2003 Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (1500ml)

Roman hails this wine unashamedly as “My Latour”. He is not at all embarrassed by the comparison and in fact goes out of his way to discuss the similarities of the two wines. The vineyard site is steep and rocky, with hungry soils, sloping down to the Onkarparinga River. The yields achieved for the 2003 vintage varied from 1 ½ to 2 tonnes per acre. The wine that was tasted had been racked twice, and after the tasting, a third racking was decided upon prior to bottling.
Totally black purple colour with black purple hue. The nose is still evolving and like the Sandown will require many years of cellaring before it reaches anything near its peak. Notes of violets, spice, blackcurrant, anise, cedar and liquorice allsorts emerge. The palate has classic First Growth structure with an explosion of fruit flavours on the palate. The palate is monumental, with totally concentrated blackcurrant flavours meshed with cedar, black pepper, spice and violet infusions. Massive fruit with counter balancing fine dry tannins. Long powerful aftertaste.
Cellar 20-30 years (2024-2034)
Alc/Vol: 14.5%From one of the coolest as well as late harvested vineyards in McLaren Vale, the spectacular 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Hickinbotham Vineyard is the winery’s flagship Cabernet. While less impressive than the blockbuster 2002, the 2003 exhibits tremendous potential. The 2003 boasts a saturated ruby/purple color as well as a big, full-bodied perfume of creme de cassis, cedar, spice box, and tobacco leaf. With a huge, concentrated mouthfeel, a boatload of tannin, and a monster finish, it needs 5-6 years of bottle age, and should keep for two decades or more.

Robert Parker's Review
Roman Bratasiuk is one of Planet Earth’s greatest winemakers, and obviously a top-notch viticulturist given his obsession with sourcing extraordinary fruit from ancient McLaren Vale vineyards.
(Notes sourced from Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate #155)
ROBERT PARKER'S RATING: 93 points