Hickinbotham's 2019 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz is a 56-44 blend of the two varieties, aged in around 50% new French oak. Blended from selected barrels, it ratchets up the intensity even further than the Trueman Cab or Brooks Road Shiraz, while also adding additional layers of complexity. The herbal notes of the Cab are there but toned down, the cassis and blackberry notes of the two varieties complement each other, and the vanilla and cedar shadings are beautifully integrated into the wine. Full-bodied, concentrated and richly textured, it's expansive yet structured and long and elegant on the finish. Give it another couple of years in the cellar and drink it over the next two decades.
WINE ADVOCATE

It’s the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%) and shiraz (44%) that could take on all-comers.

Stand aside. There’s a freight train of flavour here and while its brakes are hydraulic its momentum is enormous. For the love of grapes. A huge swerve and plum and blackcurrant flavour comes drenched in cedar wood, mocha and vanilla, though its top notes of tobacco and bay shine throughout like the top edge of wave. Will you take a look at the nut-like tannin on this job. This has more texture than a biscuit, more command than a keyboard. It’s sheer old-new-school Aussie red wine brilliance. THE WINE FRONT