Medium deep crimson. Blackcurrant, blackberry, graphite aromas with mocha, roasted chestnut notes. Beautifully concentrated wine with plentiful cassis, blackberry, graphite, fine gravelly textures and integrated mocha, roasted chestnut, vanilla oak. Finishes chocolatey with ample sweet fruit notes. Gently vigorous with superb fruit complexity and mineral length. 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Shiraz. Drink 2024–2038.

Deep crimson. Classic blackcurrant, dark chocolate with roasted almond, roasted chestnut notes. Inky deep wine with beautiful blackcurrant pastille, roasted chestnut flavours, fine grainy textures and underlying cedar notes. Finishes chalky firm with seductive sweet fruit notes. A highly individual style with superb definition, fruit complexity, concentration and oak handling. 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec. Maturation for around 16 months in 50% new and seasoned French oak barriques. Drink now–2034.

Deep, rich red colour with a good purple tint and a tremendously rich, deep, complex bouquet of toasty oak-tinged chocolate and mocha, and some fruitcake. Tremendous flavour and explosive depth and persistence. A very impressive and dramatic grenache. A very special wine.

From the highest section (210m) of the '46 bush vine grenache, hand-picked, mechanically sorted, cold soak, open-fermented, hand-plunged, wild yeast-fermented, on lees in used French oak for 12 months. Deep, bright colour; the complex dark fruits of the bouquet lead into a palate of exceptional depth and dimension, not least the firm tannins more often encountered in cabernet than shiraz, and almost never in grenache. Amazing. 160 dozen made.

Fruit off Block 31 from the highest section - 210m and the deepest sand for the ?46 planted bush vines. 50% whole berries, wild yeast and on lees in used French oak for 1 year. No need for winemaking accoutrements - a pure expression of that discrete spot. Perfectly modulated, the tannins enmeshed with the fruit from whence they came, excellent fruit yet the most savoury and earthy toned and deepest of the three Grenaches.

The flagship shiraz with fruit off two blocks, 25% whole bunches, wild yeast, French oak 40% new, aged 15 months then a barrel selection. Quality control in check. It effortlessly reaches a depth of flavour and presence while retaining its verve. Smells of a spice shop next door to a baker, with the dark fruit in line with sprightly acidity and shapely if firm tannins. Stunning now, even brighter future.

Ex 1946 Blewitt Springs bush vines planted in a deep sandy dune that Yangarra call The Beach; dry-grown, bunch-sorted, wild yeast, open fermented and basket pressed. Bright clear though deep crimson hue; scented/perfumed, and I'm gone for all money without even tasting it. And I haven't fooled myself. Except why on earth is is only $45? Its red fruit sundae glistens with dew drops on a spider's web, yet also has a savoury echo towards the finish.

Lovely aromas of strawberry compote, soft mint and an array of baking spices lure the nose into this bottling. The polished red fruit flavors of the palate range from cherry compote to strawberry sorbet to darker hints of berry. But it’s that zippy, fresh acidity and tense tannic energy that push this into vibrantly delicious levels.

This has such precision with aromas of blackberries, cloves, raspberries, black tea, rooibos, dried rosemary and iron shavings. Dark and mineral with a medium body and a firm, very fine and tight tannin frame. Fantastic tension and freshness. From biodynamically grown grapes. Better from 2024. Screw cap.

The 2019 Ironheart Shiraz beats with an oxblood character upon opening: it is rich, deep and staining. The oak is prevalent; however, it is high quality and well-matched to the fruit, so it is hardly a problem. Awesome. There are pink peppercorns, meat, salted licorice and a firm tannic structure through the mid-palate and finish. The wine is abundant, but it is stabilized and grounded by a flurry of savory tannin and a spine of fine, salty acid. The fruit is really impressive; it almost overflows the glass, but it’s brought to heel by acid and tannin, so you know it only needs a decant to allow it to unravel and unfurl.

Showcasing the lovely freshness of high-elevation Mt Veeder grapes. Vivid boysenberry and mulberry fruits give way to mountain herbs, dusty minerals and rich toasty cedar. A compact wine revealing black-fruited flavours and savoury herbal nuances alongside sculpted tannins that are pixelated and mouthcoating. An impressively long finish of iron shavings, baked agave and dried chaparral.

Heady aromas of beautiful brown spices, raspberry, boysenberry, leather and tobacco with the nuances of smoky clove, crushed wild herbs and cinnamon. More of the same unfolds on the palate, framed by burly tannins with grit, and finishing with intense pops of red and violet florals. A tremendously poised red with plenty of vivacity and complexity in youth that will only deepen with time in the bottle.

The 2019 Cardinale Red WIne is a stunning effort by winemaker Chris Carpenter. Needing two plus hours in the decanter to fully develop, the wine leads with layers of toasty oak and blackberry compote that mingle with dark chocolate covered Arabica bean, and huckleberry cordial notes. With more air the beautiful aromas become more intoxicating. Once on the mouth you sense the core being beautifully textured and structured, with firm tannins holding everything together. Rich anise, and black currants amalgamate with espresso grounds, and creme de violette, with copious minerals. Try to avoid consuming this beautiful wine for at least another year. Drink 2024-2048

Medium deep crimson. Blackcurrant, blackberry, graphite aromas with mocha, roasted chestnut notes. Beautifully concentrated and wine with plentiful cassis, blackberry, graphite, fine gravelly textures and integrated mocha, roasted chestnut, vanilla oak. Finishes chocolatey with ample sweet fruit notes. Gently vigorous with superb fruit complexity and mineral length. 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Shiraz. Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in 60% new and seasoned Bordeaux -coopered barriques. Drink 2024 – 2038. The Shiraz component was matured in 1-2 year old puncheons. Final new oak around 50% in the blend.

Deep crimson. Classic blackcurrant, dark chocolate with roasted almond, roasted chestnut notes. Inky deep wine with beautiful blackcurrant pastille roasted chestnut flavours, fine grainy textures and underlying cedar notes. Finishes chalky firm with seductive sweet fruit notes. A highly individual stye with superb definition, fruit complexity, concentration and oak handling. 97% cabernet sauvignon, 3% malbec. Maturation for around 16 months in 50% new and seasoned French oak barriques. Drink now – 2034

Some of Napa’s most powerful wines come from Howell Mountain. Along with its sister brands Lokoya and Cardinale, La Jota is one of the crown jewels of Jackson Family Wines. The wines from the volcanic La Jota vineyard have what long-time winemaker Chris Carpenter calls ‘mountain power’. Deeply fruited, this explodes in a symphony of chaparral, lavender, blackberry and sage. Yet, for all its power, the wine’s violet-blue notes give it freshness. Mountain Cab Franc at its most precise and structured.

Hand picked, as one would expect from this luminary. Partly (55%) destemmed, crushed and wild fermented on skins in 675L eggs. The rest in eggs, sans skins. Arguably the finest white wine in the Vale. A few contenders. A lustrous deep yellow. Saline, as is so much in these parts. Then a decompression of rooibos, the ripest lemon that sits as a figment of the imagination, raw pistachio and green olive-brine martini. Thick, intense, powerful and yet, tiptoeing across a drawbridge of phenolics, almost the daintiest powerhouse that I've pirouetted with.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard is sourced from a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross on the Sonoma Coast. It is dark-fruited on the nose, with black raspberry liqueur, warming spice, and forested earth. It has an ample and powerful structure, with black cherry fruit and firm tannins that will benefit from some time in bottle. This is a more serious, brooding wine that can stand up to richer fare and grilled meats. Hold it for 2-4 years and drink over the following 10-15 years. 2024-2038.

Moving into a touch of savory aromas, with pine, sea spray, and lime zest, the palate of the 2019 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard is rounded up front, with more pineapple, and has a softer, more approachable texture than the Jennifer’s.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana, from chalk soils with western-facing exposition, is the most exuberant in terms of its aromatics, with candied flowers, cherry liqueur, sweet tobacco, and graphite. The fruit fills the palate up front and through the mid-palate, with a refreshing spine of acidity and great mineral texture. The tannins are ripe and well-integrated. This is a delicious wine out of the gate and will be worth holding onto and checking in on over the next 20 years.

Sourced from the contoured quilt of estate vines, a confluence of silts, loams and ferrous outcrops. A traditional blend of the finest performing blocks and best barrels (50% new). A nose tingling with a visceral energy, such is the mineral-clad spine to this wine. Rich and powerful, to be sure, as the sweetness of shiraz and its blue-fruit aspersions meander across cabernet's bones of finely tuned tannins, dried herb and cedar-oak cladding. Yet the overall effect is one of umami warmth, savoury depth and immense potential. This is an iconic wine and deservedly so.

From the Primavera vineyard at Woori Yallock, planted in 2001 on the same red soil as Wombat Creek. Both destemmed (55%) and whole-bunch components. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. A very bright crimson purple. So pure and perfumed with briary cherries, ripe redcurrants and freshly cut roses. Poised, juicy and energetic, the wine has so much tang and crunch, you barely notice that this is also structured finishing with long, gently puckering tannins. A wine with immediate appeal, but also one that will reward at least another 7-10 years in the cellar.

The 2002 Le Desir, a blend of 53% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Malbec, is surprisingly youthful at this stage. Medium to deep garnet in color, it has singular aromas of grilled plums, chanterelles, oolong tea leaves, dried roses, laurel leaves, leather and saline. The palate is seamless and powdery, with a deep core of fruit, bright acidity and a very long, floral finish. It's very expressive and at an ideal stage for drinking, although it will continue to hold over the next decade in bottle.

The 2002 La Muse, a blend of 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc, has aged gracefully, with a medium garnet color and complex aromas of dried cherries, smoked meats, mushrooms, graphite, leather and soy sauce. The palate offers juicy acidity and Griotte cherry fruit, softened tannins and a layered, very expressive finish.

A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec, the 2002 La Joie is fully mature and drinking beautifully, with the alluring, savory tones of a well-aged Cabernet: dark berry fruit, shitake mushrooms, coffee grounds, graphite, leather and underbrush. The palate retains a core of dried blackcurrants, while its tannins have softened and integrated, and gentle bursts of acidity carry umami-like flavors of meat drippings, iron and soy sauce. It will continue to provide pleasure over the next decade.