Not a lot to say about this wine other than it’s another personal favourite, it’s very well rated, it’s not the easisest to get even in Australia…and that it is only exported to Tiger Wines in Singapore and to the UK.

Have a look at the Winemaker’s notes below for a comprehensive description.

24 bottles in Melbourne, can be here late February if ordered.

You might also like to try:

2014 Dawson James Pinot Noir – S$86 – Halliday 97, Huon Hooke 95, Double Gold 2016 Six Nations Challenge, Gold 2016 Melbourne Wine Show

Enjoy!

David Boxall

I seem to be saying this every release, but the calibre of the Hickinbotham wines under the stewardship of Jackson Family Wines and winemaker Chris Carpenter just continues to improve.

I encourge you to read the comments of Huon Hooke, Jane Faulkner and James Suckling in the attachment to get the sounding on this wine.

Most of this wine is destined for the US where it retails for US$75. This vintage for Singapore is under cork.

Here’s the notes from the winery:

“This is the most homogenised, smoothly-assimilated Cabernet in recent years from Hickinbotham, reminiscent of those made by Stephen Hickinbotham in the early ‘80s. While its aromas of bergamot and blueberry have yet to lock in and settle, the palate’s already there; fine, fresh and strapping. Cabernet Sauvignon from contour blocks planted in 1971 at 155m to 230m altitude. Hand-picked, de-stemmed and whole berry sorted and gently crushed to open fermentation. Cold soaked, pumped over daily with a minimum of 18 days on skins. Basket pressed with light pressings added back to free-run, hard pressings kept separate, not used in blend. Rack and returned three times during maturation for 15 months, aged in a selection of Bordeaux coopered barrels, new and one year old. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Intense, yet lithe, aromas of red and black currants, juniper berries, and lavender are punctuated by hints of vanilla and green tobacco leaf. On the palate the wine is sinuous and alluring, with musky notes of bergamot and fresh plum; with a seductive note of violets; all framed by satiny tannins and a mouth-watering finish. This is an excellent bright modern example of what Australia once called claret.”

According to Huon Hooke, Chris Carpenter (of Lokoya and Cardinale fame) says this is his best cabernet yet.

Enjoy!

You’d have to think that A$60-A$62 is pushing the boundaries for the price of a bottle of pinot gris.

Apparently not.

The Paradigm Hill Pinot Gris 2017 that I’m promoting here is sold out at the winery, as is the 2016 and the 2018, so the pinot gris afficionados are on to this.

If you’d like to see what all the fuss is about, I’m selling it at S$73 ea. all up, I’ve got 8 bottles left, of which 2 are in stock in Singapore and can be delivered before 19 December, the remaining 6 are in Melbourne and can be here mid-January if ordered.

Enjoy!

David Boxall

97 Halliday, 95+ Gary Walsh, 95 James Suckling, 95 Huon Hooke, Gold 2019 Royal Sydney Wine Show…well the ‘experts’ seem to like this wine, and so do I.

This is a great vineyard to visit if you’re in Tasmania. You’d need to pre-arrange and you’d need a car as it’s quite some way up the beautiful Derwent Valley but it’s worth it. The Meadowbank Pinot Noir comes off only a tiny bit of the large Meadowbank vineyard as most of the grapes are sold to other winemakers such as Peter Dredge of Dr Edge, Kate Hill, Dawson James to name a few (in fact Peter Edge makes this wine).

I ran out of space on the attachment to include the James Suckling review, so here it is:

“Great depth and detail here with toasted spices and meaty nuances, ahead of ripe red fruit and a very succulent, long and juicy palate that holds so much flavour. Impressive build and depth here. Drink or hold. Screwcap. – 95”

Plenty of bottles in Melbourne which can be here mid-January if ordered, or if you can’t wait, I have 3 bottles in Singapore which I could deliver by 18 December latest.

RRP downunder of A$55, price here in Singapore S$69 all up, no minimum purchase, free delivery.

Enjoy!

David Boxall

************************************
NEW ARRIVALS IN SINGAPORE

ANAKOTA ‘Helena Dakota’ Sonoma County Cabernet 2016 – S$160 – Wine Advocate/RP 97 – RRP US$125 – Drink to 2049
ANAKOTA ‘Helena Montana’ Sonoma County Cabernet 2016 – S$160 – Wine Advocate/RP 96 – RRP US$125 – Drink to 2044

*************************************

Bought back in January last year but not promoted before.

Definitely for folks who like their rieslings crisp and clean with biting acidity. Typical Tasmanian style that differentiates itself so much from the mainland regions such as Clare Valley.

I’ve got 11 bottles in Melbourne that can be here w/b 11 November if ordered by 2 November latest, S$56 all up, no minimum purchase.

You might also like to try…

2017 Two Tonne Tasmania ‘Ziggurat’ Riesling (with a dash of Gewurtztraminer) – 8 btls – S$53 – Mike Bennie 93
2018 Two Tonne Tasmania ‘Ziggurat’ Riesling (with a dash of Gewurtztraminer) – 23 btls – S$47 – not yet rated

Cheers!

David Boxall

The Laurel Bank vineyard (now almost in suburban Hobart) is a neighbour of the Stefano Lubiana vineyard at Grafton. Both are perched on the north facing slopes overlooking the Derwent River. Warm enough from the sunshine, but there’s cooling breezes from the wide valley below. A sweet spot for riesling, as both labels produce great examples.

According to the Canberra International Riesling Challenge, the award of Elite Gold means “[the recognition] is equal to or better than 96 points”.

A number of you have had this wine before, with some coming back for repeat orders. I’m down to my last 9 bottles now. They’re in Melbourne and can be here mid-November if ordered, current price is S$39 (previously $43-$44).

Enjoy!

David Boxall

****************************
NEW ARRIVAL IN MELBOURNE

2018 TWO TONNE TASMANIA ‘Dog & Wolf’ Pinot Noir – S$69 – Mike Bennie 91+

The 2018 Serrat range of wines were released a couple of weeks ago and much is already sold out in Australia. The 2018 Pinot Noir was on limited allocation on the website (only 3 bottles per customer) and I have none left in Singapore now. I have a little 2018 Chardonnay left and a good supply of the 2018 Shiraz Viogner.  I also still have a good supply of the 2017 Shiraz Viognier so plenty to go around.  Here’s what I wrote at the end of 2018 when promoting the 2017 Serrat Shiraz Viognier…

“I feel very privileged that Tiger Wines is able to offer the Serrat wines in Singapore, as they are only exported to here.

Serrat ticks all the boxes in terms of my buying strategy – the vineyard is tiny, it’s family owned, it has an incredible winemaker in Tom Carson and great ratings, it’s very hard for many people to get and most importantly, the owners are a delight to deal with. Despite all their success, including Halliday’s Wine of the Year a few years back, Tom Carson and Nadege Sun have kept their pricing quite reasonable, raising the range from A$42 to A$44 for this vintage.

I did a quick search using “Wine-Searcher Pro” and I couldn’t find this 2017 vintage for sale in Australia, suggesting to me that it may be sold out, which should not be unexpected. Wine-Searcher also shows the last average sale price globally was US$71 (S$98).

So…here it is in Singapore at S$69 and I’ve got adequate supplies.”

I’ve still got about 3 cases of the 2017, still at S$69. There’s no minimum purchase and if ordered, the wines can be here late September in my next airfreight. Send me an email to tiger.wines.sg@gmail.com or phone/WhatsApp to +65 96610429.

Enjoy!

David Boxall

The Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard range for 2016 has been very well received by the raters.

There’s a new addition to the range too, a grenache under the name “Elder Hill”

From a ratings point of view, the label that usually sits in the shadow of the other varieties and blends is “The Revivalist” Merlot, and yet it’s the merlot that is the most popular amongst my customers, often selling out before the others.

Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise as The Revivalist is made by Chris Carpenter (famous for producing the 100 point Cabernets for Lokoya and Cardinale) with input from Peter Fraser of Yangarra, the Jackson Family Wines vineyards that abutt the Hickinbotham holding.

Most of the Hickinbotham wines are destined for the US, where The Revivalist lists for US$75 (about S$103) and where it is sold under cork rather than screwcap. It was my choice, but for this vintage I have chosen for the wines to be under cork as I’ve suffered too many losses during past airfreights with potential leakage from dented and damaged screwcaps.

The 2016 The Revivalist is retailing here at S$92 all up. The 2015 sold out on release, but after a re-order, I have 9 bottles of the 2015 left if you’d like to do a vintage comparison (Halliday 95, Robert Parker 92+)

Here’s the rest of the 2016 Hickinbotham Clarendon Hills range:

“The Peake” Cabernet Shiraz – S$152 – Huon Hooke 98
“Trueman” Cabernet Sauvignon – S$92 – Huon Hooke 97
“Elder Hill” Grenache – S$92 – Hallliday 95
“Brooks Road” Shiraz – S$92 – Halliday 95

Enjoy!

David Boxall