The Mickan Block brings together cuttings of some super premium vines from across the Barossa to be grown on the same dirt at the Hoffman Vineyard in Ebenezer. The vines are still young at five years of age but already the differences between each are telling. Hayes Family Wines have made a barrel of each of the three (300 bottles) plus a blend.
These wines are available for members only, but a cheeky phone call or email will get your foot in the door to snare a sneaky four pack.
Dallwitz 2021
These cuttings come from the Dallwitz block in Ebenezer. Muscular, this is by far the biggest wine of the group. This is the bouncer at the door. The safety. No one dies on Dallwitz's watch. Lots of dense plums, blackberries and a cheeky suggestion of Ribena. Add some dried herbs and a flash of mint, it's dusty and powdery which brings those 90% cocoa feels through the mouth. Drying and sapping, it's mouth-filling and incredibly long. Give this beast some time but I get a sense it will bloom and potentially outstrip the others.
92/100
Becker
These cuttings were sourced from the Becker ancestor vines in Koonunga.
This is a wine for later, purely and simply. Follow that simple rule and you'll be rewarded in five+ years. Dense dark berry fruit, fruit bun spices, licorice bullets and some meatiness, it is drying and sapping. Powdery tannins scatter about. Still quite reserved and tight, it is yet to show its hand. Over a number of days of tasting, it started to show itself on day three. One for the cellar, this will improve over time as will the score.
Drink to fifteen years+
93/100
SCC
These cuttings came from the cooler Eden Valley and it was a great expression compared to its Mickan siblings. The cooler climate traits in its DNA shine through with brighter and pretty aromas. Think chocolate brownie, dried petals, blackberry jam, dense plums and dancy purple fruit. Baking spices and waves of earthiness build terrific momentum. Easily the most approachable of the four Mickans for now, it will age beyond a decade make no mistake.
Drink to ten years+
94/100
Hoffman Mickan Block
A cool Friday night and a glass of this curled up on the lounge would be a winning combo.
A blend of the Dallwitz, Becker and SCC, each contributes roughly a third to this wine.
As with the others, this is still so young and no where near its best. Blackcurrants, mulberries, licorice, dark chocolate set the scene. Ribbed with exotic spices, this is long and almost refuses to move. Dense, brooding and structured, those firm and drying tannins certainly make a statement. It's a wine with a decade of aging easily in its veins. Mouth-sapping dryness swoop on close as those characteristic Barossan spices do laps around the mouth with absolute ease. I'm fixated on its mystique.
A clever wine that will only get better.
94/100
Region: Barossa
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