Hickinbotham The Revivalist Merlot 2016
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Winemaker Notes
This is a lithe, sinuous, bright drink of considerable finesse and allure. While quite approachable now, this is one which will greatly benefit from some years in the cellar: it will flesh up beautifully without losing its finesse. The elegant aromas of red currant and bright black cherry offset the tannin structure, which is textbook: dry, dusty, vital and integral.
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Wine Spectator
Fragrant and expressive, offering mocha-laced maraschino cherry, framboise and raspberry flavors, with details of dried sage and tobacco on a plush, velvety frame. Delivers wonderful presence and harmony on the finish, where the tannins provide appealing traction. Drink now through 2033.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the best Merlots I've tasted from Australia, Hickinbotham's 2016 The Revivalist Merlot does hint at cherry tomatoes, cedar and vanilla on the nose, but it nails the mouthfeel. It's medium to full-bodied, with a rich, velvety texture and layers of cherry and mocha flavors that linger into the long, plush finish.
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James Suckling
A bold, plum and spice style with cedary oak and an unmistakably Australian edge. The palate has impressive depth and fresh red-plum flesh with firmish tannins, cradling ripe and zesty red plums. Drink or hold.
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First planted in 1971 to dry-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard sits in the hills of Clarendon, at the upper limit of Australia’s revered McLaren Vale winegrowing region. The vineyard historically produced fruit for many of Australia’s iconic producers like Penfolds, Hardy’s, and Clarendon Hills, and was not bottled under its own label until 2012.
The confluence of the hills, ocean and ancient earth – the vineyard sits atop a 75 million-year-old geology – has a strong influence on the style of wines made here. Under the helm of winemakers Christopher Carpenter and Peter Fraser – and viticulturer Michael Lane – Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard employs organic and biodynamic farming practices to produce a range of highly distinctive and powerful red wines. Its flagship wine, The Peake, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz – a style that embraces a famous part of Australia’s winemaking history. It is complemented by a highly acclaimed lineup that has garnered attention from global critics and drawn eyes to Clarendon as a region producing some of Australia’s most celebrated wines.
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.