Celebrating International Women's Day - With Wine
Owned by Barbara Banke, named for her daughter and made by winemaker Jill Russell this is a female-led triple threat of a wine with Cambria’s slogan being ‘Women Led, Women Owned’. Delicious notes of baked apple pie, vanilla blossom and a racy line of warm citrus evokes the sunshine and glamour of Napa.

This medium purple colored Zinfandel opens with pencil lead and black raspberry cobbler bouquet with hints of stewed black plum and vanilla. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is round, balanced, and crisp. The flavor profile is very fruit forward, featuring juicy red plum and graphite along with notes of chalky minerality and red raspberry tea. We also detected hints of oak, cinnamon, and pepper. The finish is dry, and its flavors and dusty tannins are nicely prolonged. The Tasting Panel would pair this big boy Zin with your favorite steak taco or with a steak pizzaiola.

Juicy. Crisp. Exotic. Sourced from distinct vineyards spread across some of Sonoma County’s warmer sub-regions, including Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, and Dry Creek Valley. Aromas of apricot, golden kiwi, and mango are followed by flavors of ruby grapefruit, nectarine, and Gala apple. The 2020 vintage presents vibrant acidity and a lingering finish.

Ink black at the core to a deeply-tinted ruby-red rim. A rich and complex nose, mixed berries and oak spices lift from the glass. Voluminous and weighty, the fruit concentration is impressive yet doesn't fall into the jammy spectrum. Equally, the oak complexities are unmistakeable, but everything is in remarkable harmony and balance for such a young wine. A prodigious length and it finishes with a clean vibrancy and a hint of mint freshness that belies its previous intensity.

Deep ruby-red colour in the glass. The nose lifts with ground coffee, tobacco leaf and mixed berry. It fills the mouth with dark berries and mocha notes, glides with a slippery tannin line and a hint of oiliness that adds depth to its flow. Good length and finishes softly .

Ink black core to a deep purple rim. Cassis, bay and wood oil aromatics. A big and voluminous wine that shows ripe cassis alongside significant oak spices. Goes long and the structure is up to the task of controlling the flow. Time and a serious serve of red meat will bring it into context.

Medium ruby-red hue. Wood oil, plum jam and cola spices. A rich and full style, plummy fruit fills the middle then the remainder of the palate relies on oak richness and complexities. Decent length and is very silky into the finish.

Of the latest 2018 vintage, which was one of the best in the last two decades, the wine that is truly singing right now is the sensuously silky and perfumed 'La Muse'; a Merlot dominated blend (90%), with a splash of Cabernet Franc (6%) Malbec (4%). La Muse echoes Pétrus with its soft texture, incredible depth, and flavour concentration. Think cedar, ripe plum, violets and leather with a ferric, mineral core and velvety tannins. One for investment certainly or simply when you want to pop the cork for a spot of decadence.

This medium purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with black currant and oak bouquet with a hint of black cherry and pipe tobacco. On the palate, this wine is full bodied with medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is round, balanced, and dense. The flavor profile is a crushed stone and black currant blend with notes black tea, black plum and cedar. We also detected some hints of dried herbs and black cherry towards the end. The finish is dry and its tannins build-up and last for a very long time. This Cab is initially pretty tight and definitely benefits from some aeration. Be sure to decant and swirl this big boy in the near term before serving it with a well-marbled ribeye or braised short ribs.

The Yarra Valley chardonnay comes off five sites: Sexton, Tarraford, Applejack, Primavera, and Wombat Creek Vineyards. It is hard to believe it could get better than last year, but it is, and the alcohol is down an entire point to 12.5 percent. The vintage was large and of high quality. The overall temperature during the growing season was lower than average, which led to a long, slow ripening period and great concentration of flavours and natural acidity. The result is a high quality white with mealy, leesy notes, bright apricot, and lemon that rush through the finish. Rich in a Grand Cru way but not overpowering. Outstanding value. Food possibilities are endless, including these winery suggestions: fish tacos with coriander, chili and avocado salsa, grilled eggplant with tomato relish, salad with grilled goat cheese on croutons, roast crispy skin chicken with preserved lemon and roast garlic. It is all hand-picked, chilled overnight to 12C, then whole bunch pressed, fermented on full juice solids with wild yeast in 500L French puncheons (15% new) for eight months. No lees is stirred, and only 10% of the blend underwent spontaneous malolactic fermentation.

The wine that Randy Ullom made famous continues to amaze as the largest selling estate-grown chardonnay in America. Ullom has made subtle tweaks to the wine over the last decade, tightening the structure, restraining the fruit and oak in favour of a livelier palate, and keeping the brand's millions of fans happy. It all begins with some impressive fruit sourcing up and down the Golden State's coolest hillside vineyards influenced by the Pacific Ocean from Mendocino to Santa Barbara. The fruit is whole cluster pressed and kept in small vineyard lots throughout the winemaking process, barrel fermented, and sur lie aged with monthly bâttonage. Silky, creamy tropical fruit is supported by a citrus undercurrent with a lime butter finish. Impressive for the price and quantity produced. 2020 was aged six months in French (4.5% new) and American oak (6.5% new). The alcohol is 13.5%, and the sourcing is 54% Monterey County, 25% Mendocino County, 20.5% Santa Barbara County, and .5% Sonoma County.

La Crema remains a steady performer, which is no mean task given its substantial output. However, in 2019 it came in with a little more texture and fruit and a little less rhubarb and roots. The alcohol remains a mild 13.5 percent, and it is aged in French oak barrels, about 20 percent new, for eight and half months. The attack is savoury with juicy red plum and dried cranberry with an earthy, spicy underside flecked with minerals. Monterey is a cool, windswept region with spare soils, and its wild nature is never far from the wine. Salmon steaks, anyone?

Monterey's windy, cool climate has fingerprints all over this picture perfect pink. The nose offers subtle aromatics of strawberries and watermelon. The fruit remains cool and muted on the palate with pink grapefruit and mandarin that persist lightly through the finish. Serve chilled with young goat cheese, smoked sausage, and a fruit compote. Bring on summer.

We love Gran Moraine's Pinot Noir rosé and are just as enamored with their dry red Pinot. There is a lot going on on the nose here from classic cherries to savory notes of rhubarb and a whisper of anise. It is also nice and unctuous with a hint of a distant barnyard. The palate has nice natural acidity with a slight tannic frame. The mouthfeel is a little lean but there is so much here to make up for that.

Every couple of years, I come back to this underrated stalwart zinfandel that's been in the market for decades, offering unfailing quality for the price. Expect a fragrant ripe plum nose mixed with garrigue-like wild herbs, sweet black fruit, softish tannins, and just the right amount of acidity to keep it lively. It is old-school zinfandel miles above the commercial labels that plague the market and the reputation of the best zinfandel grapes. Short ribs, anyone? Dr. Donald Edmeades planted vines in western Mendocino in 1963, among a few centenarian vineyards that are at the center of this wine, under the considerable care of the Jackson Family Wines folks since 1988.

Complex notes of black fruit, violets and plenty of spice. Exceptional freshness, original, and well-defined tannins on the mid-palate which evolve towards a slightly bitter finish with a hint of licorice root.

Distinctive nose disclosing precious wood, stewed red fruit, and blueberry. Exceptionally complex and harmonious palate with tight tannins, intense aromas, and a mineral touch on the finish. A very well-rounded wine.

The incredibly seductive nose exudes black fruit, black cherry, slightly minty freshness, a luxuriously smooth texture, exceptional balance, and a delicately spicy and lingering finish.

The nose discloses wild berries, blackcurrant, and floral notes reminiscent of rose petals. The palate is savory, juicy, and spicy with a saline, mineral, and savory finish.

Distinctive nose offering up leather, blackcurrant, and raspberry jelly. The palate combines delicate yet precise tannins with a touch of wet soil, a balsamic freshness, and a pleasant bitterness on the finish.

Seductively pure and fruity nose offering up blackberry and violet and a harmonious palate underpinned by velvety, silky smooth tannins with a hint of cocoa and a mouthwatering, slightly spicy finish.

Fantastic vintage, fantastic winemaking and the addition of 10% Merlot make for a magical experience of structure and graceful complexity in this always impressive, collectible wine. Saline, dried herb, cedar, pencil and crushed rock provide a landscape of savory earthiness, while a hint of rich red fruit remains subtle and youthful in grippy intensity. Enjoy best from 2028–2038.

From a 34-yearold vineyard of volcanic loam soils, this is a beautifully crafted, world-class Aussie Chard that is, when compared with top white Burgundy, a bargain. It opens with intense aromas of orange and lemon peel, walnut, flint and toasty oak spice. The mouthfeel is chalky and refreshing due to mouthwatering acidity, juicy fruit and a long, citrusy finish. Concentrated yet harmonious, it’s a highly classy wine to pair with a meal or cellar until around 2032.

Reductive and forceful in mountain-grown power, this full-bodied wine is bursting in graphite, iron and crushed rock. The grippy tannin profile intensifies on the palate, adding weight and breadth to the experience as highlights of red fruit, dust and oak weigh in. Enjoy best 2028–2038.

Smooth, deep and delicious, this generous and mouthfilling wine blends warm, ripe cherries and raspberries with subtle, spicy oak nuances like cinnamon and cloves. A full body and moderate tannins add just enough structure for balance.