Subtle mocha spice sits across earthy darker berry fruit aromas here, there's gentle liquorice, dark chocolate too, some roasted meats and bracken. The palate has fine-grained, gently grippy tannins that make for an impressively deep and concentrated wine, graphite, cocoa, dark cherries and more, very balanced, long and fine.

Bright purple hue; an intoxicating and fragrant bouquet of spicy red fruits, earth tones and provencale garrigue; the medium bodied palate is juicy, meticulous, energetic and poised, offering harmony of all parts to conclude with a long and expansive finish.

Masses of pippy, squeezed forest berry fruit, plus meaty mourvèdre-type scents. Smells substantial and that’s how it tastes: grippy, tannined, dusty, but with a core of sweet succulent fruit running down the middle. There’s sweet-bitter peel and chocolate raisin too.

Deep crimson-purple; a powerful wine, skillfully made to allow the red berry fruit of the mourvedre full expression while keeping the tannins under control; has very good length and balance.

Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings Real concentration and depth on the nose of this white with butter, scones, buttermilk pancakes, straw, dried apricots, vanilla and apple pie. Full-bodied and intense with layers of brioche and tropical fruit. Waxy and lemony, this finishes long and delicious. Drink now. Screw cap.

It all sees oak, though only 10% of it is new. This just has that something extra; it carries along in competent style but the sparks really fly on the finish. It’s slippery and textural, though not oily, fresh with fruit, and then wild with dry spice, roasted nuts, fennel, fruit and mineral to close. You want more? It gives it to you.

Deep yellow, light orange color. The nose is wonderfully complex. It bursts with lemon curd, honeydew, white peach and lots of floral and spice notes (dandelion, mint, hay), even some subtle earth and desert after rain kind of notes – very cool. Medium-bodied (13.5%) with lovely freshness, beautifully integrated on the palate. Honeydew, lemon curd, peaches, and I love the complex floral tones, smashed rocks, minerals, hay, creosote – really complex and vibrant stuff. The textural depth adds all sorts of dynamics to this fascinating and delicious wine. This is all fermented in eggs, with half of the wine getting 137 days of skin contact.

Why Australian Wine is Some of the Most Exciting in the World Beautiful power and refinement here. This has a stony edge to the nose with flavors of pears and pear skin. Months on skins have added mellow and nutty grip to the palate. This will be fascinating as an aged wine.

Estate-grown 13yo vines, 50% foot-stomped and fermented in a 675l ceramic egg, remaining on skins for 160 days before pressing, 50% also fermented in a ceramic egg without skins, the final blend resulting in 60% extended skin contact, 40% without skins. It's incredible that so little evidence of wild, way out winemaking has produced a bright straw-green wine, that truly tastes of roussanne, a non-aromatic variety. The only sign is a touch of heat or ginger (I don't know which) that flickers every now and then.

Yangarra Goes Even Higher: Four Outstanding Super Premium Releases This is what Australian Roussanne should taste like. 13yr old Roussanne vines, the fruit separated into two parcels – one batch destemmed and fermented on skins in ceramic eggs, remained on skins for 137 days. The other half was taken off skins and matured more traditionally (but still in eggs). 60/40 skin contact parcel vs non skin contact in final blend. Numbers: TA 5.62, pH 3.35. An entrancing Roussanne, with a thrust of concentrated pear juice, the layers of succulent and tangy pear juice is offset by this vague phenolic punch. That textural grip is just a delight – no oak but who needs it? Layers of mealy apple pie flavour. It’s so full and yet the tannins matches perfectly. What a drink! Best drinking: I’d drink this within six years as it’s probably perfect now. 18.5/20, 94/100. 13.5%, $72. Would I buy it? Yes.

Take Note: Real Australian Wine Is Here A much more complex wine here. This has a different palate structure too with a more sleek, polished and elegant texture. Superb freshness and gently layered, pastry-like texture. A long, satisfying finish. Drink now. Screw cap.

2014 Yangarra Estate Vineyard Roux Beauté Roussanne - 94 points Two ceramic eggs, with one left on skins for 100 and something days. Final blend is 60% of the extended skin contact egg. I'd love to have tasted a 100% version, though that's just me. Honey and almonds, something like chicken stock, subtle apricot perfume. Juicy and almost peachy, with citrus and almonds, suede-like tannin, spot on acidity and a savoury, yet honey nut cornflake infused finish. Yum. Feels a little bolder than last year, but tastes just as good.

Whatever they are doing over at Yangarra with Roussanne, is very much the right thing to do with Roussanne over at Yangarra. Roussanne, you don't have to put on the red light, those days are over. Cedar, lemon and preserved lemon, spice, fennel and honey and maybe a bit of chicken stock. Fresh but weighty, good acid balance, tight line, and a particularly intense burst of flavour and acid on finish. Pow! Sour yoghurt and flint and spice - all very nice. Very good! Such a lovely well balanced and entertaining

While the 2015 WillaKenzie Estate Emery is a bit reticent on the nose at the moment, it delivers licorice, molasses, blackberry and pepper. The body is big and round, though the acid keeps it plucky and the tannins are integrated sufficiently to maintain the smooth profile. Slightly savory on the palate, it offers uncured bacon, red currant, red plum, Acai, black pepper and tarragon. This is a compelling package that I’d love to revisit in five plus years. 94 points, value A.

The 2015 Willakenzie Pierre Leon was the revelation of this entire Oregon Wine Month line up for me. It offers a very ripe and pretty nose wafting raspberry, cut cherry, perfumed rose and tangerine peel. It’d medium in weight with very juicy acidity, I just love how it coats the mouth. The tannins are subtle, but the wine is no wimp. The flavor profile is also ripe and pretty with raspberry, cherry, potpourri, tangerine, light tobacco, white pepper and Chervil. This is an elegant wine in structure, aroma and flavor. It reminds me of Musigny. I’d love to have it with another 5-8 years of age. 94 points, value A.

From the oldest part of the estate, planted in 1992, this excellent effort seems to have entered the phase where more aromatic complexity appears. It has lovely delineation of both scents and flavors, a matrix of fruit, soil and Pommard clone. Strong streaks of tobacco and chocolate annotate the core of raspberry puree. The concentration and length are impressive.

The 2001 La Muse (85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Malbec; 500 cases) possesses a dense purple color as well as a big, sweet bouquet of chocolate-infused blackberries and cherries intermixed with hints of smoke, earth, an truffles. Full-bodied, with great intensity, tremendous purity, sweet, well-integrated tannin, and a long, blockbuster finish that lasts for 40+ seconds. It offers both power and finesse, a rarity in the super-charged world of big California reds. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020+.

The Surprise of 2015 in Napa and Other California Wine Reviewed Aromas of blackberries and pine needles. Blackcurrants, too. Very perfumed. Full-bodied, very tight and linear. Firm and silky tannins. Closed up now. Shows beautiful potential. Better in 2021.

The 2012 La Muse is plump, juicy and forward; in other words a very typical expression of this vintage. Now at nearly five years of age, the 2012 is beginning to develop pretty aromatic notes that add complexity and nuance. Sweet tobacco, licorice, raspberry jam, mint and anise are all pushed forward. With time in the glass, the 2012 turns delicate and more refined, but it also seems to be going through a bit of a lull today.

The 2010 La Muse (14.4% alcohol) is a blend of 84% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the more soft, opulent, precocious wines I have tasted from this estate, it exhibits abundant notes of spicy oak, plum, Asian soy, new saddle leather, barrique, black cherries and black currants. Round and generous with considerable fat and succulence, it can be drunk in 2-3 years or cellared for 15-20.

The 2006 Le Desir (900 cases) is a combination of Cabernet Franc (49%), Merlot (41%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%), and Malbec (2%). The most forward and complex of this trio at present, it offers up sumptuous aromas of fruitcake, black fruits, pain grille, chocolate, earth, and truffles. The complex aromatics are followed by a wine with an inky/ruby/purple hue, excellent fruit, dense, full-bodied flavors, and softer tannins and more accessibility than its siblings. It should be drinkable in 2-3 years, and keep for 25 thereafter. With Bordeaux winemaker Pierre Seillan in charge, owner Jess Jackson has clearly positioned Verite as one of the two or three flagship wines in his impressive empire. These cuvees represent California versions of Bordeaux appellations, with the Merlot-dominated La Muse very Pomerol-like, the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated La Joie a hypothetical California version of a Medoc, and the St.-Emilion look-alike, the Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend, Le Desir. These wines are fashioned from the finest Sonoma vineyard sites owned by Jackson, and are meant for long-term aging. In 2007, the Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot) grown in California’s North Coast exhibit sweet tannins as well as superb fragrance and purity. Yet, Verite’s wines are among the more structured, dense, and powerfully backward of the vintage.

Lots going on in this mountain-grown wine. It's perfectly dry and strong in tannins, with an elusive quality of excellence that testifies to the best terroir. Showing blackberry, black cherry, mineral and oak flavors, it should develop bottle complexity for at least the next decade.

Dense, ripe and spicy; dark and concentrated, juicy and youthful with rich texture; supple, balanced and complex.

Rank Number 11 - 94 Points

2004 VERITE LE DESIR Verite's spin on Bordeaux St.-Emilion, the 2004 Le Desire (again sourced from the same three sites as its siblings) is a blend of nearly equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon and even a touch of Malbec. The deepest of this trio, it boasts a plum/purple hue along with a big, sweet nose of Christmas spices intermixed with black currant jam, sweet cherries, incense, Allspice, Licorice, and herbs. Powerful, full-bodied, and opulent, in terms of its phenolics, it is as tannic and extracted as La Joie. However, the fruit seems to be more noticeable, and there is a degree of opulence present that La joie will not reveal for a few more years. The beautiful Le Desir combines full-bodied power with the sweetness of mountain-styled, cool climate California fruit and French savoir-faire when it comes to structure and......