Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Vineyard Old Vine Grenache, Clarendon, Australia

克拉倫敦山希金博特園老藤歌海娜干紅葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：7494

The 2007 Grenache Hickinbotham delivers a bit more aromatic complexity, Cedar, underbrush, black cherry, and black currant aromas lead to a richly fruited, firm, layered wine. This lengthy effort should evolve for another 3-4 years and drink well for a decade. In a sign of the times, pricing for Roman Bratasiuk’s Clarendon Hills portfolio has been reduced by close to 50% across the board. Suddenly, most of the wines offer an excellent price to quality relationship. As usual, the Clarendon Hills wines are unblended, 100% varietal, sourced from mostly old-vine, ungrafted, single vineyards, fermented naturally, and bottled without fining or filtration. Only seasoned oak is used for the Grenache bottlings, 100% new French oak for the Merlot and Cabernets, and 50-100% new French oak for the Syrahs depending upon the cuvee. There is a new addition to the portfolio, a Mourvedre sourced from 12 year old vines and aged in 2 year old French oak. The year 2007 was more difficult than the three that preceded it, marked by a 45-50% reduction in crop levels and elevated tannin from the resulting thick skins. As Bratasiuk notes, “Tight, drying tannin is the hallmark of the vintage.” Nevertheless, this is an impressive collection from one of Australia’s icon wineries.Importer: E & J Gallo, Modesto, CA; www.clarendonhills.com.au

The 2007 Hickinbotham features attractive scents of ground spices, leather and red cherries, but doesn’t seem to have the richness and depth of CH’s other Grenaches this year. Tart cherry-berry fruit fades into finely textured tannins on the finish. Drink now–2015. ——J.C.(10/1/2010)—— 87