Garnet coloured with black rim. Looks deep and moody. Wood spice, clove, cedar, darker berries, liquorice, brined olive notes. Trim and taut, controlled and long, serious feeling wine of depth and complexity, seasoned well in a style that favours a bit of mocha-spice oak presence. It fits the premium bill, needs some time, will mature well. Serious, spicy, dark fruited grenache with tension and drive.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Stormin' is the most exuberant wine in the range. It shows terrific depth and density, while remaining transparent and light on its feet. Dark red/purplish berry fruit, rose petal, lavender, spice and mint build in this expansive, beautifully expressive Pinot. A dollop of whole clusters (7%) adds a touch of character without being especially evident.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Sealift, from a site in Annapolis, is bold, juicy and so expressive. Red/purplish berry fruit, spice, rose petal and dried herbs are some of the many notes than run through the Sealift. A wine of energy and nuance, the 2018 has so much to offer. A healthy dose of whole clusters add character as well as nuance. This is very nicely done.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Edmeades is gorgeous. The blend of Calera, Swan and Dijon clones on low vigor soils works so well here. Pliant and silky, with striking depth, the 2018 has so much character. Red/bluish-hued fruit, spice, orange peel and mint give the Edmeades an effusive beauty that is impossible to miss. All the elements come together in an Anderson Valley Pinot that hits all the right notes.

The 2018 Chardonnay Sky Crest captures all of the intensity of Anderson Valley. Rich and exuberant, the 2018 possesses terrific depth, with plenty of baked apple tart, pineapple, yellow flowers and tropical character. Even with all of its exuberance, the 2018 retains terrific freshness.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Smothers-Remick Ridge is another striking wine in this range. Bold and punchy in the glass, with tons of savory/earthy character, the 2017 has a lot going on. Cedar, sweet pipe tobacco, menthol, licorice and wild cherry all run through the 2017. This Sonoma Valley site is one of the most distinctive sites in California, as are the wines.

This expressive white showcases a mouthwatering mix of tahini, fresh ginger, lemon zest, pear and green apple flavors on a juicy, sleek frame, with remarkable precision and intensity on the finish, oozing with freshness and vibrancy. Drink now through 2032.

Stylish and memorable, with a touch of salted caramel adding a rich, savory edge, yet the core is pure and juicy, featuring lively Meyer lemon, Asian pear and lime sherbet flavors that show wonderful transparency and intensity, followed by candied ginger notes on the finish. Drink now through 2022.

Vérité: Now at age 10More mint, black cherry, mulberry, cedar, candied violet, and floral notes emerge from the 2011 Le Desir, and it blossoms with air, developing even more classic Franc herbal and chocolate nuances. With medium to full body, it's more angular and structured than the La Muse yet still beautifully balanced. Possessing ripe tannins, good acidity, and outstanding length, it's another impressive wine from this estate that unquestionably has a Bordeaux-like sense of structure and acidity. It promises another 15 years of prime drinking and will have a gradual decline after that.

Vérité: Now at age 10There were a little over 2,000 cases of the 2011 La Muse produced, and this Merlot-dominated beauty checks in as 89% Merlot, 7% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Franc. It has a Cheval Blanc-like bouquet of darker currants, cherries, leafy herbs, cedarwood, and graphite that opens up beautifully with time in the glass. More medium to full-bodied on the palate, it doesn't have the density of a bigger, riper year but has terrific overall balance, ripe, polished tannins, and a gorgeous finish. As with the other releases, it's still youthful (there's no hint of bricking or amber at the edges), and while it's drinking beautifully today, it has another 15 years or so of prime drinking.

You can see why the Australian media is so excited about this pinot. Fresh, light, and medium-weight, this projects a lot of pinot character and fits the Jackson Family Wines delicious factor they like in their pinot noir. Giants Steps’ is now under the watch of JFW Australia and will have access to many resources, including the mind and palate of Peter Fraser. I have no history with this wine, but it doesn’t take much to fall in love with the elegance here, and the rooty, savoury undercurrent that complexes its delicious red fruit. What a delicate pinot with extraordinary length. Let’s hope local buyers get on board and order all they can get.

Made predominantly from grapes grown at the Fog Dance Vineyard, a vineyard-designate of its own, this memorably delicious wine is light in color and delicately inviting in tangerine, peach and strawberry. Stainless-steel fermented, it remains crisp on the palate with just a touch of orangesicle richness on the finish.

Not much of this was made, sadly, as it delivers velvety thick, rich and tension-filled grip around firm, structured tannin. Blue and black fruit dominate in concentrated form, dusted in nutmeg and oak, from vinesmore than 100 years old.

Succulent, with structure and tension in its bones, this hearty, full-bodied wine expresses thick waves of juicy blackberry, dark cherry and cola, the oak wellintegrated within a spicy component of nutmeg and white pepper. Planted more than a century ago, the head-trained vines yield low amounts of delicious, concentrated grapes.

Dense black fruit contrasts against a tartness of cranberry, the acidity sharp and beautifully complementary to the dry-farmed, head-trained structure of the wine. Powerful grip speaks to its youthfulvigor, unwinding slowly in the glass.

A dry-farmed site planted 100 years ago and head-trained still, Dina’s is a study in baked cherry, blackberry and plum, rich and viscously thick. Velvety tannins and ample weight provide an unctuous lushness that is complemented by underlying acidity.

From a high-elevation site on a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross, this blustery, full-bodied red shows the extremes of its growing conditions, offering broad, bright and fruity intensity. Juicy black cherry, plumand blackberry fruit meet graphite, dark chocolate and crushed rock, a note of sea spray and forest never far behind.

2017 was a solid vintage marred only by the horrific wildfires that swept through the region in October. The nose alone will tell you this wine was picked just prior to the fires. Both floral and mineral, with exotic spice penetrating the wine from front to back. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then underwent native malolactic fermentation in barrels to round acidity and softly integrate the vanillin character of French oak (94% new). It is barrel aged for months and is bottled without fining or filtration. The blend is 94/3/1.5/1.5 cabernet sauvignon, malbec, cabernet franc, and petit verdot, and it is a giant of a wine packed full of black and blue fruit, purity, and a bony cedar tannic backbone. It will require a decade to rest and settle into a wine you can enjoy by the bottle. For now, a glass or two with a favourite steak is the best way to explore this terrific wine. Mt. Brave Vineyard sits high atop Mt. Veeder at an elevation of 1,400 to 1,800 feet on an area planted since the early 1860s. On the western flank of Napa Valley, the estate is named for the native Wappos, who first called it home. The mountain site is all about high elevation and thin, rocky soils planted to four cabernet clones (191, 4, 8, and 337) and three rootstocks (3309C, 101-14, and 1103P) that combine to neutralize some of the issues in what is usually a slow-moving, long, cool growing season above the fog line.

This is a convincingly concentrated and complex pinot that offers deep dark-cherry aromas with spice and cedar, as well as violet and blueberry. The palate holds shape well with a sweeping build of ripe cherry and blueberry flavors. Very resolved. Drink now.

Tenuta di Arceno: chasing perfectionThe first Bordeaux blend of the estate, based on Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a shot of Cabernet Sauvignon and a drop of Petit Verdot, is aged in 30% new French oak barrels for 18 months. It is restrained at present, scented with violet and cassis, undergrowth, chocolate and eucalyptus. It's smooth on the palate, with creaminess and great ripeness, super-refreshing and savoury. In the classic 2018 vintage this is definitely more elegant than powerful.

Tenuta di Arceno: chasing perfectionCompared to the older and warmer 2011, which is a bit rustic and jammy, this 2013 is a fairly classic vintage for Merlot. It was harvested in September, marking a return to the usual picking dates. The percentage of the Merlot here reaches 74% of the blend, in order to maximise its fleshy character in a relatively cool year. The nose is evolved yet with an amazing complexity of tobacco, earthy tones, clean leather and balsamic depth. On the palate cassis fruit melds with leather and spices, supported by polymerised tannins and natural refreshing acidity.

Tenuta di Arceno: chasing perfectionThis is a truly exceptional preview since the wine will not be released for another three years. The 2018 vintage of Valadorna is the first 100% Merlot of the estate. Until then, the grapes had not achieved the right level of ripeness and quality to produce an unblended Merlot. This vineyard is one of the cooler plots of the estate, where the harvest is delayed. Extremely youthful, it displays plenty of estery notes alongside plum fruit of great vibrancy. A layer of slightly herbal aromas (in my opinion preferable to jammy notes) is followed by a milky, chocolatey, supple palate with refreshing acidity and velvety tannins.

Tight and structured red with blackberry, fresh-herb and violet aromas and flavors. Full-bodied with chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Needs time to soften. Better after 2023.

Beautiful, dense Chardonnay with phenolic tension and layers of fruit. Full-bodied with lots of complexity, pretty intensity and tightness at the end. Dried pineapple and hints of tropical fruit and praline. Made from Howell Mountain, Carneros and Napa City. Drink or hold.

Blackberries, fresh herbs and violets on the nose. Mint and olives, too. Full-bodied with delicious, round and juicy fruit and softness. Lightly chewy and pretty now. Delicious now.