2023 Yangarra Hickinbotham Clarendon Grenache Magnum 1.5L, McLaren Vale

This is pale in the glass, fragrant, expressly savoury and built on an energetic tension of fine tannin and vigorous acidity. This has a little more flesh and fruitfulness than the Ovitelli, but it’s neither particularly fleshy nor fruitful. And there’s much charm in that. Red cherry and sour black cherry, dried rose petals, Baharat spicing, pomegranate, clove, mace, dried orange peel and warm concrete, struck rock – it’s one of those wines that I just can’t stop smelling, so beguiling is the perfume. The structure is just as compelling, with insistent sandy, chalky tannins and a seam of electric acidity pulling the flavours long. Utterly individual and absolutely world class. Drink 2025 to 2038.

97 points Marcus Ellis for Halliday Wine Companion, May 2025

The first vintage of certified fruit comes from bush vines on the Clarendon Vineyard Block 301 planted in 1962, all destemmed and into cocciopesto stone amphorae and on skins in there for 6 months and a total time in amphorae for 10 months, no pressings used whatsoever for this wine. A stained glass ruby hue, the wine smells of cranberries, translucent redcurrants and strawberry guava. Macadamia shell and paperbark, with a haze of cinnamon. For all the pretty rouge tones its dynamic on the palate, with a profusion of driving acidity and tannins that kick up the dust. This is immediately enjoyable and elegant beyond measure. The wildly high tones of this wine leaves you wanting for nothing.  For those that seek refinement, juicy and radiant red berries and approachable yet persistent structured lines this is it. Stunning, moreish and exquisitely detailed.

97 points Shanteh Wale for Wine Pilot, October 2025

Light ruby with purple shining at the rim. Bright raspberry fruit with a touch of smoky flint and ground spices lift from the glass. Palate is light and lithe but there’s an intensity to the fruit that demands attention. Red berries, anise, cumin and ground mixed peppercorn notes all show as it flows across the tongue. Lifting acidity and a firm gravel tannic framework all ensure focus and carry, allowing it to continue showing its layers for an age, eventually closing with a refreshing dryness. Drink 2026 to 2039.

96 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, February 2025

A beautiful, ethereal grenache with some rusty-nail mineral aromas, plus dried flowers, red fruits, all adding up to a superb perfume. Drying tannins, an almost nebbiolo like wine, with incredible persistence. Drink 2025 to 2041.

96 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, October 2025

The 2023 Hickinbotham Grenache is light in the glass and leads with cherry and peppercorns, fennel and milk chocolate. The bush vines in this vineyard were planted in 1962; the fruit was destemmed, crushed and pressed, before tipping into cocciopesto stone amphorae. The fruit ferments in situ and remains on the skins for approximately six months, then it's matured for a total of 10 months. On the palate, the impact of the amphorae is profound: the fruit feels austere and mineral, with the more delicate floral/rose notes and red berry characters shining through like shafts of sunshine. This is fresh and very tight and will benefit immensely from a gentle decant prior to drinking. While the Clarendon area usually contributes darker fruit characters and more densely packed tannins, this regional effect has been counterbalanced by the fermentation/maturation vessels. A lovely wine, this the first vintage released with ACO certification. Drink 2025 to 2038.

95 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, May 2025

A delightfully expressive medium-bodied Grenache from bush vines planted in 1962 on the Hickinbotham vineyard. The winemaking technique using amphorae has produced a wine with structure, palate feel and a beautiful deft lightness of touch. Aromas of cherry and rose petals with a subtle earthy backdrop. This is about preserving the purity and freshness of Grenache, which it does in spades. Drink 2025 to 2033.

95 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, May 2025

100% Grenache taken from 1962 planted bush vines in the Hickenbotham Clarendon Vineyard Block 301. 100% destemmed, crushed, and tipped into ‘cocciopesto’ stone amphorae where a gentle maceration took place before remaining on skins for around 6 months. Matured in amphorae for a total of 10 months. McLaren Vale Grenache of this calibre achieves brightness and purity alongside detail and structure. Red liquorice, maraschino cherry, cranberry, cherry blossom, warm sand, Chinese five spice, orange peel. There’s a lot going on here and it’s condensed into an intense aromatic profile that balances bright red fruitedness with savoury seasoning. There’s some dried herbs that emerge with air adding a garrigue-driven Rhone feel, and some emergent dried rose and subtle clove. The palate is superbly bright and piquant with a cool, mineral feel sitting high in the mouth yet with such great intensity. Power without weight. Cranberry and red cherry notes intersperse with garrigue, warm sand, red liquorice, bitter amaro, and brown spice before a sheath of chalky tannins hold sway, framing it all up and drawing it to long, powdery length. A charming and complex wine.

95 points Tom Kline for Wine Pilot, June 2025

Perfumed and floral aromas of wild raspberries, rose petals, orange rind and ocean spray. The palate is medium-bodied with focused acidity and integrated tannins, giving notes of strawberries, sweet spices and cassia bark. Very fresh, with an underlying tension. Drink or hold.

95 points James Suckling, October 2024

Yangarra Estate has been at the forefront of McLaren Vale Grenache for two decades, farming its single estate organically and biodynamically in Blewitt Springs. Winemaker Peter Fraser is one of the most thoughtful and respected voices on the variety in Australia, and his work with the Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard — a neighbouring site in the elevated hills of Clarendon, on the northern edge of McLaren Vale — represents some of the most distinctive Grenache being made anywhere in the country.

The Hickinbotham block used for this wine was planted in 1962 to unirrigated bush vines on brown clay loam with weathered and broken siltstone. The 2023 season brought significantly higher than average rainfall, with cool conditions through spring setting up balanced canopies and lower yields. Careful canopy management through shoot thinning and leaf removal ensured fruit quality despite the challenging conditions, and the wines from this vintage are among the most delicate and fragrant the estate has produced.

Fruit was hand-picked on the 22nd of March, selectively berry sorted, then destemmed and crushed directly into 1800 litre cocciopesto amphorae. The wine remained on skins for approximately six months before pressing, then matured in amphora for a total of ten months before bottling in February 2024. No pressings, no oak, certified organic and biodynamic.

Pale and luminous in the glass, the 2023 is fragrant and expressly savoury — red cherry, dried rose petals and pomegranate on the nose, with Baharat spice, clove, mace and dried orange peel adding depth and intrigue. The palate is built on energetic tension, with fine tannin and vigorous acidity carrying the wine to a long, precise finish.

This is perhaps the most delicate of recent Hickinbotham Clarendon releases. Presented in magnum, with considerable potential to develop through the next decade and beyond. Open well ahead of serving alongside roasted game birds.