The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon has aged quite well, although it comes across as a bit monolithic because of its super-concentrated style. Sweet black cherry, chocolate, espresso and copious new oak abound. The 2011 is well done in this style. At the same time, though the wines belong to a time in the past when Chris Carpenter pushed extractions much more than he does today.

Made mainly from WA's Gingin clone and planted in Gruyere on the same grey clay as Applejack. Whole bunches pressed into French puncheons with 20% new oak. Smells tightly wound and concentrated with aromas of ripe peach and nectarine, together with just a hint of lanolin and apple custard. Equally powerful and punchy on the palate. This has more of everything, including sprightly acid and some phenolic grip on the very long, stone-fruit pithy finish. Today, this is my pick of the 4 single-vineyard 2021 chardonnays, but who knows what will come out on top in 5 or even 10 years from now!

I like this. A wine that embraces a more medium-bodied, compact and restrained archetype, defined by spicy lithe grape tannins as much as McLaren Vale fruit. A southeast-facing site of ironstone. Green olive tapenade, clove, pepper grind and salumi mingle with succulent red cherry, mescal and blue fruit allusions. The tannins, a spindle of spicy, pithy chewiness, attenuated and polymerised by gentle agitation in the right oak (French foudres for 16 months). A strong regional statement. A benchmark, too, for those seeking savouriness over mere amplitude and ripeness. An exercise in fine tannin management.

The warmest site of the 4 Giant Steps single-vineyard chardonnays, but planted on a south-facing slope in Tarrawarra. As with all of them, this was whole-bunch pressed and barrel fermented 15% new French puncheons). A fuller, bright, green gold. Quite restrained with aromas of stone fruits, oatmeal and a little wet rock. I like both the intensity and restraint on the palate and this may, paradoxically, need the longest of the 4 single-vineyard 2021 chardonnays to open up.

Aidy’s drinks cabinet: Seven perfect wines for a date night
A date-night round-up wouldn’t be complete without a dreamy Tuscan red and this wonder ticks all the right boxes. A French and Italian love affair, it’s quite frankly one of the best wines I’ve tasted this year. Rich tannins and deeply intense dark fruits combine to offer seductive flavours of dark chocolate, ripe cherries, rich black pepper coated raspberries and dark plums. There’s a long embracing finish of cedar spice and cherry compote that seems to never finish. It screams romance from the second the aromas lift from the glass. Make sure to set the scene — decanter and candles, definitely — as, given the (justified) high price, it’s one best saved for the very special nights.

27 of the Best Chardonnays for 2022 From Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, this small-production wine serves a high-definition expression of Chardonnay. A creamy nose suggests it went through full or partial malolactic fermentation, and the sweet scent marries nicely with stone fruit scents and a hint of white pepper. Acidity, alcohol, and fruit character land in equal proportions on the palate.

27 of the Best Chardonnays for 2022
Sonoma’s Russian River Valley has proven caliber on the high-quality Chardonnay front, and this expression is a fine example. Ripe and baked stone fruits arrive in luxurious harmony along with the influence of 9 ½ months of French oak aging. Subtle mineral texture on the palate provides the icing on the cake for this classic California Chardonnay.

27 of the Best Chardonnays for 2022
Look to this bottle for a solid example of rich and creamy Chardonnay on a weeknight budget. Yogurt and lemon rind aromas combine with crisp green apples on the nose, while the palate centers on soft acidity and sweet oak.

Wine Of The Week: Gran Moraine Flavorscape Pinot Blanc
This bright and juicy orange wine from Oregon’s Gran Moraine is basically the wine equivalent of a Cosmo.
The seasons are shifting, and it’s the first weekend I’ve been able to lean into the luxury of having a pretty sweet rooftop patio. As such, I’m planning to pop bottles that encapsulate the season: sunny, bright, and breezy wines for sunny, breezy days.
Gran Moraine’s experimental Pinot Blanc is just that. While the Yamhill-Carlton winery’s regular offerings are full of incredibly elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, their Flavorscape line is where they get a little weird, experimenting with sparkling wines and skin-contact oranges.
This year’s experiment – a lightly orange pinot blanc – is just what you want to crack open on a sunny day: shimmery, salty, juicy, and slightly electric. It’s bouncy and bright, with slight tannins, a salty finish, and thirst-quenching notes of grapefruit and lime. Consider it the wine equivalent to a Cosmopolitan.

A wine with pureness and finesse, showing wonderful length and brightness. Dark berries, cherries and dried citrus. It's long and lively. Orange peel and other citrus notes at the end. Lots of minerality.

Deep ruby-black color; blackberry, cherry on the nose; blackberry, dark cherry, raspberry jam, blueberry, peach, oak, pepper on the palate.
Dry; moderate tannins that perk up a bit toward the back of the palate; soft acidity. Full body. Thick and succulent in the mouth. This is legitimate “old vine zin”—the dry-farmed, low-yielding vines are 80-100 years old. Concentrated dark fruits with a counterpoint lift from the peach notes. Ripe fruits. Significant alcohol that influences the taste throughout the experience—16.1% ABV

6 of the Best Summer Wines, According to Sommeliers
If sparkling wine is more your style, “this premium sparkling Brut Rosé from La Crema is the perfect glass of bubbles to quench your thirst in the summertime heat,” Cohen says. Family-owned and operated La Crema might be better known for their chardonnay and pinot noir, but its high time their bubbly blend had its moment in the sun. “Made from pinot noir and chardonnay in the traditional method [of Champagne that’s made in that region of France], this serves up luxury all the way. This wine has bright red fruit notes of summer strawberries and raspberries,” Cohen explains.

Grey clay loam soils (Tarraford, Sexton and Applejack vineyards) and red clay loam (Primavera and Wombat Creek); vine age: 1988, 1997 and 2001 (it's a blend from these five vineyards). Wild fermented with solids in French oak puncheons (some new) and aged eight months in the same type of casks with 10% of barrels going through spontaneous malolactic fermentation.
A little unrevealing on the nose to start, developing juicy peachy notes with attractive zesty yeast-lees tones, concentrated and textured palate with nice crisp bite, once again the oak influence is understated, tight closed up finish; fairly delicate fine white with plenty of subtle flavours, needs a few months in bottle to round out and express itself more.

While the 2020 Ovitelli has this levity, purity and freshness above and beyond Hickinbotham, there’s no doubting the pedigree, tannin prowess and finesse of this wine. I prefer the drinkability and drive of Ovitelli, but I admire the Hickinbotham more, in a way. Richness, ripeness of fruit, lifted on trails of pomegranate juice and rose hip tea, grippy tannins go gummy and draw the wine long, it has a mouth-watering fresh finish at the lingering depths of the red fruit characters. Dried herbs, anise, fennel, brambles, some hazelnut and ashy clove for complexity. Serious stuff, very, very good.

Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, lemon zest and ginger, basil, apple. It’s waxy and quite fat, a little saline, pear and chalky powdery tannin, almost a honey butter thing (again the cornflake theme), pie apple and spice, a bit herbal and bitter on the finish, with some chew and a slightly mouthwashy character to close. I like it, but you kind of have to dig the style.

A new wine from Yangarra. It’s a blend of 50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 12% Clairette, 9% Piquepoul, 4% Bourboulenc. Fermented and aged with skin contact in large ceramic eggs. Portions of the Grenache Blanc and Roussanne spend between 90-126 days on skins, the other bits are fresh free run, ending up with a total of 59% skinsy goodness. Hooray!
This is really good. Offers that white cherry thing from the Grenache Blanc, along with pear and apple, spice and flowers, distinct sea spray and green olive flavour in the mix. Firm skin tannin grip, but fresh too, salt and pebbles, tangerine, scrub herb perfume, and a fresh finish, replete with fine sandy texture. Beautifully made, and I’d guess, age-worthy with it, and so interesting. What a great debut!

Spicy, floral, raspberry, red cherry, a sweet clay-like earthiness, almond and flowering basil? Well, hello McLaren Vale Burgundy. Fresh raspberry, a little earthy and nutty, but succulent, and yet, all this firm brick dusty tannin pushing through, almost peppery in a way, a smattering of dried herb, some cranberry acidity on a long slightly warm finish, but gee energy is pulsating through this wine. It’s terrific.

It’s fine in tannin, chewy and bright, perfume a little on mute but the detail in flavour and texture compensates. I like the lemon-ginger tea thing going on, a green pear note, fennel too. Scents and flavour profiles in synch. It flows beautiful, taut and long, finishes with a little sticky tannin and a juiciness kind of like nashi pear, skin and all. Maybe a little mono-dimensional in terms of complexity of flavours, but pleasure and interest is here in spades.

Cambria Katherine's Vineyard 2019 Chardonnay, 89 points, was a medium yellow/gold color with a grey penumbra. Aromas of tangerine, cantaloupe, pome blossoms, and a slight whisper of vanilla were good. A dry medium-bodied white wine with good acidity and tart flavors of lemon zest and tangerine, near sour lime, a hint of wood, and a good minerality showed a bit edgy but quite delicious. Finished long on the trailing palate and what seemed to be an under-rated 14.1% alcohol.
Paired remarkably well with our Asian cuisine, which I seldom drink with Chardonnay.

2019 Maggy Hawk Estate “Jolie” Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley – Made from a specific selection of blocks and clones, this Pinot Noir spends 16 months in 10% new French oak. It is a bright translucent red with notes of tart cherry, strawberry, pepper, and fennel. The balanced wine has youthful, fresh acidity, sandpaper-like tannins, and a very appealing juicy finish.

2011 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon – from the cooler and once maligned vintage, this year has proved to be a butterfly of California wines. It’s delicious, nuanced, and elegant. I tasted notes of dark berry, dark chocolate, cherry cordial, herbs, oak, cedar, and spice.

2020 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay – it was complex with notes of papaya, pineapple, peach, baking spice and vanilla with a nice creaminess.

#ThisWineThatDish | Murphy Goode Pinot Noir | Hot Mustard and Honey Glazed Chicken
Happiness is something we all wish for and we wish happiness for others as well. Who could be more worthy of happiness than our mothers. This Mother’s Day let’s all strive for mutual happiness.
The sharing of food has always been at the centre of family relationships, it’s what brings us together. Being together leads to familial happiness. So this Mother’s Day you can bring happiness to mom and your family with this simple recipe pairing with a wine that is worth bringing to your table.
This Pinot Noir sources grapes throughout the coast of California. From the marine-influenced vineyards of Sonoma County down to hills of the idyllic Santa Barbara. Cool conditions in these prime growing spots keep grapes at a perfect balance between vibrant dark fruit character and bright acidity. Notes of vanilla from aging in French and American oak add complexity to the intense black cherry aromas and flavours.

Mother’s Day Rosé!
This wine boasts aromas of Mandarin orange, pink grapefruit, white strawberry, guava and watermelon. Can you imagine taking in these aromas at one time? La Crema does it again! Flavors of watermelon, strawberry, blood orange, cranberry/raspberry are complemented by undertones of flinty minerality. The result is a delicate, crisp, and vibrant wine that is a complete hit with salads, light pastas, seafood, grilled shrimp and wild salmon.

6 Spring Rosés from Oregon’s Willamette Valley
Made using the traditional méthode champenoise, this non-vintage bubbly blend features Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. You’re met with aromas of fresh strawberry cake and white peach, with vibrant acidity and notes of tangerine, nectarine and watermelon rind.