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.

A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2019 La Joie is deep garnet-purple in color. It has a wonderfully flashy and flamboyant nose of blackcurrant cordial, redcurrant jelly, plum preserves, and potpourri with hints of chocolate mint, tilled soil, chalk dust, and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate is very taut and muscular with tons of bright, crunchy black fruits and wonderful tension, finishing with tons of earthy nuances. 2,500 cases were made.

White and yellow peach fruit, toast, smoke and almond. Weighty palate with ripe stone fruit, fresh acidity and well-integrated oak. Persistent finish.

Blackcurrant, dried raspberry and redcurrant, coffee with cream, violet, and a fair amount of peppermint and sage It’s full-bodied, fresh and stony, a slick of Turkish coffee tannin offering plenty of grip, but also quite a lot of mint chocolate flavour, which is maybe a little overt, though the intensity and length is quite something, albeit somewhat dry in tannin. Lively and assertive, but just a little too minty and oaky, I feel, at least as at now.

Ripe, open and textured wine with nectarine, pineapple and cloves. Good freshness.

Named after the Applejack eucalypts that surround the vineyard, which was planted at Gladysdale in 1997. Seven clones including 114, 115, MV6, D2V5, D5V15, Pommard and Abel! I've long considered the Applejack vineyard to be one of the greatest sites for pinot in Australia and I'm not sure I've seen a better version than the 2021. A deep, bright, crimson purple. Maraschino cherry into plum, there's an exotic and riotous amalgam of Asian five-spice and a gentle savoury, umami character. What elevates this vintage is the concentration, along with Applejack's trademark perfume and spice. Just so vibrant and fresh on the palate, the tannins are both silky and plentiful. You will have no problems opening and enjoying this now, but the wine's track record suggests you'll thank me if you still have some to drink 7–10 years from now, if not longer.

Sourced from a propitiously sited plot within the oldest realm of 1946 plantings, all on deep sands. Destemmed to whole berries and fermented wild for 21 days on skins. Matured 11 months in older, large-format French wood and eggs. This is the benchmark of the region on many levels, made in a denser fashion, perhaps, than its siblings. Yet this vintage feels more elegant. The fruit, crunchy and of the red spectrum. The acidity, salty. The tannins, lithe and slinky with the embellishment of oak an accent of intrigue, rather than a jarring dialect. Resinous. Powerful. Yet pixelated of detail as it strides to a long finish clad with thyme, orange verbena and a whiff of cedar.

Wines for Father's Day - recommended

This is a great value in the pinot noir field. Lots of extracted cherry flavors with pomegranate and spice aromas. Earthy feel with soft tannins and long finish.

Oregon Wine Month
...and the WillaKenzie Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2019, with its intense citrus aromas and mineral notes.

Oregon Wine Month
... the Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2019, which was more austere with lean apple notes and bright acidity…

Oregon Wine Month
...Gran Moraine Yamill-Carlton Chardonnay 2018, a lush wine with tropical fruit notes and a nice coconut character…

This is from a 2 hectare block of dry-farmed bush vine Grenache planted in 1946 on Maslin Sands. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on skins over the whole autumn (158 days post-ferment maceraton) in ceramic eggs. The juice is then drained and matured in the eggs for another 5 months – no pressings are used. This has an intriguing nose that initially reminds me of Barolo. It’s fresh, dry, dusty and a bit spicy, with some rose petal, orange peel and cherry notes, as well as a slight acid lift. The palate is dry, grippy and grainy, but with nice fresh red cherry and plum fruit, as well as a twist of raspberry and tar. It’s very textural: a touch of silkiness, but also some pepper spice and then some grainy, drying tannins with a hessian-like texture. Good acidity, allied to firm but well managed tannins give this real grip: the Barolo analogy stands. It’s youthful and quite profound, and I think it will age in very interesting ways. I’ve not had an Australian wine like this, but I still think it communicates its place very well, albeit in quite a stern way as yet.

This is an interesting blend of 50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 12% Clairette, 9% Piquepoul and 4% Bourboulenc. Portions of the first two varieties are skin fermented and macerated for 90-126 days, with a result that 59% of the blend was skin macerated. Aged in large ceramic eggs. Soils are weathered sands mixed with ironstone gravels. It’s a fresh, refined and beautifully balanced white wine with some well integrated structure supporting fresh pear and citrus fruit. There’s a hint of white peach, mint and mandarin, but the main thrust on the palate is delicate citrus fruit, with a sense of finesse, and finishing compact and slightly structured. This is a rarity: a wine with a significant skin ferment portion, but also lovely balance and delicacy, and it should age in interesting ways. Still very pure and primary, and not at all blowsy or rich, as some expressions of Rhône whites can be.

A show of complementary elements in perfect balance: crisp red cherry and cranberry fruit for crunchiness; orange zest for a fresh lift; cocoa nibs for spicy warmth; dried leaves for an earthy touch. A complete and complex Pinot Noir that shows the potential of Yarra Valley's terroirs.

Measured use of oak helps to highlight the intrinsic potential for complexity of the Sexton Vineyard. 2020 was a vintage with particularly low yields with small bunches of intense yet fresh fruit. Giant Steps made the best of it, seen here in a wine with lemon, apple and melon, underpinned by a strong mineral backbone, firm acidity and honeyed richness. Good ageing potential.

Rutherford. I really like Napa Cabernet. It’s all about the quality of tannin, which in some respects, I think, trumps Bordeaux. Sycamore planted in the mid 70s,and raised in 74% new oak for 27 months. So, that sort of wine. I’d love to see less oak, because the fruit is so good, but here we are.
Powerful, dense and packed with ferrous and graphite tannin. Blackberry, dark chocolate and coffee, menthol and spice, vanilla and dried herbs, and yes, quite a lot of oak, but the fruit soaks it up. So much chew to tannin, all coffee and tobacco savoury stuff, rich dark fruit, raspberry coulis, very firm with a liquid ‘mineral’ feel, and a long fresh finish. Kind of overt and showy, but the quality of tannin is superb. Potent Napa Cabernet here, that needs plenty of time in the cellar.

Dark cherry, plum, a fair amount of spice, and also perfume of thyme, rosemary, mint and dried roses. It’s silky, with fine-grained tannin grip, cool almost mentholated feel here, fresh too, blood plum, rhubarb, and dried herb aromatics, and a graphite character on a long finish with some orange rind and baked plum. Really like this. A whole lot of character.

Blackberry, dark cherry, mocha and mint/menthol, biscuit spices too. It’s full-bodied, kind of juicy in dark cherry and blackcurrant flavour, stony and gravelly tannin, some pencil and tobacco flavours, fresh and cool, with mocha and raspberry to close. A fair bit of chew and grip to those, though also quite minty, but it delivers Napa character at a pretty fair price. In short, I like it.

Soft approachable style. Raspberry and ripe strawberry, some mint and spice, a light sappiness, all sweet spiced strawberry, balanced acidity, gentle powdery tannins on a cool mint/red fruited finish of solid length. Affable, easy going, and good drinking. Kind of Pinot 101, but in a nice sort of way.