Dark garnet in color, this wine smells of rich cherry and cola aromas. In the mouth, cherry cola with a touch of cassis and the toasty vanilla of oak blend together, livened up by bracing acidity that keeps the mouth watering. A touch too much wood for me, but an undeniably tasty wine. A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon and 44% Shiraz. 9.0

Following up on my last column, we had covered four wines from our tasting at the Spire Collection. Here are the final five we enjoyed… Jackson Family likes to give their favorite winemakers a number of challenges. As I mentioned in my first column, Chris Carpenter makes Cardinale, La Jota, Mt. Brave, and Lokoya for Jackson. While quite the workload, it seemed doable since all of these wineries are in California. But we then had the 2015 Hickinbotham The Peake, a 56/44 cab/shiraz blending from Australia. Carpenter makes that wine, also! This was delicious. Although bone dry, it has almost a candy quality, with notes of dark chocolate and cherries. A great, long finish.

Top Wines of 2018 At the end of each year, I look back over the wines I've tasted and put together a list of the best of the year. The Top 5 Wines of 2017 featured selections from California, Washington, Virginia and Australia. This year's top wines come from California, Australia and Italy. Here they are in no particular order. Australian wine featured prominently in the list of best wines I enjoyed in 2018. Two of the wines on this list came from a producer in South Australia - Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard. The best wine I enjoyed all year was a stunning shiraz from this winery - the 2015 The Peake vinted & bottled by Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard. Although not quite as good as The Peake*, another shiraz from this winery was worthy of this list - the 2015 Brooks Road Shiraz*.

This wine is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (56%) and shiraz (44%). With the varieties fermented separately, the clusters were destemmed and the berries were sorted straight into open fermenters. The cold soak lasted four days; the skins on the shiraz were plunged three times daily and the cabernet was pumped over daily. Both were left on skins for a minimum eighteen days. Following fermentation, the wines were aged for 15 months in French oak barrels before back blending and bottling. The resulting wine comes in at 14.5% ABV. The wine showed a dark ruby almost opaque color. Blackberry, raspberry jam, cassis, vanilla, loganberry and oak all arrived on the rich and complex nose. Blackberry, black cherry, raspberry jam, cassis, vanilla, licorice and oak followed on a palate that showed even more dark berry fruit than the nose had foreshadowed. The wine exhibited great structure and length, along with velvety tannins. This elegant wine would pair well with braised lamb shanks or a dry-aged prime rib.

2015 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz, blend of 56 percent cabernet sauvignon and 44 percent shiraz; impressive concentration of red and dark berries; picks up hints of mocha, herbs and pepper; lively, succulent and complex.

Terroir. Heritage. Excellence. - Wines From Australia's Iconic Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard The flagship wine named ‘The Peake’ after the original founder of Clarendon – Sir Edward John Peake – is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon and 44% Shiraz which were planted in 1971. Powerful and seductive, the wine showcases the best of both varieties. Chocolate, vanilla, violets, and spice all encompass the nose. Tasting it actually took me by surprise. I was expecting a big, brooding wine with brash tannins, but that’s not what I got. Rich and full-bodied, the wine showcases both smooth tannins and substantial backbone to accompany the ripe, juicy blackberries, cherries, and spice. I may have even heard whistles of appreciation from the wine squad. After a lengthy decant, this was such a beautiful wine. I can only imagine what it will be like in a decade or so. And the finish just goes on and on…

Wines of the Week: Portugal And Australia Edition This powerful, structured wine is still in the early stages of what will clearly be a very long life ahead, so if you do choose to drink a bottle now, make sure to decant it first, and pair it with something rich: A thick ribeye or braised short ribs would be optimal. Still, even though it’s young, this wine is already a show-stopper and delivers plenty of pleasure: Black cherry and gobs of blue- and purple-berry fruit are lent depth by a striking note of bacon and a hint of roasting cacao nibs, as well as lift with subtly floral peppercorn, sasparilla, and minerality. This is a tour de force effort, a generous, sweetly spiced gem that promises to provide pleasure until at least 2040 and likely well beyond.

What To Drink Now: Balanced Red Blends Some of the world’s finest wines are blends, and here are a few standout options to consider. (Some were sent for editorial consideration.) Cheers… Australia’s Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard blends 56% Cabernet Sauvignon with 44% Shiraz in The Peake to create a robust wine with anise, smoked spice, and pepper.

Very dark ruby-purple; ripe and fleshy black currants and plums with traces of blueberries; iodine and mint, graphite, smoke, lavender; an array of foresty, briery and brambly qualities; animated acidity drives through sturdy but not oppressive tannins; tremendous presence and energy, with sleek chiseled granitic minerality and a long juicy finish. Excellent.

Masterful brushstrokes warning – you’ll lose track of time just taking in the violets, spice, and eucalyptus of this impeccable little painting. A.

This wine is 100% merlot. The grapes were sorted straight into open fermenters and the berries underwent a four-day cold soak. The wine was pumped over daily during fermentation, and the minimum time on skins was twenty-one days. After basket-pressing the lighter pressings were included in the free run; the heavier pressings kept separate. Three rack-and-returns were conducted over fifteen months as the wine seasoned in a mixture of Bordeaux-coopered barrels. The resulting wine comes in at 14% ABV. The wine showed a dark garnet color. Blackberry, raspberry preserves, cherry, currant, mossy earth and oak all arrived on the deep and alluring nose. Blackberry, raspberry, cherry, currant, vanilla, mossy earth and oak followed on a palate teeming with ripe, berry fruit. The wine exhibietd great structure and length, along with moderate tannins. This wine would pair well with a roast leg of lamb or a grilled tri-tip.

2015 The Revivalist Merlot, welcoming plum and blueberry, complemented with earthy, cedar, tobacco and spice notes; drinks satiny and finishes with nice grip.

Terroir. Heritage. Excellence. - Wines From Australia's Iconic Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard Crafted of 100% Merlot, the wine poured a deep ruby in the glass. Initial aromas of black fruit and baking spice emerge the minute you take a sniff. Giving it a swirl, violets, cassis, pencil shaving, and cocoa emerge. In the mouth, the wine decadently wraps around the tongue like a velvet glove offering up ripe black cherry fruit. Smooth, integrated tannins make this one fine to sip on its own, but the present acidity will allow it to hold its own with food. A long lingering finish makes it even more memorable. I seriously don’t know why people don’t love Merlot more. This is such a beautiful representation of this noble variety.

The Best Merlot Wine To Enjoy Now: MerlotMe I have had the chance to taste Hickinbotham’s stunning Australian Merlot a few times and each time I fall more in love… With a 92 point score from Wine Advocate no wonder it’s hard to find and purchase (per the website, limited availability, contact the estate to acquire at 1-844-747-4327 with a limit of 6 bottles per customer). This stunning Merlot is beyond elegant with bright dark fruit flavors, bold taste and rich tannins. On the nose are aromas of red currant, dark fruit such as black cherry with a bold tanning structure yet silky and stunning texture. This is approachable and very enjoyable now (trust me, we devoured the bottle), yet also something if you age will get even more fabulous.

Five to try: top Australian merlot wines While this has structure, depth and a certain power, it's also finely crafted and elegant. Excellent colour, savoury yet a whisper of florals and dark fruit, cassis among the oak spice, dried herbs and black olives. Fuller bodied and expansive tannins with an appealing Amaro like finish. Not quite tamed, only time can do that.

What to Drink Next: Trust These Names in Wine It’s a safe bet that most of the millions of fans of Kendall-Jackson’s Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay don’t realize exactly how many wineries this Sonoma-based family (now headed by the late Jess Jackson’s wife, Barbara Banke) owns. The answer is 40, making wines from $13 a bottle to almost $400. The secret to their sustained quality? The family’s seemingly unerring eye for winemaking talent.
 Splurge: 2015 Hickinbotham The Revivalist Merlot
 $75
 Winemaker Chris Carpenter’s superb Australian Merlot is savory, almost gamey, and full of black cherry fruit.


When it's planted in the right site, and when the vines are mature, merlot can express a real sense of the land it's grown in. This wine is from a vineyard at Clarendon in the hills above McLaren Vale, established in the early 1970s and rejuvenated in recent years. It's a wonderfully complex wine, with tantalising hedgerow scents and flavours of of black licorice.

What this will revive is a) your faith in high-end Aussie wares, and b) your love of Merlot done right. A-.

Merlot and More from an Exciting McLaren Vale Estate The “Brooks Road” Shiraz is the richest of the four 2015’s. Its aroma suggests dark fruit, tar, leather and earth, and in your mouth is big and broad with soft flesh and substantial ripe tannins to match its substantial ripe fruit. But it is dry, and its fruit is fresh rather than baked. Its acidity gives definition to the wine, despite the wine’s weight.

Explore the world through your glass this year Though a bit confusing, Syrah and Shiraz are essentially the same genetically, but the wines produced are quite different. Old World Syrah tends to be leaner, as in the wines of the Rhone. Shiraz, made popular in Australia, is often fleshier and richer creating fruit-forward wine. Hickinbotham Brooks Road Shiraz from McLaren Vale, Australia, layers black plum, black licorice, and allspice.

Top Wines of 2018 At the end of each year, I look back over the wines I've tasted and put together a list of the best of the year. The Top 5 Wines of 2017 featured selections from California, Washington, Virginia and Australia. This year's top wines come from California, Australia and Italy. Here they are in no particular order. Australian wine featured prominently in the list of best wines I enjoyed in 2018. Two of the wines on this list came from a producer in South Australia - Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard. The best wine I enjoyed all year was a stunning shiraz from this winery - the 2015 The Peake vinted & bottled by Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard. Although not quite as good as The Peake*, another shiraz from this winery was worthy of this list - the 2015 Brooks Road Shiraz*.

This wine is 100% shiraz from South Australia. Upon delivery to the winery, the whole berries were destemmed and sorted into open top fermenters. After a four-day cold soak, the juice remained on the skins for a minimum of 18 days. Following fermentation, the wine was aged for 18 months in French oak barrels. It comes in at 14.5% ABV. The wine showed a dark ruby almost opaque color. Blackberry, cassis, vanilla, dark chocolate, mossy earth and oak all arrived on the deep and alluring nose. Blackberry, black cherry, raspberry preserves, dark chocolate, vanilla, mossy earth and oak followed on the jammy, yet elegant palate. The wine exhibited excellent structure and length, along with big, chewy tannins. This wine can be enjoyed now after decanting alongside a seared dry-aged porterhouse steak.

2015 Brooks Road Shiraz, lovely juicy red fruits, notes of herbs, tea, anise and black pepper; drinks elegantly but with power.

Syrah Masters 2018: Master Once we were over £50, however, we couldn’t help but award a clutch of Masters, with the Barossa’s Savitas and Levantine Hill wowing the judges, as did the Hermitage Monier de la Sizeranne from Chapoutier, and the Hickinbotham Brooks Road Shiraz from McLaren Vale – all celebrated wines attracting glorious scores.

Asian Syrah & Malbec Masters 2018: Master