Hickinbotham Mr Grant Malbec 2022

94 POINTS

Shanteh Wale - Winepilot

93% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon. The second release of Malbec. Handpicked sorted, destemmed and 100% whole berries retained. Basket pressed and matured in French oak barriques of which 255 was new for 15 months. Perhaps a dialled up version of the Malbec we are coming to know and love in Australia. Here red berries are luminous with red toffee apple, raspberry and Gala apple skin. A hint of potpourri and sandalwood shows off the sweet oak spice. There is a wild lift of florals thanks to some intracellular fermentation and this really pops in the aroma and middle palate of this wine. A touch of creeping ivy and winter pine needle with stirring levels of bright acidity. You are in for a thrill ride with this wine, buckle up and bring out the Sichuan Mapo tofu for a full bodied experience.

94 POINTS

Ned Goodwin - JamesSuckling.com

A deep, glossy ruby. Buoyant notes of lavender, lilacs, boysenberries and a sheer, joyous grapiness. And yet the tannic restraint is drawn tight. The oak is classy and beautifully handled across a medium-bodied texture. There is a great deal to like here. Most of all, the impressionable immediacy of the fruit.

94 POINTS

Marcus Ellis - Halliday Wine Companion

Malbec with a splash of cabernet sauvignon (7%). The malbec was planted in 2013. Fermented as whole berries with pump-overs, with 17 days total on skins; matured in French barriques (60% new) for 15 months then blended and aged for two months in older oak. Deeply coloured and flavoured, it feels like a good amount care has been taken here to extract the bountiful flavours without too much grip. It is there and with authority, as the variety dictates, but it’s in lockstep with silky, mildly plush fruits. Dark berries, mulberry, raspberry, a floral hint and integrated oak notes, clove and pepper.

94 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

Talk about convincing. This is firm, rich, impressive and delicious. Redcurrant, florals, woodsmoke and cloves with a potpourri burst on the finish. Lots of fine-grained tannin here. This is both a serious wine, and a seriously good one.

93 POINTS

Winepilot

93% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, whole berry and 30% new oak, this is the second release of this wine. A brilliant and inky magenta in the glass, there’s a vibrancy on the nose that is immediately captivating. Raspberry liquorish, plum skin spice, rosella, pomegranate flesh and tumbled aniseed. The palate excites with zippy acidity whirling through silty and plentiful tannins, finely spread so that the effect is nimble rather than weighty. There’s a savoury salted cocoa tone here, which helps bring it all together and tug one’s hand to the glass for another sip. Certainly one to enjoy with a meal, as those tannins and crunchy acidity will riff with some hearty protein. By Cassandra Charlick

92 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2022 Mr Grant Malbec leads with black berries, bramble, resinous oak notes and layers of black tannin—tannin so black you can almost smell how it will feel in the mouth. The wine performs as promised, the firm tannins wrapped around a core of dark fruit. The oak sits prominently here, but the fruit is more than up to the task, the acidity sitting pert above it all. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.