Hickinbotham Clarendon Brooks Road Shiraz 2020

Outstanding impenetrable inky black colour with a very deep dark purple black hue. Pronounced liquorice and ripe blackberries are to the fore followed by dark plums, toasty vanillin cedar and spice. Full bodied, rich ripe blackberry and liquorice flavours dominate the palate over some dark plums, subtlety smoked vanillin cedar and spice. Relatively firm tannins take on a velvety appearance beneath the opulent layers of fruit. Excellent length with a long blackberry, liquorice, vanillin cedar and spice aftertaste.

After the hand-picked Shiraz clusters were delivered from high country (210-230 metres) by Viticulturer Michael Lane, Winemaker Charlie Seppelt destemmed and sorted the berries into open fermenters. The cold soak was four days, the skins plunged four times
daily, and the minimum time on skins was fourteen days. The wine was then basket pressed; its free run and pressings kept separate. To minimise filtration at bottling, four rack-and-returns were conducted over eighteen months as the wine seasoned in a mixture of Burgundy-coopered barrels.