Hickinbotham Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
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Australian Wine
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Robert
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James
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Winemaker Notes
Cabernet Sauvignon grows in ideal conditions on the Hickinbotham Vineyard thanks to the combined influence of elevation, aspect, prevailing winds, weather and ancient soils. The ability to consistently retain expressive and fragrant aromas and obtain deep tannin ripeness with concentrated fresh flavors makes Trueman one of the estate’s most highly regarded wines. Trueman evokes aromas of ripe blackberries and bittersweet chocolate with hints of rose petal and wild sage. This transitions to an impeccably balanced palate with black plum notes and a fresh acidity interlaced with velvety tannins leading to a long memorable finish.
Professional Ratings
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Australian Wine Companion
Grown on a vineyard planted in '71. This is a superb cabernet. Dusty, dry and herbal but awash with sweet, boysenberried, blackcurrant-drenched fruit. It lays down oodles of flavour, not to mention tannin, but it's fragrant and frisky at the same time. One sip and you can't let go; it has you in its thrall.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% varietal, aged in 75% new French oak. Dark, minty and mysterious, it boasts brooding cassis alongside hints of red berries and singed cedar. Full-bodied without being overly rich or textured, this is streamlined Cabernet, pure and smooth from start to finish. Supple tannins and hints of pencil shavings mark the long, softly dusty, finish. While nearly approachable now, it should easily go another 15 years or so, gradually developing complex hints of cigar box along the way.
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James Suckling
Intense aromas of ripe dark berries, purple olives, violets, intense cedary oak, forest wood, leather and tobacco. The palate is dense, concentrated and packed with dark-berry flavors. Bold tannin chew. Needs time for the oak and tannin to settle in. Try from 2024.
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Wine Spectator
Dark chocolate, chicory and sarsaparilla aromatics add complexity and a touch of richness to the dense blackberry, cassis and blueberry flavors. Hints of savory herbs, tobacco and cedar linger on the firming, dusty tannins.
Other Vintages
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Wine &
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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.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
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.