During my tasting with winemaker Kristy Melton in July of 2024, she unveiled this brand-new wine for the Freemark Abbey portfolio. There has not been a new single-vineyard Cabernet in the Freemark Abbey portfolio since 1984, until this Colline Vineyard bottling. Sourced from blocks at the front of the Cardinale property on the east side of Highway 29, in the same bale clay loam soils as To Kalon across the street. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 26 months in 66% new French oak. A very pure, dark fruit character resonates in the glass, nuanced by expressive graphite minerality and that fragrant oakville garrigue of sagebrush, along with elegant cedarwood notes. Full-bodied with a wonderful core of inky black fruit framed by superfine-grained tannins that coat the palate, resolving with lovely savoury notes of black liquorice, black olive, a hint of violets and charcuterie. Very polished. This will remain the portfolio moving forward with an annual production of around 500 cases. In its debut 2021 vintage, only 100 cases were produced due to low yields.

The 2022 King's Wood Shiraz is exotic and visceral on the nose; blood and iron, pressed roses and crushed ironstone gravel all waft out of the glass. On the palate, the impact of the old oak is felt—or rather, it is not felt, which adds a seamless flow to the fruit and tannin across the tongue. It matured for 18 months in a combination of large-format (25 hectoliters) Austrian and French oak foudres. The wine is all tobacco and Earl Grey tea, brick dust and pipe resin, arnica and a hint of star anise. Great. 14% alcohol, sealed under

Give this time in a decanter if drinking now (it'll shine with age) for it to reveal aromas of blood plum, red currant, white pepper, cedar, toasted vanilla pod, subtle florals and a slight savory meaty note. There's quiet power to the palate, a ripe roundness to the fleshy fruit, well-placed fine tannins and a tart red berry finish. Still young, it's a mouthful now, but it's set to age gracefully for a decade or more. 

Wombat is the most reductive in this producer's trio of single vineyard Chards, meaning it offers tightly wound notes of flint, toast, white spice, raw nuts and an umami character, before getting to the lemon drop and melon rind aromas. There's weight and power to the palate, countered by pithy texture and lovely acidity. The tightest of the bunch now, this may win a longevity competition and promises to reward those who wait. 

With a short time aerating, this reveals supple black currant and black cherry flecked in savory herbs with a saline, iodine base note. There's a decent lick of chocolaty cola-like oak showing here, too, clearly the hand of a barrel-loving Napa producer (namely Chris Carpenter of Jackson Family Wines). But overall it's a polished, even sexy, wine that's structured for the long haul but drinkable now, too, beside a plate of protein.

Plum, licorice, ground pepper, pencil lead and toasty baking spice notes appear with plenty of swirling in the glass. The palate is juicy fruited with a satiny texture that's tempered by chiseled tannins. Nevertheless, despite being a little reticent, it can be drunk with protein (and a decant) or cellared another decade at least. 

Supple black cherry and blood plum lead, with the tobacco and mocha-toast barrel influence creeping in behind. It's a powerful wine with a taut line of muscular, dusty tannins currently dominating. Give this time in the bottle though, and it should evolve with grace and beauty. 

Explosive aromas of raspberry and dried rose petal lift the nose of this Pinot. The palate shows rich texture with flavors of dried cherry, black tea, loam and shiitake before a finish with hints of lemon pith and feathery tannins.

Each sip starts aromas of lemon curd, buttered toast and toffee and then beams in sunlit and pure, flooding the senses with total pleasure. Roasted nuts and praline score the tightly wound, crisp-creamy centre that cascades with lemon meringue pie, buttered biscuit, orange zest and almond. This layered, vibrant white with the long, slow close is worth the money.

The 2022 Ovitelli Grenache is a wine of unexpected twists and turns ... on one hand, it aromatically offers amaro bitters and nuances of tequila sunrise (without the tequila, or perhaps it is anejo or mezcal), bitter orange and cranberry. There's a distinct biscuit character to note: Biscoff or malt. In the mouth, the wine is lean and spicy, layered with exotic herbs, graphite tannins and inflections of wet concrete and petrichor. The fruit on the mid-palate rises above its élevage and time on skins and envelopes us in raspberry and blood orange, which quickly sinks beneath a tide of clove buds and star anise and cardamom. It was handpicked from Block 20, adjacent to the High Sands block, destemmed and pressed to ceramic eggs for 150 days on skins. No pressings were utilized in the final blend. No oak was used at any stage; instead, the wine spent a total of 14 months in ceramic egg. Bottled June 2023. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The cheapest of a trio of very smart Chardonnays from Graham Weerts, Silene uses grapes from four different sites in Stellenbosch. Fermented in 30% new wood with no malolactic, it's smoky, briney and intense, with minerality to spare, subtle reduction and layers of toast, citrus zest and wet stones. 2024-29

A longer ripening period during the 2023 vintage has amplified aromas, with shades of violet at the edge of ripe blood plum and dark cherry. The ripeness is also reflected in bright, luscious blood plum and dark cherry flavours in the front palate; while the combination of MV6, G5V15 and Abel clones provides a keen savoury note, with earthy bite and graphite notes. Chewy tannins give a moreish finish to a wine that already appears resolved and complete.

This site – the Primavera family’s 240m-high vineyard, planted on rich red basalt soils – provides something different for Giant Steps. Surprisingly, it’s an open and expressive front palate, with supple red cherries, raspberries and hints of blood tomato. It obtains a tight squeeze in the midriff thanks to a strong acid spine, then the smooth palate concludes with the bite of tight, crunchy tannins. Very good now; likely to improve in the cellar.

The most fragrant Pinot Noir within the Giant Steps single-vineyard collection has a nose redolent of roses and sweet red cherries. Its vibrancy is underlined by vivid colour. Flavours of cherry compote and the spicy lift of white pepper speak confidently, unmitigated by overt oak influence – after full malolactic fermentation it matures in older French oak barriques over nine months. Its tidy elegance is reiterated by neat closure enforced by tight black tea tannins. Its great trick is providing generous flavour without overt broadness or excessive boldness.

A bright, sunny personality is underlined by bright golden colour and lively tropical notes atop a pithy citrus body. It’s an honest reflection of site – mostly clone P58 Chardonnay planted at 100m elevation along south- and east-facing slopes on grey clay loam – with the cool location providing lively acidity that ensures good intensity and drive.

Dynamic and expressive, offering richly detailed cherry and red currant flavors layered with espresso and Asian spice tones as this builds polish toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2033.

The Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of grapes from three vineyards: Sycamore, Bosché, and Red Barn Ranch, a site on sedimentary and gravelly river bed stones, which is northwest of Frog's Leap winery and owned by Round Pond. 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc was aged in 64% new French oak for 26 months. The style here is more black-fruited, with very compact, fine-grained tannins and the fragrant dusty mineral character so distinct to wines from the Rutherford AVA. That dustiness is on the nose and palate, nuanced by wonderful dried herb qualities. Some decadent blue fruit notes are prevalent now and will soften into more red and black with time in the bottle. A very delicious wine in its youth, with compact tannins that resolve into juicy black and blue fruits underscored by racy acidity and a spicy finish redolent of dark cocoa.

Tangy red currant, plum and cherry juice aromas take charge, flanked by savory herbs and earthy spice and padded by chocolaty oak. It's a full-figured wine with powerful, dusty tannins, but enough supple fruit to make it feel balanced and food-friendly. Drink now (with protein and a decant) until 2036. 

The nicely balanced Gran Moraine makes its introduction with floral aromas of lilac powder, freesia and ripe red raspberries. Then crisp acidity and silky tannins frame flavors of bright red cherries, blueberry compote and orange zest. Quite a lively sipper.

Of course a wine made with fruit from the Zena Crown Vineyard would be named Warrior Princess. The wine’s blue- WINE ENTHUSIAST | 41 berry and plum aromas are spiced up by fresh and clean bursts of pine needles and cut grass. While the wine’s tannins are brawny, the elevated acidity is as sharp as Gabrielle’s spear. Enjoy now–2036.

This wine is supple and bright, with aromas of white peach, apple, citrus and acacia honey. The flavors are ripe Golden Delicious apple, nectarine and orange cream, with a dry long finish. Pair with grilled sea bass.

This wine is fresh and lively, with citrus, dried herbs, white flowers and mineral on the nose. On the palate are pink grapefruit, Makrut lime and quince, with a juicy dry finish. Pair with fish tacos and sunshine.

Impressive for its purity and fleshy black cherry flavors, with details of pomegranate, strawberry and fresh herb details of thyme, sage and rosemary on a crisp, juicy frame. Accents of cherry cola and red licorice, as well as polished tannins. leave a lasting impression on the finish. Drink now through 2035.

Expressive and charming, showing cherry, strawberry and rose flavors driven by the vibrant structure, which keeps everything focused.

The 2022 Roux Beaute Roussanne is a wine of component parts: 52% of the final wine spent 120 days on skins in ceramic egg prior to pressing; the other part of the wine was whole-bunch basket pressed into ceramic eggs and fermented sans skins. Blended, it then rested in egg for a further four months prior to bottling. The wine has notes of creamed honey on cold toast, enoki mushroom, white tea, cheesecloth, bitter almonds, beach sand, white pear and wet concrete, along with apple skins and scratched mandarin, incense ash and white pineapple. Much of the nature of Roussanne has been remolded via this wine's construction and has been shaped into a spectrum of white, beige and bone. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.