Not only is Wombat Creek the vineyard with the highest elevation in the collection (100 meters up the hill from Applejack, circa 400 meters elevation), it is also the most southerly. Planted to the I10V1 clone, this is an interesting (understatement) pigeon pair to the Applejack, in that it boasts the same clone and the same winemaking yet is a higher, cooler site on red dirt instead of gray clay. Fruit for the 2021 Wombat Creek Vineyard Chardonnay was picked a full 10 days after Applejack, "and it was just a matter of waiting until the fruit was ready," says Steve Flamsteed (a.k.a. Flamo). "We had no rain events or botrytis stress at all." Approximately half of the wine went through malolactic fermentation. "By the time we got around to picking it, some of the malic acid had respired," Flamo explains. And it goes a long way toward softening the wine, lending it a nutty, savory character. Pork crackling comes to mind, and in combination with the white orchard fruit and taut saline acidity, it gives the wine an extra dimension of complexity and interest. I think this wine needs some time to unfurl and evolve—I'd love to see it again in a year's time...

The 2021 Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay is a fascinating wine, and I clicked part of the way through tasting it that the Pinot Noir from the same vineyard is usually the wine that turns my dials—a realization that made this tasting all the better. Fruit is from the Applejack Vineyard, just "down the hill" from Wombat Creek Vineyard (actually about a 10-minute drive up a winding, hilly road, taking you up about 100 meters in elevation). This is taut, linear and shaped by firm yet supple phenolics that show an array of characters on the mid-palate and beyond: white miso, red apple skins, cheesecloth and musk. This, again, like the other Chardonnays, is salty and littered with preserved lemon, crushed nuts and orchard fruit. It's a brilliant wine and one that will only get better as it ages and gathers spice momentum.

The 2020 Chardonnay Viñedo Maricerro from Portezuelo, Itata, was fermented in 20% new French barrels. Yellow with a greenish sheen. The nose offers apple, pear, hazelnut and gentle buttery notes plus hints of melon, creamed corn and praline. In the mouth, it’s broad and buttery, with good fat and sharp freshness that stretches out the oaky finish. A well-balanced, California-style white.

The 2021 Clay Ferment Chardonnay is a wine that's made in small quantities—and perhaps difficult to get outside of Australia—however, it's an interesting proposition and one that goes some way toward revealing the importance of "subregional" DNA. There is one clay egg of each of the single vineyards, where the wine was vinified separately and then blended together prior to bottling. The eggs behave like oak barrels in terms of their micro-porosity and fermentation kinetics, however they leave no flavor artifact, making it a perfect vessel to understand the individual vineyard sites. This is slightly cloudy in the glass, with low sulfur at bottling, and via the unfined nature, it retains all the good phenolic texture and grip that can make Chardonnay so excellent. This has really good persistence of flavor in the mouth: power from Sexton, green olive and caper brine from Tarraford, savory white miso/from Applejack and pork crackling from Wombat Creek. This all alongside the white orchard fruit, of course. This is a fascinating wine that will titillate the purists to no end. An interesting side note: The clay eggs are handmade in coastal New South Wales. They're very delicate, so much so that the team brings them to temperature with filtered water prior to filling, so that when they're "loaded up" they don't go into thermal shock and crack. They really are handled like eggs.

Sexton Vineyard is planted on shallow gray dirt over mudstone. The elevation is 220 meters and shows the magic of a warmer part of the Yarra in a relatively cool year. Plum skin, chinotto, fig, blueberries and exotic spices form the backdrop to the bright strawberry/cherry fruit. The 2021 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir is structurally quite different from the other vineyards, in that the tannins are more grainy and gravelly and provide more framework from which the fruit can hang. It is perhaps more obvious in its display of fruit and tannin, but with that comes a sonorous baritone of tannin and flavor. Impressive.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Viñedo Maricerro from Portezuelo, Itata, was cold-macerated for 7 days before spending 11 months in 25% new French barrels. Vivid cherry red in the glass. The intense nose offers cherry, strawberry, black tea and hints of oak, sweetbriar, dried rose and cigar box. In the mouth, this is broad and terse, with a slightly velvety feel, integrated freshness and a generous helping of fruit at the back of the throat. The long-lasting, oaky finish rounds out a nuanced Sonoma-style wine.

Made with fruit from the Coal River Valley, in Tasmania, the 2021 Fatal Shore Pinot Noir is a wholly darker and more brooding expression of Giant Steps Pinot Noir, although Flamo's (chief winemaker Steve Flamsteed) take is that they were able to imprint the Giant Steps style on the wine, despite the fruit sourcing, which I agree with. The fruit, in case you were wondering, was reefer-trucked up to the winery and was in the Yarra by the following morning, where the two clones were treated differently; the MV6 was fermented with whole bunches, while the D5V15 was fermented whole berry. This brings a ripe cherry character to mind, with hints of red apple, fresh garden mint and crushed graphite tannins.

The 2002 La Muse is a blend of 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-brick colored, it presents a mushroom cloud of perfumed fruitcake, cigar box, smoked meats, and Chinese five spice with hints of potpourri, iron ore, crushed rocks, and sandalwood. Full bodied, rich, and oh so spicy in the mouth, the palate is coated with velvety tannins and fantastic tension, finishing epically long and layered.

The 2019 La Muse is a blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple in color, it skips out of the glass with bright scents of freshly crushed black and red plums, boysenberries, and Morello cherries, plus hints of garrigue, cedar chest, wet slate, and truffles plus a waft of crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is super intense and firm with a solid wall of ripe tannins and compelling freshness holding up a ton of expressive earth and black fruit layers, finishing with epic length. 2,500 cases were made.

The 2018 Le Desir is composed of 82% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, and 6% Malbec, aged for 16 months in 100% new French oak. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sashays out with provocative scents of redcurrant preserves, kirsch, black raspberries, and dusty soil, followed by hints of tobacco, Sichuan pepper, and rosehip tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is very tightly wound, with loads of red and black fruit layers intertwined with minerals and savory nuances, framed by very firm, grainy tannins, leading to a long and earthy finish for this beautiful wine. 2,500 cases were made.

The 2004 Le Desir, made from 49% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, is very deep garnet-brick colored. Notes of blueberry pie, preserved plums, and Morello cherries come barreling out of the glass, followed by nuances of beef dripping, unsmoked cigars, pencil shavings, and black olives. The palate is full-bodied and lively, with vibrant blue and red fruit layers and a very plush texture, finishing long with a skip in its step.

The 2002 La Joie is composed of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. Deep garnet-brick in color, it needs a lot of swirling to wake up evocative notes of blackcurrant cordial, prunes, and figs, plus hints of tobacco leaves, dried Provence herbs, charcuterie, and tapenade with a waft of incense. The full-bodied palate explodes with youthful cassis and kirsch flavors, framed by firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and earthy.

The 2018 La Joie is made from 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, and 3% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple in color, it swaggers out of the glass with classic creme de cassis, cedar, and pencil-lead notes, giving way to notes of bay leaves, fertile loam, and cast-iron pan with a waft of charcuterie. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid structure of fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long and multi-layered. 2,500 cases were made.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Helena Montana Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon needs plenty of swirling to unlock notions of plum preserves, warm cassis, and stewed black cherries, plus suggestions of mossy tree bark, black olives, and fragrant earth. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers mouth-coating black fruits with a firm, finely grained texture and plenty of freshness to frame the generous fruit, finishing with brightness and a compelling lift. 793 cases were made.

The 2020 La Joie, tasted as a barrel sample, is composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Malbec. Deep purple-black colored, it rushes out of the gate to reveal gregarious notes of warm cassis, blackberry preserves, and kirsch, plus suggestions of cedar chest, charcoal, and bay leaves with a touch of fallen leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is wonderfully energetic and bright, with crunchy plums and blackcurrant layers and tons of savory sparks, supported by firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and lifted.

The 2019 Helena Dakota Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple in color. It tears out of the glass with wildly expressive scents of creme de cassis, dried sage, iron ore, and cedar chest, giving way to notions of crushed rocks and black truffles. Full-bodied, the palate has a sturdy structure of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness supporting the tightly knit, muscular layers, finishing long and minerally. 1,379 cases were made. The vineyard here is now 22 years old. Located at the most eastern side of Sonoma, in Knights Valley, near Peter Michael estate, a gap allows the cooling wind to come here from the Pacific Ocean.

Tasted as a barrel sample, the 2020 Le Desir is made from 80% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, and 5% Malbec. Deep purple-black colored, it sets off with fragrant scents of kirsch, redcurrant preserves, and black raspberries with wafts of dried roses, garrigue, and aniseed, plus a hint of black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a solid structure of ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness to support the intense, tight-knit fruit, finishing long and mineral-tinged.

The 2020 La Muse, tasted as a barrel sample, is made from 95% Merlot and 5% Malbec. Deep purple-black colored, it comes bounding out of the glass with eager, exuberant notes of baked plums, black cherry compote, and blackberry pie with touches of licorice, sauteed herbs, and black soil plus a hint of graphite. Medium-bodied, the palate is surprisingly elegant, featuring a solid frame of grainy tannins and lovely, seamless freshness, finishing on a lingering licorice note.

The 2002 Le Desir is made from 53% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Malbec. Medium to deep garnet-brick colored, it slowly unfurls to reveal notes of baked red and black cherries, dried mulberries, and stewed plums, plus suggestions of sauteed herbs, damp soil, cast-iron pan, and Indian spices. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers evolving red and black fruits with lifted herbal sparks and a soft texture, finishing long and savory.

The 1998 Verite is a blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium to deep garnet-brick colored, it opens with mature cigar box, smoked meats, and fruitcake notes, leading to suggestions of dried roses and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has evocative exotic spices and dried plums flavors with soft, powdery tannins and a minerally finish. 1998 was the first vintage release of Vérité. At this time, the only labels made were La Joie and this Merlot-based blend simply called "Vérité," later to become "La Muse."

The 1998 La Joie, a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, is deep garnet-brick colored. Notions of ginger cake, Chinese five spice, dried figs, black currant jelly, and Morello cherries burst from the glass, followed by hints of iron ore and dried herbs. The medium to full-bodied palate is plush and opulent, with loads of exotic spice layers and a refreshingly vibrant lift on the finish. 1998 was the first vintage release for Vérité. At this time, the only labels made were La Joie and a Merlot-based blend simply called "Vérité," later to become "La Muse."

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon has 3% Petit Verdot in the blend. Deep garnet-purple in color, it springs from the glass with notes of black raspberries, blackcurrant pastilles, and kirsch notes, plus suggestions of cinnamon stick, dried mint, red roses, and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers intense, muscular fruit with a solid backbone of firm, grainy, and approachable tannins matched by lovely freshness, finishing with long-lingering earthy nuances. 1,641 cases were made.

The 2019 Le Desir is a blend of 83% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it skyrockets from the glass with notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries, and wild blueberries, plus hints of lavender, wild sage, crushed rocks, and pencil shavings, with a touch of red roses. Medium-bodied, the palate is ethereal, so amazingly elegant yet remarkably intense, delivering super fine-grained tannins and beautiful freshness, leading to a long and fragrant finish for this gorgeous wine. 2,500 cases were made.

The 2018 La Muse is a blend of 90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Malbec, aged 16 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it prances out of the glass with vivacious notes of crushed black plums, mulberries, and juicy blackberries, plus hints of wild sage, damp soil, tar, and aniseed with a touch of raspberry leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has amazing tension, with super fine-grained, rounded tannins and layer upon layer of black fruits and minerals, finishing very long and vibrant. 2,500 cases were made.

The 2001 La Muse is a blend of 87% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. Deep garnet-brick in color, it strides out with confident cigar box, smoked meats, tapenade, and incense notes over a core of prunes and Christmas cake. The full-bodied plate is jam-packed with multi-layered, rich, spicy, black fruit preserves flavors, finishing with an opulent finish that just goes on and on. This is quintessential La Muse.