Hickinbotham Brooks Road Shiraz 2022 from Clarendon in McLaren Vale is a polished, full‑bodied shiraz that marries site purity with serious power, showing why this elevated vineyard above the Onkaparinga Gorge is so highly regarded.

Expect a pool of dark berries – blackberry, blackcurrant, black plum and bilberry – layered with blue fruits, olive tapenade, anise‑studded charcuterie, dark chocolate, maple‑tinged oak, tobacco, carob and wild dried herbs, all wrapped in fine, grainy tannins and fresh acidity that keep it poised rather than heavy. The palate is concentrated, medium‑ to full‑bodied and detailed, with long, sustained fruit purity and a slatey, savoury, brambled spice finish that really shows its Clarendon stamp. It also carries serious critical weight – 96 points Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion), 96 Shanteh Wale (Winepilot) and 95 from Ned Goodwin MW at jamessuckling.com.

This is a top table red for hearty dishes like pork and mushroom pie, slow‑cooked lamb shoulder, beef cheeks, venison or rich, roasted vegetable bakes, where its intensity, tannin line and savoury complexity can really shine. Decant it well now or cellar 6–8 years for extra harmony and tertiary spice and earth to emerge.