Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 (Clarendon, Australia)

Deep red, some rim evolution.

A floral lift in the nose, then toasted nuts, deep black fruit verging on prunes/black olive jam. Not all that dissimilar from his Syrahs.

Plush, concentrated entry, grainy tannin immediately evident. Really packed, but not yet giving up the goods. A bit saline. Structure really builds. Certainly has the concentration to support many years in bottle.

I'm not particularly thrilled by this, however. Apparently 2001 was a very hot vintage - it shows. There is no freshness/life to the fruit character here. I assume these are dry-farmed vines.

$50