Toasted meringue, orange peel and subtle oak aromas introduce the nose on this bottling. The palate shows more oak than the nose, with flavors of toasted coconut flake, vanilla and more meringue.

Tiaan Lordon presented this wine. The vineyard is on the edge of Petaluma Gap and was planted in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a very cool site that faces west, with 667 and Swan clones. This is a remarkable wine: it has real presence and density, but also freshness. There’s a sweet mid-palate with lush raspberry and cherry fruit, but there’s also good acidity and some nice structure. Has some savoury spiciness and a touch of salinity, but also lovely fruit. Bold and intense with amazing concentration and finesse. Finishes nicely sweet. 

Craig McAllister presented this wine. Saralee’s is a famous vineyard, developed and planted by Saralee and Richard Kunde, and La Crema bought it 2012. It’s 200 acres of vines, but they are doing some replanting and have a composting operation there for all the estate vineyards. It’s the test bed for the JFW regenerative farming work. This vineyard gives them an elegant style of Pinot Noir. It’s a flat vineyard. This is vibrant and juicy with bright red fruit characters and some nice structure. The oak (30% new) is well integrated. Largely Martini clone but also Mount Eden and Swan and some Dijon clones. Crunchy raspberry fruit with good acidity, and finishes with some grip. Compact and focused, this is really good. 

Dry to off-dry white, medium lemon color. The medium-intense nose sits delicately in the glass with scents of a fresh summer garden (fresh flowers and fruits), orchard fruits (apples, pears), sweet vanilla and a bright note of fresh lemons. On the palate, this wine brings a lovely blend of apples and pears with a bit of sweetness and a creamy, slightly buttery edge of vanilla or butter which has the aroma of soft cheese. Full-bodied with medium acidity, the wine is nicely balanced and finishes with just a touch of toasted oak (leaving hints of buttered toast on the tongue). Lemon curd can be tasted on the initial flavors as well as on the finish where it lingers with honey, lively fruit and some floral notes. This Chard really hits above its price point and pairs exceptionally well with creamy or fried foods. It’s surprising to find a “general” California with such a balance of flavors. Try it out if you’re a fan of Chardonnay! Very good!

So fresh, vibrant and balanced, while almost bursting with delicious red and black fruit, spearmint and savory accents. A full-bodied wine that delivers power with elegance from one of the Willamette Valley’s most celebrated sites. Layers of sour cherries, red currants, subtle oak spices and vivid acidity add up to a wine that’s gorgeous now and will improve through at least 2028. 

Rich and creamy yet fresh, this full-bodied wine is loaded with ripe fruit and subtle oak spices backed by lively acidity. Aromas of coconut, kiwi fruit and honeydew melon, with vanilla bean nuances on the lingering finish. Drink or hold. 

Broad and rich at first sip, yet balanced to a tee. Fragrant red cherries, black cherries and spearmint lead to lively fresh fruit, minerals and appetizing chalky notes on the palate and finish. Braced by acidity, full-bodied but agile and moderate in tannins, it has the structure for further aging. Drink now or hold. 

Fresh lemons, herbs and spices on the nose. The palate delivers a focused and energetic body with vibrant acidity supporting a rounded and creamy mouthfeel. A very complex, mineral-driven and balanced chardonnay. Drink or hold. 

Light to mid yellow/straw colour; the funky bouquet includes some vegetal and savoury undergrowth nunaces as well as some burnt matchstick. It's very savoury on palate, drying and textural, with fine tannins and a trace of finishing bitterness that doesn't mar it. A very good food wine, thanks to its structure and savouriness.

Gold metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Gold metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Gold metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Silver metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Silver metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Silver metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

This wine hails from the Sonoma Mountain AVA and the high elevation gives it great acidity and structure. The nose is high-toned, with aromas of cherries, earth and leather. The palate is medium-bodied and grippy, with an upright, sturdy finish perfectly showing off the terroir of this region.

The Saralee Pinot opens with a deep, elegant and generous aroma of dark berries and cherries intertwined with oriental spices on the nose. Medium bodied and
silky on the palate, this is a juicy, intense and elegant Pinot with soft tannins and a long saline finish. This modern, well-made Pinot is open and ready to drink upon release.

From one of Sonoma County’s pioneering wineries the Matanzas Creek Merlot opens with an engaging, charming nose of blueberry, plum and cedar aromas. The palate is slender and elegant, with an impressively vivacious touch of acidity running through the refined, graceful finish. This should drink well for a decade with proper cellar treatment.

Pale straw colored,  light to medium-bodied, Wine Advocate calls it “gregarious and energetic” - lacking polish and balance, round and bright, flavorful notes of buttery stone fruits, white and yellow peaches, quince, wet stone and hints of pineapple and citrus and subtle layer of spice with tangy acidity on a lingering mineral finish. 

The 2021 Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon hails from the Hickinbotham vineyard in Clarendon, in McLaren Vale. It is truly one of the lovely vineyard areas in Australia, with rolling hills, dramatic valleys and a proximity to the ocean. From memory, this vineyard was planted to Houghton clone, or includes some of the Houghton clone selection in it (from Western Australia), and the wine feels structural and velvety at once. You get cassis, raspberry compote, dark chocolate, tobacco, licorice (salted black cats!), cardamom and mulberry off the bush in summer. It's a wonderful wine, pleasurable, complex, poised and rounding out with a delicious delivery of ductile Cabernet tannin. Ripper. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2021 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz is surely one of the most elegant iterations of this idiosyncratically Australian blend. The idea behind the blend is that the Cabernet tannins create shape and line, while the Shiraz fills in the middle palate. The effect, when blended well with great base wines, is one of seamless power and drive across the palate. Here, the wine is leafy and brambly, no doubt owing to the expression of the Cabernet in what was a cooler season, while the usually inky McLaren Vale Shiraz speaks this year of arnica and aniseed, licorice and blueberries. The tannins are fresh and ashy, making for a chewy, pliable sort of finish. The oak is prominent at this stage, although perhaps this will ameliorate in time, given the quality of the fruit. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2021 The Nest Cabernet Franc is beautifully textured. I know I usually start with aromas then flavors, but I tasted this after smelling it for a while, and the tannins are surely the most alluring part about this wine; they're finely gravelly, gritty, chewy and pliable and extend out through the finish, beyond the cassis and cocoa, beyond the raspberry and bramble. They beckon for another sip. Done. I like it, and it will cellar well. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2021 The Revivalist Merlot comes from a vineyard planted in 1971 and leads with brambly mintiness, cocoa and dark chocolate, raspberry and plum, aniseed and thyme. This is a classy wine. It has inflections of green, but it nails the brief Merlot characters, and the tannins in the mouth really ground the experience. I think this will age very well indeed. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

Incisive aromas of citrus and yellow orchard and stone fruits. Superb balance with firm acidity on a medium weight palate finishing very long with chalky minerals and lemon extract. Sourced from Adi Badenhorst's Kalmoesfontein Vineyard and fermented in oak, amphora, and concrete eggs. 13.5% alc. This label is owned by Jackson Family Wines, and the wine is made by Graham Weertz (here with the author) at a winery in Paarl. Graham offered to show me later vintages at the winery, but my time ran out before I could do so. Next year, definitely

Enchanting aromas of golden apples, fresh pears and a hint of tropical mango led to a palate bursting with lively lemon and quince. A touch of vanilla oak complements the long and elegantly creamy finish. "