Hickinbotham Clarendon The Revivalist Merlot 2018

Fantastic depth of colour featuring a saturated inky black core and a very deep dark red black hue. Propelled out of the glass are ripe red to blackcurrant aromatics with hints of liquorice, mulberry, subtle cigar box, dried herbs and light spicy earth in tow. Rich and fleshy, ripe blackcurrant and liquorice fruits overlay a back drop of vanillin cedar, earthy tobacco characters and spicy dried herbs. Backing it all up is a sturdy matrix of tannins which provide ample structure. Excellent power with a long, slightly chewy aftertaste. Cellar 6-8 years. Alc. 14.5% The perfume, the nuance, the power. This takes the merlot grape and knocks it out of the park. It's ripped with both fruit flavour and tannin, it's smoked with an appropriate level of oak, and it feels authoritative through the finish. In short, it's a pearler. Drink by 2033. 97 points Campbell Mattinson – James Halliday’s The Wine Companion