Hickinbotham Clarendon Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Part of the recipe behind this wine (besides the 1971 planted, dry-grown vineyard) is the oak, which tastes like Bordeaux oak, with that cedary, lead pencil and vanilla low toast vibe. It works here to tone down the Cabernet’s berry fruit into something more savoury and ultimately classy. It’s still a bold Cabernet of dark berry fruit but with dusty mint edges and a certain mediumness to the palate. I really like it. I like the balance, the assured power and tannins of it all. Only going to get better too. Points: 94/100

ozwinereview.com ∙ 12th Jul 2023

Deep, dark, brooding colour with a bouquet of pencil shavings and herby notes including tomato-bush, while the palate is very powerful, massive and solid with tannins that coat the mouth and a long carry. Generous oak. Very full bodied and serious wine, although there is a certain tomato/leaf character, which dissipates with time in the glass. A wine that certainly deserves cellaring. Points: 95/100

The Real Review ∙ 22nd Jun 2023

Blueberry, iodine and oyster shell, liquorice, cedar and nougat, some floral notes and dried mint. It’s ripe and sweet fruited, all blackcurrant, boysenberry and blueberry, kind of like a pie with a spicy crust, but also a little ferrous and earthy, with firm ironstone and silty tannin, and a huge volume of flavour, all black olive tapenade and sage and sweet dark fruit on a finish of excellent length. It’s a bold wine, and kind of overt as a youngster, but should turn out well with considerable bottle age. Points: 94/100

The Wine Front ∙ 20th May 2023