Lower yields and small bunches meant 20% was destemmed. Whole berries went into 1 oak vat, topped with the remaining whole bunches. Sealed for some light carbonic maceration, with a bit of foot stomping in between. Pressed to French barriques, 20% new and aged 8 months before bottled by gravity, which excited winemaker Steve Flamsteed. Snap. Crackle. Pop. This is brimming with good stuff. Highly perfumed, crunchy fruit flavours and pliable tannins. Thanks to its laser light of natural acidity, it has energy and drive.

Warm vintages service this doyen of white Rhône varieties so well, almost forcing the phenolic amplitude and textural quilt that would otherwise be lacking, at least in this country. This has it in spades. Scintillating aromas of bitter almond, apricot pith, rooibos, pistachio and freshly lain tatami mat. À point! Pucker and freshness; textural detail personified. The French oak (25% new) and lees work, apposite. The finish, long and rippling across the textural crevices. I'd love to drink this in 5 years.

Hewn of fruit from a southeast facing ironstone sandy outcrop. Hand picked and gently macerated, resplendent with 25% whole bunches. 15 days on skins. 18 months in French foudres (30% new). I like this. A bit looser knit than the Ironheart. Floral and lifted. Sappy and crunchy. A powerful wine, to be sure, but light on its feet. An energetic cadence, weaving a thread of peppery acidity into a quilt of blue-fruit allusions, violet, nori, smoked meat and Asian spice. Firm across the finish, the tannins pulling the saliva forth in readiness for the next glass.

A blend of three distinctive blocks on loams, silt and clay. No whole bunch. Gently extracted by wetting the cap and racking/returning. Circa 20 days on skins. 6 months in puncheons. 6 more in foudres and a concrete egg. A corpulent wine, lush and full. Yet there is nothing jammy about it. Eclipsed by its Bordeaux varietal siblings perhaps, but as far as warm-climate shiraz goes, this is at the apex of the qualitative totem pole. Blue fruits, violet, anise, clove and pepper grind. Some salumi, too. But the tannins are this gorgeous wine's opus.

Some cold soak, some whole-bunch ferment, all matured in French barriques (25% new) for 8 months. Bright, fresh cherry aromas grab your attention on the bouquet, but there are some gamey, greenish notes underneath. Initially seems soft to taste but has a mouth-filling quality and the flavours and the tannin build as it goes along. Give it time in the glass and in the bottle.

Hand picked, mechanically sorted. Fermented with ambient yeast, 25% whole bunches. 16 days maceration. Matured for 9 months in 32% new French oak. The 25% whole bunches bring a briary complexity, while building a tannic bridge between the attack and mid palate. The tannins, grape and oak, serve as a long arc across blue/boysenberry, anise, clove and violet. Peppery and vibrant as much as it is plush and firm.

Fruit off the trio of top sites – Sexton, Tarraford and Applejack – all adding their unique qualities to make a harmonious whole. It's a racy number thanks to a laser lightshow of acidity throwing sparks at the white not-quite-ripe nectarines, grapefruit and lemon oil flavours, with a flash of spices and fresh herbs. It's revitalising and will be even better in time.

Hand picked on a fruit day of the biodynamic calendar across the oldest roussanne planting, now 16 yo. 50% destemmed, crushed and fermented in ceramic eggs on skins, remaining with them for a convincing 96 days. The remaining portion, also in eggs sans skins. Upon blending, matured in eggs. Compelling aromas of apricot pith, bitter almond, pistachio, dried hay and a whiff of marzipan and rooibos. Expansive, broad and rich, with skin-inflected intricacy and a tangerine vibe of freshness, tangier than usual. Takes time to unravel. Still taut. But staining of extract and intensity as it does! I'd drink this after a few years.

Sourced from the proprietary plot of 70+yo bush vines, all unirrigated, hand picked, mechanically sorted and fermented as 50% whole berries. Long. Matured briefly in an assemblage of puncheons, barriques and eggs. A light ruby. The nose, transmitting a crunchy energy from the first impression. Raspberry, sour cherry, orange zest, cranberry and pumice. Alive! Long and detailed with the sort of tannins that suck the saliva and force the 2nd and 3rd glass.

As with all wines aside from the newly acquired Hickinbotham Clarendon grenache, this hails from certified organic/biodynamic vineyards, an even split of sand and ironstone. 20% whole bunches and a splash of viognier for spicing and lift. Open fermented wild and on skins for 14–21 days, albeit, macerated gently. 10 months in an arsenal of French oak formats. Violet, iodine, dark cherry and blueberries. A skein of cardamom, clove and pepper grind-doused acidity tows solid length. Plump and juicy, with a bow of reductive tension across the finish.

7 Best Wine and Book Pairings: What to Drink While You ReadSwingI’d pair this book with two wines from California...The second is this seductive Pinot Noir from La Crema. Pinot is the heartbreak grape, but it finishes with great sensuality. So again perfect.

Red, White and Brew: End of summer selectionsRed Wine: Nielson wines are born on sandy soils, Pacific Ocean breezes and Santa Barbara sunshine. Named after Uriel J. Nielson, who in 1964 planted the first commercial vineyard in Santa Barbara County in California. Today there are more than 100 wineries in the area. Nielson’s 2017 Pinot Noir comes from three main regions within Santa Barbara County. It starts with bright red fruits and tea notes on the nose. The palate is light to medium-bodied. It drinks fresh and finishes a bit earthy. One of my all-time favorites in the $20 range. Also rated 90 points by Robert Parker. Give it a try, you might have just found your new go-to pinot!

Hand picked 20–26 March. Destemmed and whole-berry sorted. Gently crushed into open-top fermenters, cold soaked and pumped over daily. 18 days on skins. Wild ferment. Basket pressed with light pressings added back to the free-run juice. Racked and returned twice during 15 months' maturation in fine-grain French barrels, 75% new. Flying winemaker Chris Carpenter is well versed in the sort of tannin management that defines his Californian expressions. Here, the piste is not as smooth, with a bit more edge to the framework; a little more greenery to the aromas. For the better. Cassis, pencil lead and dried tobacco leaf, to boot. The finish, long and thrumming; the tannic gristle etching fine grooves of tension with each sip. This will age beautifully.

Sourced from the highest plot of bush vines, planted in 1946. Hand picked, sorted and destemmed to an even combination of both crushed and whole berries. Wild fermented, élévage in eggs and older French oak This is an imperious grenache if that adjective can be ascribed to a grape variety this joyous; this giddy of fruit and yet, underlying it all, a defining totem of immaculately extracted tannins. Kirsch, bramble, anise, clove, sandalwood and wood smoke drive long against a tannic parry: sandy, granular and emery-like.

This cuvée has shape-shifted. It's a more compact, mid-weighted and savoury experience than previous vintages. Attention to detail is a given here: hand picked, wild fermented and properly extracted. The oak, top-drawer. The tannins, detailed, finely wound, precise and laden with graphite. The length, compelling. Unrivalled by any other merlot but, perhaps, for Blue Poles in Margaret River. Stunning.

Hand picked 22nd March. Destemmed and whole-berry sorted, gentle crush. Cold soak and wild ferment. Pumped over daily, 15 days on skins. Basket pressed with light pressings included with free-run juice. Racked and returned twice during 15 months' maturation in fine-grained French oak (50% new). The quality of fruit, tannic precision and apposite application of oak under this banner are unequalled in Australia. Nobody else gets it quite as right. The budget and gear help, yet it is the viticulture and sites that are the foundation for everything else. Franc from a warm place, salvaging its sappy cavalcade of tannin, crunch and floral lift. Redcurrant, spearmint and chilli powder lace a finely tuned finish marked by a flourish of garden herb. Kerpow!

This medium ruby colored Pinot Noir from Oregon opens with a mild cola bouquet with a hint of blueberry. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, balanced, round, soft and nicely coats your mouth. The flavor profile is a black plum and gentle cola blend with notes of blackberry and clove. I also detected hints of boysenberry and anise. The finish is dry and its tannins are a bit sticky for a Pinot. I would pair this Pinot with duck breasts with pinot noir and cherry sauce.

May the pinot noir syrah realm continue!Soft, juicy red. Crisp tannins, raspberry and strawberry characters abound, white pepper spice, blood orange acidity. Thirst-quenching kind of feel. Great sense of tension and precision. Fresh as. A vibrant, exciting red.

Pinot noir from Tarraford and Sexton Vineyard so no slouch in the materials department here.It’s a tart and lighter shade of rose, peachy and a little creamy, raspberry licked and ostensibly dry, though you’d say citrusy too. An ease to drinking this, unashamedly in a good zone of savoury and dry and fruity. No fireworks. Well made. Nicely done.

Cherry with light earth and spice on the nose. Cherry-cola, dark fruit, tea and earth on the palate with a lingering finish. Good plus.

This white gold colored Chardonnay opens with a vanilla cream and baked apple bouquet with hints of pineapple, butterscotch, and oak. On the palate, this wine medium bodied, nicely balanced, and very smooth. The flavor profile is a tasty oak influenced lemon square and apple blend with hints of green tea, pineapple and mild minerality. The finish is dry and its flavors are extended and drift away for quite a while. The Panel would pair this Chard with Savoury Lane five fruit chicken or with Vietnamese shrimp fresh spring rolls.

Under cork. While this wine’s suggested retail is north of twenty bucks, it can certainly be found for around fifteen. At that price, I have a dilemma. Recently, I avowed that, at least for me, the difference between an 89 and a 90 point wine was not subtle at all. Simply, would *I buy it*? While this wine does not possess the depth and complexity of most of the Chardonnays that I would buy, it is pretty stinking tasty. Yes, it is fruity, yes, it may even be a tad sweet, but… The pale straw wine exudes some gumption. The nose is fruity (lemon curd and a touch of spice), but, and this is key: inviting. A ton of Chards in this price range either overdo the oak (usually with staves or chips), or go the “pure” stainless route and far too often produce a rather shallow wine. This is not that. There is certainly an oak influence here, but I would put it on the “subtle” end of the spectrum (9 months sur lie, 20% new French). The pale straw wine stops just short of “yellow” and is far from “golden” with lovely aromas of lemon curd, ripe white peach, a nutty aspect (hazelnut?), and a perfumed floral note. The palate is certainly fruit-forward (never a bad thing, well, almost never), with ample acidity coming in on the mid-palate, followed by a little white pepper on the fairly lengthy finish. Listen, I really wanted to dislike this wine, really. But it is pretty freaking good. But. The question: Would I buy it? At fifteen bucks-ish in most grocery stores? Heck to the yeah. Excellent.

What Is Sauvignon Blanc And What Does It Taste Like?Some wines to look for include La Crema Sauvignon Blanc 2020.

The 2017 Tenuta di Arceno Chianti Classico Riserva is a little more modern, with 10 percent cabernet sauvignon in the blend and some time in small French oak barrels. But the sangiovese shows in the wine’s rich red fruit and note of tea. The riserva is more expensive than the estate’s Chianti Classico, but I think the balance here is better. The estate was acquired by Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, in 1994 and is now part of Jackson Family Wines.

3 Wines to Celebrate National White Wine DayOne of the newest expressions released from Kendall-Jackson, the Lower Calorie Chardonnay, is perfect for those who want to enjoy their wine without all of the sugar and calories. This Chardonnay has notes of grapefruit, pineapple, a creamy lemon meringue, and delicate flowers. With only three grams of carbs per serving, this vegan-friendly wine is a guilt-free option for white wine lovers.