12/24/2015 - Winevestor Does not like this wine: 84 Points
These wines are a big disappointment and I'm very surprised by the other TNs. I had the 2002 and in those years these wines were fab. Now they are very simple, very fruity wines with no character and similar to the critter wines. I may be missing something, but I have more in my cellar and they may become gifted (to non-friends).
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11/28/2015 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 92 Points
Big blackberry and grilled meat nose. White pepper comes in on the finish when tasted.
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8/19/2015 - robertgf wrote: 91 Points
Lovely nose; red fruit cedar, earthh. Full mouth feel; a big bold wine with perhaps a bit too high alcohol. Tart acidity balances the red fruit. Pleasant yet noticeable tannins suggesting ample life to go. Did I mention a long 4 hour decant after reading various tasting notes. Almost a meal in a glass.
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8/19/2015 - rocknroller wrote: 90 Points
A Rainy Wednesday Inside (Rocknroller's (Kevin's)): Very dark purple color. This got a hefty 3 hour decant and a run through the Venturi; drank 1+ glass over 2 hours. Very big, quite ripe, blackberry, cedar box, a bit earth, cassis and black plum. The palate is dark, dense and chewy, glycerin, full bodied, alcohol, a touch of green down the center, blackberry, raisin, fig, spice, oak, pepper. Many good things with a few detractors to hold this back from being more enjoyable.
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7/23/2015 - Tyler C Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted for over an hour but never came alive like I was hoping but smooth and full-bodied.
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4/29/2015 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 93 Points
Pop and pour. Spice box, floral, white pepper, stone and red fruits. There is a flint character on the palate. Very Northern Rhone like and tasty. Drink now or hold for five.
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4/17/2015 - larmarhar wrote: 88 Points
Needs to age longer. Average price $ 75 bottle.
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4/13/2015 - SSGibson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent with prior notes. Lovely, and is drinking very well now. A perfect wine to impress guests with.
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4/11/2015 - JCGuthrie wrote: 90 Points
Nice bottle, better on the second day - definitely needs time to open up. Slightly tighter, some green notes compared to the '06 Brookman syrahs I enjoyed last year.
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4/7/2015 - WineCPA wrote: 93 Points
Full bodied and smooth. Thick ripe fruit. Black cherry, hints of plum. Drink now and enjoy.
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3/22/2015 - clubs wrote: 93 Points
1 hour decanr
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3/22/2015 - clubs wrote: 93 Points
1 hour decant
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3/2/2015 - oenofail Likes this wine: 91 Points
I wasn't planning on drinking one of these so early but I was having Australian lamb chops on the grill so I needed a nice Aussie red to go with it. Perfect pairing! Amazing juice. I'm a big fan of Clarendon so I will re-stock more when WTSO (hopefully) puts it up again. Don't have detailed notes because it went with dinner, but it has all the flavors you expect form an aussie syrah. Deep purple, blueberry notes with a nice dark earthy flavor that I think will emerge even more with age. Recommended.
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2/28/2015 - Winevestor wrote: 89 Points
A disappointing wine. I loaded up on the 2002 / 2003. They were brilliant. This has low acidity and is an OK wine. Pity
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1/29/2015 - vatausae wrote: 92 Points
The wine has low acidity. It smells like red currant, blackberry and clove. The wine finishes long. The wine looks inky colored. The legs are slow. There is heavy sediment in the bottle. The wine has round texture.
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1/17/2015 - noahbw Likes this wine: 92 Points
Gave a couple hours in decanter. Typical black-purple and opaque in the glass. Nose brings light lavender wildflower, green herbs, dust and stones, cured uncooked bacon, woodsy branches and a caramelized nut note. Hints of prune and fig but not at all in a "past prime" way. Really intriguing. Crazy on the palate with melted chocolates, explosive red fruits overflowing with juice. In the mouth and through the finish smokey salty cooked bacon. PJG: 91
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12/24/2014 - DRS-Inc wrote: 90 Points
Had at family X-Mas night dinner and did not take down any formal notes. Recall this as fruit-forward & dense with notes of dark plum, black/blue fruit, shades of white chocolate, framed by a little herbaceousness. Integrated soft, sweet tannins, low-medium acidity, and ending with a lingering finish.
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12/13/2014 - gf2182 Likes this wine: 90 Points
hard to describe.. highly dependent on the food pairing, mrs didn't like it at all.. so, drats, I had to drink it all
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12/13/2014 - Jettoy1992 wrote: 92 Points
Dark chocolate covered blueberry. Plum. 90 minute decant still a little hot....
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12/12/2014 - Rezy13 wrote:
New World Blind Tasting Group $40+ (Bin 75): Black core with thin dull garnet rim; dense, menthol, blackcurrant, blackberry, harder, almost mineral, dark fruit, glycerin; good structure; tasty.
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12/7/2014 - SSGibson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Lovely example of refined Aussie Syrah, but this showed much better with time to open up (opened the 2007 Baker's Gully back to back and the Baker's is drinking quite well now). I'll give my remaining bottles of Hickinbotham more time in the cellar. Glad I have more.
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12/5/2014 - Arch57 wrote: 90 Points
I was heading to the wine rack upstairs (where I keep everyday wine) and my wife commented "but it's Friday" so I quickly went to the cellar without any real thoughts of what to pick. I had some good luck with Clarendon's Liandra's from an earlier vintage so decided on the Hickinbotham for the evening.
Warning: This bottle needs a good decant to get it in drinking shape.
I did the pop'n'pour and it was muted, dry and bland and I was ready to head downstairs for another wine but decided to splash decant with vigorous swirling.
After about 1/2 hour and into the second round of pours it was opening up with some spicy red fruits and a funky (in a good way) nose. As others have mentioned not as fruit forward as the Liandra but we ended up enjoying the bottle.
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12/3/2014 - Tl121 wrote: flawed
Tasted like simple liquid with a very high alcohol level. No fruit or life left. Disappointed since it was highly rated.
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11/23/2014 - dase13 wrote: 88 Points
Color of purple / dark red. Scents of blackberry and blueberry with a little herbalness. Tastes consistent with scents. Drank this against 2007 Liandra, which was a much more fruit forward Aussie Shiraz than this.
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11/13/2014 - THF49 Likes this wine: 92 Points
a great Aussie Shiraz with berry forward and smooth finish
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11/7/2014 - THF49 Likes this wine: 90 Points
disappointing compared to the Syrah Liandra; no fruit forward
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11/2/2014 - stevenjstein Likes this wine: 92 Points
Another nice Clarendon Hills Syrah. As usual, great fruit, but not overoaked or over-alcoholic as some Aussie Shirazes can be. Didn't really get a chance to take more detailed notes, but I have a couple more bottles.
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10/28/2014 - nibiru wrote: 91 Points
I concur with Wiscgrad.
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10/14/2014 - wiscgrad wrote: 91 Points
big brooding wine. Almost black in the glass. fruit forward and big mouthfeel. Almost mouth watering. Classic aussie syrah
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10/5/2014 - cdebeau wrote:
Velvet texture, slightly dry finish, plum
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9/28/2014 - SSGibson Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted back-to-back with the 2007 CH Liandra. Both are wonderful examples of really good Aussie Syrah, but the Hickenbotham edged out the Liandra in my opinion. Just a tad smoother and with a touch of dark chocolate and cola; the Liandra was a bit more acidic. Both showed complex dark fruits, and a lovely lingering finish. Oddly, all of the guys preferred the Liandra, and the ladies went for the Hikenbotham. Strange, but true.
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9/1/2014 - TGOT Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious stuff. Incredibly drinkable right out of the bottle, but opening up well as the day goes on. Cedar/wood and dark fruit (think plums) mesh together in a silky mouthfeel with a finish that sails on with just a tinge of spice notes. Wish I had more than 1 more bottle of this...
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7/10/2014 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 93 Points
Menthol, blueberries, spice, cherry and floral. Medium to long finish and should have a long life ahead. Excellent.
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