Light lemon aromas meet with warm, toasty oak tones on the comfortingly familiar nose of this bottling. Salted lemon-wedge, pineapple and cantaloupe flavors arise on the sip, which lends into more sea salt and nuts on the finish.

Pinot Noir Retrospective 2007-2008Here is further evidence that rich and lusty Pinot Noir, when made well, can age impressively. Even with a bit of a cedary, woodsy note in the aromas, the wine is still very forward and nicely fruity for its age. It is supple and full in body with that extra bit of concentration typically seen in the best of this label. It is wine that you can sink your teeth into, and what it lacks in silky, velvety texture is more than made up for by its ability to be a splendid mate to well-seasoned roasts and chops.90 points at first review.

This deep maroon colored Merlot from Matanzas Creek is very good. It opens with a black cherry bouquet with hints of Canada mints. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slightly acidic, round, and easy to drink. The flavor profile is a cherry and juicy black plum blend with notes of cedar and bergamot. I also detected hints of minerality, clove, and strawberry licorice. The finish is dry, and its dusty tannins linger and last for a very long time. I would pair this Merlot with beef tenderloin lollipops.

Made from old-vine grapes grown at Jolene's and Fanucchi vineyards this wine was then fortified with Germain-Robin brandy. Viscous, unctuous and softly textured, it tastes of blackberry cobbler, nutmeg, gingerbread and Christmas spice.

With an oak-driven beginning, this white shows nicely balanced layers of salty lemon rind, honeycomb and fig, with a complement of acidity.

Wet gravel, crushed stone, lime candy and petrol aromas make for complex nose on this refreshing wine. The wine clings to the palate at first, then opens to green-apple and Key lime flavors, with a brush of bay leaf.

Sharp aromas of lemon wedge and wet stone are warmed up by hints of nectarine and pear on the nose of this bottling. It lands boldly on the palate, offering melon, bright citrus and sea-salt flavors, as wood and stone elements linger on the finish.

Clean lines of hot sandstone, lemon butter and paraffin show on the nose of this bottling. Baked nectarine, guava, pineapple and a hint of brioche come through on the palate, which is mellow in texture.

Struck stone aromas lead into aromas of dried honeydew melon on the nose of this bottling. The palate kicks into gear with a slightly sour grape-fruit flavor, and smashed almond richness rises on the finish.

Very smooth and mouthfilling, this medium-bodied wine offers watermelon and light herb aromas followed by rather rich plum and peach flavors.

Though its sweet and slightly honeyed nose brings expectations of sweeter, light-hearted flavors to come, this very clean, medium-bodied Pinot Gris does not quite follow the predicted path, and, while gently juicy, it is not at all sugary in tone and tastes of well-defined peach-like fruit with a barely perceptible sprinkling of spice. A likeable enough sipper on its own, it is a well-balanced offering that will do happy service in washing down cracked crab as well as a wide variety of sushi.

If a comfortably balanced, slightly sweet, fruit-driven Riesling is what the menu or moment commends, this clean, user-friendly effort will handily fill the bill. It may not claim a great deal of complexity, but its affable mix of sweet limes and honeysuckle makes it a pleasure to sip on its own or with food, and, not the least of its appeals are its affordability and wide availability.

This full-bodied wine is rich in texture and tastes more figgy and minerally than fruity, as subtle herb and broth flavors reveal some density on the palate.

There is a candied-lemon quality to the nose of this one that presages sweeter flavors to come, but the wine turns out to be quite dry and slightly more stony than it is forthrightly fruity in taste, and it exhibits a relatively firmer table-wine structure that directs it away from nonchalant quaffing and more to service with simple seafood recipes.

For a lesson in indulgence, it would be remiss of us not to try an American wine. The 2017 Brewer Clifton Sta Rita Hills has it all. If you want hedonistic pleasure from your wine, this is the bottle you should take home. It’s generous on the palate, with lashings of sun-soaked tropical fruit, a delicate nuttiness and wafts of baked brioche. All these flavours come through on the palate, but there is plenty of refreshing acidity which keeps you grounded as your taste buds are delighted.

Bargain BordeauxThe second wine of the noted Château Lassègue in Saint-Émilion, this red offers elegant restraint along with its ripe red fruit and baking spice notes.

Such attractive red-floral, stone and bracken aromas here with a red-plum and redcurrant edge, as well as pink grapefruit, blood orange and white pepper. The palate has a sleek and granular feel with a finely detailed style of tannin and a dried red-berry and cherry core. Leaf-like layers of tannin. Exquisite. Drink over the next eight years. Screw cap.

Hickinbotham's 2019 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz is a 56-44 blend of the two varieties, aged in around 50% new French oak. Blended from selected barrels, it ratchets up the intensity even further than the Trueman Cab or Brooks Road Shiraz, while also adding additional layers of complexity. The herbal notes of the Cab are there but toned down, the cassis and blackberry notes of the two varieties complement each other, and the vanilla and cedar shadings are beautifully integrated into the wine. Full-bodied, concentrated and richly textured, it's expansive yet structured and long and elegant on the finish. Give it another couple of years in the cellar and drink it over the next two decades.

More traditionally styled than the Ovitelli or Hickinbotham, the 2018 High Sands Grenache underwent indigenous fermentation in open-top vats and then the free-run juice was put into older French oak, where it matured for 11 months. It's deeper colored yet not dark, with subtle notes of pencil shavings accenting black cherries and licorice. Full-bodied and concentrated without being heavy or dense, it delivers a range of berry flavors, intriguing notions of garrigue and a long, richly textural finish.

Matured in 35% new French oak, the 2018 Ironheart Shiraz adds subtle vanilla and cedar elements to a roaring noseful of blueberries and spice. Full-bodied and concentrated, it's supple and rich on the palate, with a texture somewhere between velvet and silk—velour, perhaps? Marked by mouthwatering acidity on the lengthy finish, it's a balanced, finely proportioned wine that should age effortlessly for at least 10–15 years.

From vines planted in 1946, the 2019 Ovitelli Grenache fermented in 675-liter ceramic eggs and stayed on the skins for another 158 days post-fermentation. Free-run juice was then returned to eggs for another five months of maturation (no press wine is utilized). The result is a medium-ruby wine with extraordinary aromas of red raspberries and cherries, laced with delicate strands of garrigue, wild roses and black tea. Medium-bodied and silky-textured, it's drying yet mouthwatering at the same time on the prolonged finish, an intriguing paradox that prompts sip after sip. It's the best vintage of Ovitelli that I've tasted to date.

Attractively fresh red fruit, blueberries, spiced bread and blue florals make for a fresh impression with plenty of fragrance. The palate is so smoothly polished and has long, fine tannins buried beneath supple, red-berry fruit flesh. Drink over the next six years. Screw cap.

Polished, vibrant and generous, with black cherry, red licorice and maraschino cherry flavors that mingle with details of white tea, brown sugar and fresh loamy accents, lingering on the long, expressive finish, with supple tannins.

This distinctive red offers a powerful, robust mix of blood orange, dried cherry and pomegranate flavors on a firm, muscular frame. Notes of baking spices, cigar box and salty black licorice linger on the finish, with a touch of sarsaparilla. Drink now through 2035.