Hickinbotham Brooks Road Shiraz 2014

96 POINTS

James Halliday - Halliday Wine Companion

Deep crimson-purple; a very complex wine, all the components handled with the skill of a circus juggler, keeping all in the air. Its extreme fragrance and intensity on the palate have a lightness to their touch, with spiced red and black fruits, licorice and fine tannins, oak the (almost) unseen hand.

96 POINTS

Huon Hooke - The Real Review

Deep, brilliant red/purple colour; youthful. The bouquet is complex and inviting, with lots of savoury aromas, earth, charcuterie, spices, leather and subdued nuances of dark fruits. Some sooty and smoky touches. It's full-bodied and very supple in the mouth, with ample tannins which are smooth as silk. Red fruits rather than black. A delicious wine, superbly balanced and long.

95 POINTS

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2014 Brooks Road Shiraz possesses baked blueberries and Black Forest gateau flavors. This Syrah is meaty - savory in style rather than a fruit-bomb - with dark chocolate and licorice nuances. Rich and full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins, it is more structured on the palate. The finish is long and harmonious.

95 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

I tasted this 2014 Brooks Road Shiraz as a second-round release in 2022. This wine was made by Charlie Seppelt and not by Pete Fraser as the more recent ones are. This is great. It is pure and savory, with attractively fine tannins through the middle palate and tail. A cascade of salted red fruits that tumble over each other and really spool out through the long finish. Smart. Very smart.

94 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Grown on a block planted in 1971. That’s when Walsh was a bub; which means these vines are very, very old. 1940 cases were made. It sees 15 months in French oak (Burgundy coopered). You can see people clambering for this. It’s soft and luscious but with a firm backbone of tannin; it lays on the fruit, covers it in velvet, then pulls the ropes taut. A this-is-how-it’s-done kind of wine. The oak comes spiced, the fruit has bitumen and saltbush aspects to it, and there’s a (dark) chocolatey sheen. It’s not dense or overwrought; it remains lively enough. I tossed up between 93-94 but ultimately few for the latter, on the basis that it squarely nails pure pleasure, in a warm-climate way.

93 POINTS

James Suckling

The nose to this shiraz is quite unique with fresh citrus and orange peel running through layers of blackberry crumble, crushed stones and vanilla. Full body, ripe tannins, uplifting acidity and a fine finish. Drink now or in 2018.

92 POINTS

Wine Spectator

The fleshy plum and licorice notes are generous, with a plump, plush body, cinnamon-scented spice accents and touches of black tea on the finish.

91 POINTS

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front

Bruised colour, whiffs of dried fruit, smoked almonds, red berries, plum, sniff of cherry jam. Nice. Slick and concentrated in the palate, dense and juicy, licks of spice dash of pepper, finishes supple and with kiss of saline acidity, lemony tang and chewiness. Ticks many boxes.