A deep color in the glass. The 2020 Shiraz Brooks Road is a decadent and bold expression of McLaren Vale, delivering charcoal and sweet blackberry aromas, plus an attractive eucalypt lift with a rich seam of vanilla oak. A firm and punchy palate follows, with intense sweet fruits and peaty complexity. A rich core of tannins offers support and provides significant aging potential.

A fascinating Cabernet/Shiraz blend, the 2020 The Peake comes from some of the highest vineyards in McLaren Vale. This wine offers excellent purity with blackberry, cassis and clove-scented fruits backed by a generous serving of high-quality oak. A beautifully vibrant palate follows, radiating with dark berry fruits that are kept in check by manicured tannins and deliver a long, flowing finish.

The 2019 Chardonnay Gold Run is an airy, gracious and wonderfully finessed wine. Pear, white flowers, mint and candied lemon peel all run through this classy, superbly polished Chardonnay. The silky, caressing finish is a thing of beauty.

The 2019 Chardonnay Red Point is a bright, piercing wine. Crushed rocks, lime, slate, menthol, white flowers and sage lend notable volume. There is good depth in the glass and plenty of texture too, but the 2019 is very bright and intensely saline, with all of its energy seemingly directed inwards.

The 2019 Chardonnay Broken Road Vineyard is wonderfully deep and layered. Candied lemon peel, honey, tangerine oil and white flowers add an exotic quality to the 2019 that is quite appealing. This dense, phenolic, richly textured Chardonnay has a bright future. It's a gorgeous, inviting Chardonnay from Stonestreet.

The 2019 Chardonnay Upper Barn Vineyard is weightless and wonderfully nuanced. Tangerine oil, mint, crushed rocks and chamomile are all finely sketched. Time in the glass brings out attractive tropical overtones, but the Upper Barn is really a wine of energy more than anything else.

The 2019 Chardonnay Skycrest is a knockout. Bright, floral and energetic, the 2019 is wonderfully detailed and nuanced. Lemon confit, almond, sage, mint and dried flowers lend striking complexity. The 2019 is wonderfully vibrant and sculpted, with exceptional balance, the 2019 is an absolute winner.

The 2019 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard is another incredibly distinctive wine in this range. Candied ginger, passionfruit, lemon confit, white flowers and tangerine oil give this mid-weight Chardonnay tons of character. Bright acids lend freshness and verve to a Chardonnay that is very much on the exotic side of things.

The 2019 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard is marked by soaring, lifted floral aromatics and mid-weight structure. White flowers, mint, lime and green pear lend
brightness throughout. The style is airy and understated. All the elements are so nicely balanced.

The 2019 Chardonnay Stone Côte Vineyard is quite delicate, with a lovely mix of floral accents and the more mineral signatures that are so typical of this site. Orchard fruit, apricot, mint, tangerine oil and hints of pastry all grace this exquisite understated Chardonnay from Hartford. This is very nicely done.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Truly Rita, from Dierberg-Drum Canyon in the Sta. Rita Hills, is a big, potent wine. Huge tannins wrap around a core of blue/purplish fruit. Lavender, mocha, spice, chocolate, gravel, incense and licorice add to the wine's brooding intensity. Give this muscular Pinot a few years to soften.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Jennifer's is a potent and incredibly distinctive wine. Poor soils in a very cool site yield a Pinot full of game, leather, blood orange, spice and earthy notes complement a core of dark red/purplish fruit. A Pinot of power and breadth, the Jennifer's is not especially subtle, but there is a real feeling of energy here that is undeniably appealing.

Hartford's 2019 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard offers up an explosion of crushed red berry fruit, cinnamon, rose petal and cedar. This fruity, aromatic Sonoma Coast Pinot is a real charmer. It will drink well with minimal cellaring, but also has enough energy to develop positively for a number of years.

The 2019 Syrah Sea Lift is packed with blue/purplish fruits, lavender, spice, menthol, licorice, black pepper and mocha. Pliant and deep, with striking depth, the 2019 has a ton to offer. I imagine it will benefit from a few years in bottle, which should help the reticent aromatics open.

The 2019 Chardonnay DuPratt is layered and super-expressive right out of the gate. Orchard fruit, white pepper and flowers are some of the many notes that grace this delicate, understated Mendocino Chardonnay. I especially admire the energy and persistence here.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is packed with dark red/purplish berry fruit, rose petal, mocha, spice and licorice. Plush and explosive, with terrific energy, the 2019 has a ton to offer. All the energy of this mountain appellation wine comes through beautifully. The 2019 offers tons of fruit intensity in a mid-weight, savory style that is hugely appealing.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Crown is a very pretty, perfumed wine that shows the more elegant, aromatic side of Knights Valley Cabernet. Sweet floral and spice top notes lend finesse to this deep, structured Cabernet, with hints of blood orange, dried herbs and red berry fruit that linger.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Smothers-Remick Ridge is a classic Sonoma Valley Cabernet loaded with strong savory/mineral accents. Plum, black cherry, gravel, licorice, incense, chocolate and sage open with a bit of time in the glass. This powerhouse Cabernet just needs time to soften.

Produced from 60% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, the 2017 Valadorna is rich and polished, with a luxurious influence of sweet, wooded spice. A ripe perfume of black plum, vanilla, leather, and cedar emerges with a warming and sunny feel. It is full-bodied, with ripe tannins, velveteen texture, and a blanket of fruit without feeling heavy. Dried currant, turned soil, and herbs of amaro all move through the palate, and it speaks to the warmth of the vintage. It will drink well now or over the next 15-20 years.

Medium deep crimson. Fragrant pure blackberry, musky plum aromas with underlying vanilla notes. Well-concentrated and ultra-ripe blackberry, spicy/ hint of clove flavours, some stone fruit notes, fine loose knit chalky textures, very good mid-palate volume and underlying vanilla, mocha complexity before finishing slinky and long. Plush fruit, elegant structure; a fascinating wine. Drink now–2030.

Very deep red colour with a good tint of purple, the bouquet is rich and complex with smoky, toasty and earthy nuances overlying spice, dark berry and plum notes. The wine is full-bodied and ample, filling the entire mouth, and textured with emery-like tannins. Alcohol is well-balanced. Firm and lively, with a very long aftertaste. 

It’s fascinating to see how the wines of Yangarra have evolved in the last few years. They were always good, but now they feel speccy. And you can see it most clearly in the Shiraz wines – like this Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2018. What a bright, and energetic McLaren Vale Shiraz. Showing none of its 14.5% alcohol, and instead about fruit. I wouldn’t expect it to be this vibrant looking at the winemaking, which is deadly serious.- 25% whole bunches, wild ferment, 32% new French oak. 9 months in barrel, then a barrel selection, with the best blend spending 8 more months in a one-year-old foudre.
Definitely less iron-hearted and more purple fruited this vintage. It smells of blueberries, background oak and rich fruit, followed by a medium to full bodied expression of Blueberry nose. Just enough ferrous grip and some residual oak tannins. The whole thing just jumps out at you with its ripe fruit – too much energy and not much complexity for the moment, but you can see that will come.
Just a lovely Shiraz really.
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2018. Best drinking: good now, probably even better next year, and will live for 10+ years.

Born from an egg on a mountain top.
68 cases made with 50% popped into a 675 litre ceramic egg and fermented on skins and left for 120 days and 120 nights. The other half fermented off skins in a ceramic egg of the same size. The final blend was 60% skin and 40% non-skin, so you’d have to say Yangarra have a fair bit of skin in the game. Great to see the spirit of adventure happening in the McLaren Vale at the moment, at least in some quarters. Bottled September 2014.
Almond and honeyed florals, light pineapple and ripe lemon, aniseed. Velour tannin and milky texture, fresh pineapple acid tang, savoury chicken and nutty flavour in there too, but it presents as fresh and clean with an extra dimension of interest. Light grip on the finish and sour/savoury twang in the aftertaste. Fascinating wine.

Grown biodynamically. 50% fermented on skins in two ceramic eggs, 50% fermented in ceramic eggs but not on skins. Final blend is 60% of the extended skin contact egg portion. Bottled unfined. 250-ish dozen made. Beautiful white wine. It crackles, it floats and it charms. Spice, florals, stone fruit and mineral. There’s grip to the finish but it doesn’t gather; it’s exquisitely well pitched and balanced. A class. Heady with florals but taut and controlled. Drink 2018 - 2022

Wild ferment, whole bunches, whole berries, classy oak but only where it’s needed.
That beautiful sweet fruit. That texture like silk. That perfect integration of plum-shot fruit and posh, cedar-like oak. It smells, taste and feels pure, fine-grained and terrific, every step of the way. Drink 2018 - 2028