With a small amount of Merlot blended in, this ageworthy red is thick and concentrated in blueberry, black currant and a hint of black olive. With grip and power, it shows earthy, savory characteristics of cedar, tobacco and dried herb, with a length of firm tannin and integrated oak. Enjoy from 2027–2032.

Complex and powerfully structured, with vibrant acidity and tannins backing chiseled dried red fruit and berry flavors. Finely textured, with a rich savoriness and sanguine accents filling the minerally finish. Drink now through 2027.

Attractive spice aromas are deeply woven into blueberry and dark cherries. This has enticingly complex style. The palate has such impressive intensity and concentrated flavors of blueberry and dark cherry sweep long and fluid. A beautiful, bold pinot. Drink or hold.

This is a young wine that is knitted down in flavour but it is not tight or difficult to navigate. You feel the breadth and complexity to the fruit, along with juicy powerful freshness, and the gourmet packing of liquorice and chocolate. These are big wines that are big but expertly balanced by slate and crushed stone minerality, giving balance and succulence. 60% new oak. 3.75pH. Harvested 24 September to 13 October. A yield of 49hl/ha.

A McLaren Vale Shiraz always destined to impress. This 2018 is no different. Another excellent Ironheart Shiraz. Handpicked off certified organic and biodynamic vineyards, 25% whole bunches were used before sitting on skins for 16 days and 32% new French oak used. It's deep and brooding, dark chocolate and coconut husk reach out early. Packed with interest, cedar, cloves and raspberries seemingly skim across the surface but it's the darker red fruits that get in deep. Hold your breath before blackberries cut loose - it's the depth that screams out and captivates here. The oak protrudes a little for now but this will settle with time. This is most definitely a keeper. Dried herbs and a lashing of chocolate rush late as do fine spices. A finish that runs long and seemingly never-ending. Brilliant! Drink to ten years+.

Very spicy and intense, this complex pinot shows blueberry and dark-cherry aromas, as well as some sappy notes, roses and forest wood. The palate is weighty with plenty of ripe fruit flesh. Quite supple and velvety with flavors that run from red to dark cherries. Flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

Spice, fresh raspberry, sage and dried mint and flowers. Crisp with a fresh crunch of pomegranate, slightly peppery, cool and perfumed, stony almost concrete dust tannin, flesh and succulence, with high cheekbones and fine tailoring. Love the cranberry dryness and fine grip of dusty tannin on a long raspberry sorbet finish. Beautiful expression of Grenache.

A measured yet powerful grip holds interest from beginning to end of the palate. This is just dripping with salinity from crushed stones, graphite and slate - a physical presence that balances beautifully with the fleshy black cherry and damson fruits, and the chocolate shavings. An excellent quality Lassegue, hard hitting and muscular but with pace and persistency. 52% new oak barrels (from 15 different forests - always a key signature of this estate's ageing policy). 3.6pH, average vine age between 50 and 60 years old.

Zinfandel of the Month – 2019 Hartford Family Winery Zinfandel Russian River Valley Old VinePurple in color. 15.1% ABV. Awesome nose of red fruits, peach and baking spices. Medium body with perfect acidity. Absolutely bursting with bright, sweet fruits. The purity of the fruit is notable. Cherry, strawberry, raspberry liqueur and pepper on the palate. Exceptional length on the finish. Stunning Zinfandel that is on par with the glorious 2015. Just a baby. This will drink well for 4-6 years.

The 2018 Syrah Brosseau is dense, powerful and meaty. Inky dark fruit, gravel, cured meat and dried flowers. A wine of real density and power, the Brosseau Syrah is endowed with massive power and concentration. There is so much to the 2018. This site on decomposed granite with limestone yields wines of tremendous complexity and character. The 2018 is fabulous.

The 2018 Syrah Sea Lift is fabulous. Inky dark fruit, black cherry, plum, chocolate, licorice, spice, sage and menthol build in a powerful, deep Syrah endowed with tremendous character.

The 2018 Syrah Hawkes Butte is once again one of the most distinctive wines in the range. Inky dark fruit, black pepper, sage, lavender and spice all run through this super-expressive Syrah. The 2018 is rich and unctuous but also not at all heavy. It is incredibly singular and full of character.

The 2018 Chardonnay Brosseau, from the famed vineyard in the Chalone AVA, is fabulous. Dried flowers, sage, mint, chamomile and graphite give the Brosseau its distinctly savory, mineral personality. Structure, acid and soil tones dominate this rich, full-bodied Chardonnay, while the fruit is very much in the background.

Polished, vibrant and generous, with black cherry, red licorice and maraschino cherry flavors that mingle with details of white tea, brown sugar and fresh loamy accents, lingering on the long, expressive finish, with supple tannins.

This distinctive red offers a powerful, robust mix of blood orange, dried cherry and pomegranate flavors on a firm, muscular frame. Notes of baking spices, cigar box and salty black licorice linger on the finish, with a touch of sarsaparilla. Drink now through 2035.

Merlot led blend.Deep ruby red in colour. Blackberries, dry leather, pipe tobacco,Eastern spice. Dense and sumptuous. Seamless and unwavering linearity.

Purple colour from core to rim and up the sides of the glass as well. Plums, rosemary and sea-spray aromatics. The palate flows majestically from front to back, light of foot but carrying serious intensity and drive. Structured to accentuate the long and lingering glide of fruit into the finish. So much pleasure now and will provide for many years to come.

Incredibly vibrant deep purple colour in the glass. Subdued nose, dark loam and black fruits lurk with intent. Remarkable poise for such a young wine, dark fruits, blood and ironstone all meld seamlessly. Full of palate yet has a feeling of compression from acid and tannin so it pushes very deep and long. Time will provide even further layers and complexity.

A quite light red and bright colour in the glass. The aromas are elegant, lifted and fragrant, with red cherry, spice, rose water and a splash of talc. Flavours are refined and incredibly textural, with the red-fruited cherry and raspberry elements being driven by this savoury, very grippy, grainy tannin that coats the mouth and gives the wine some serious, chalky, sophisticated mouth-feel.

Deep purple colour, concentrated aromas of blackcurrants and sweet baking spices. Rich, smooth texture, a hedonistic treat of wild cherries, plums, tamarillo and dried herbs. Colossal tannins, full-bodied and a finish that lingers.

A rich, succulent mix of dark chocolate, spiced plum, wild blackberry and black licorice notes. Showcases both power and elegance, with chai, cigar box, violets and dried sage notes, velvety and generous, on the long, generous finish.

The 30ha estate-owned Sexton Vineyard, planted by Giant Steps founder Phil Sexton in 1997, is the pinnacle of the single-vineyard Chardonnays produced each year, and has a real cult following among winelovers. It is whole-bunch pressed and, using wild yeasts, fermented and aged for 10 months in 500-litre puncheons, 20% new. There was some batonnage, but no malo, ensuring a great balance of steeliness and creamy, waxy palate weight. Complex and layered orange blossom honey on toast, hazelnuts, lemon curd, melon and florals, with beautiful mineral clarity. Tangy, citrus zest acidity enlivens the palate. I last tasted this 15 months ago, and the extra time in bottle has really made it sing.

Seductively smooth and weathered in crisp cranberry, plum and dark cherry, this old-vine wine offers a substantial grip of tannin and notes of crushed rock and oak. Velvety texture leads to dusty black pepper, nutmeg and tobacco.

From two vineyard sites just a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, this wine is juicy in cranberry and pomegranate. Lifted accents of white pepper, orange peel and rose add complexity and nuance to the robust frame.

Hawkeye Mountain is K-J's signature mountain property in the Alexander Valley AVA. It is planted from 900 to 2400 feet above sea level on shallow, rocky, and gravelly loam. The vineyard pitches mostly west and sometimes south on steep hillsides. For the most part, limited release Hawkeye Ridge red sits above the fog line earning the ‘island in the sky’ moniker. Early mornings can be cool, building acidity and lengthening the growing season, but the afternoons above the fog line are warm. It’s a mountain wine, so double decanting is highly recommended if you're going to drink it at such a young age. It’s the second time I have tasted this wine this year, and it remains big and bold but with a surprising amount of restraint. The palate is packed full of black fruit spiked with licorice, tobacco, and a quiet undercurrent of oak. The finish is long, savoury, and persistent with mineral tones and rich, fine-grained tannins. This is the real deal and an excellent starting point to talk about Sonoma County cabernet's ability to reach eights normally attributed to only Napa Valley. Bravo Randy Ullom.