This aromatic, medium-bodied and slightly tannic wine shows great balance and an especially appetizing vein of snappy acidity. Aged in just 10% new oak, and for a relatively long 16 months. Clove, cedar, black cherry and mulled cherry give it plenty to appreciate.

Lively and vibrant, with fresh cherry and rhubarb flavors accented by green tea and spice. Lingers on the supple finish. Drink now through 2030.

The first vintage of this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Oakville AVA was in 2015. Roughly 500 cases are made annually, and though it is currently only available at the winery, winemaker Kristy Melton says they are planning to offer it to the wholesale market soon. From an unnamed single vineyard, it shows a subtle, pretty nose of violets, brown spices, blackberry and herbs. Texturally this is classic Oakville, with elegant, fine-grained tannins and crushed graphite minerality, and finishes long with rich chocolate notes.

Notes of brambleberries, sage, tomato leaves, olive stones and iodine lead to a firm and savory palate. Medium body and firm, tight tannins. I like the salty undertones.

This is mellowing nicely, with plum and black cherry flavors fading while earth, mushroom, tobacco, spice and woodsy notes are emerging. Harmonious, ending with lingering savory accents. Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2030.

The 2020 Pinot Noir Viñedo Maricerro from Portezuelo, Itata, was cold-macerated for 7 days before spending 11 months in 25% new French barrels. Vivid cherry red in the glass. The intense nose offers cherry, strawberry, black tea and hints of oak, sweetbriar, dried rose and cigar box. In the mouth, this is broad and terse, with a slightly velvety feel, integrated freshness and a generous helping of fruit at the back of the throat. The long-lasting, oaky finish rounds out a nuanced Sonoma-style wine.

Made with fruit from the Coal River Valley, in Tasmania, the 2021 Fatal Shore Pinot Noir is a wholly darker and more brooding expression of Giant Steps Pinot Noir, although Flamo's (chief winemaker Steve Flamsteed) take is that they were able to imprint the Giant Steps style on the wine, despite the fruit sourcing, which I agree with. The fruit, in case you were wondering, was reefer-trucked up to the winery and was in the Yarra by the following morning, where the two clones were treated differently; the MV6 was fermented with whole bunches, while the D5V15 was fermented whole berry. This brings a ripe cherry character to mind, with hints of red apple, fresh garden mint and crushed graphite tannins.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon has 3% Petit Verdot in the blend. Deep garnet-purple in color, it springs from the glass with notes of black raspberries, blackcurrant pastilles, and kirsch notes, plus suggestions of cinnamon stick, dried mint, red roses, and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers intense, muscular fruit with a solid backbone of firm, grainy, and approachable tannins matched by lovely freshness, finishing with long-lingering earthy nuances. 1,641 cases were made.

Delivers a long beam of raspberry and mulberry coulis notes carried by fresh, nicely embedded acidity, while black tea, dried anise and rooibos notes add fuel for the finish. Shows really nice energy. Drink now through 2029.

This offers some alluring red currant, raspberry and blood orange coulis notes that are stitched together with fine acidity, while flecks of savory, incense and red tea fill in judiciously through the finish. Shows nice length and detail. Drink now through 2029.

Aromas of ripe strawberries, ripe cherries and roses. Medium-bodied with dense fruit and floral character. Fine, tight tannins are soaked in fruit, keeping the palate juicy. Lovely length and concentration. Sustainable. Best after 2024.

Complex aromas of strawberry, brioche and sliced almond. Medium-bodied with a tight mousse. Well-composed flavors of citrus and berries. Long. Crisp and refreshing at the end. 53% pinot noir, 41% chardonnay and 6% pinot meunier. Drink now.

Aromas of mint, nutmeg and baked lemon. Medium-bodied with a supple texture. Delicate and steady with lovely length. Slight nutty character comes through. Elegant. Refreshing finish. Drink now.

Mt Brave's 2019 Merlot Mt. Veeder offers up subtle cedar and vanilla shadings set against a backdrop of ripe cherries and raspberries. This medium to full-bodied effort is bright, fresh and juicy on the palate, finishing long, mouthwatering and crisp. It shows considerable structure for a Napa Valley Merlot, with copious silky tannins and refreshing acids.

The excellent 2019 Chardonnay W.S. Keyes is a different style of Napa Chard, with only 10% new French oak puncheons and no malolactic fermentation, there's a delicate wood influence akin to pencil shavings, with more emphasis placed on pear, apple and citrus notes. Medium-bodied, this is a crisp, lean and focused effort that retains a pleasantly silky feel and plenty of length.

Still based on Bill Smith's original block from the 1970s, plus some additional plantings, the 2019 Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain is 100% Cabernet Franc. Gentle florals and herbal notes of bay leaf and sage appear on the nose, adding savory complexity to the black cherries and red raspberries. Medium to full-bodied, silky, fine and elegant, this is a perennial favorite, drinkable on release and for a decade or more afterward.

At nearly 20 years of age, the deep garnet-hued 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore (part of this year's annual library release) shows some brick at the rim and offers up classic cigar-box aromas of dried tobacco, cedar and vanilla, plus ample notions of dried fruit. It's medium to full-bodied, plush and velvety in feel, with a lingering finish and softly dusty tannins. Fully mature but in no danger of drying out soon, it should continue to drink well for at least another three or four years.

A step up from the blended Napa Valley Cab, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) has been bottled on its own since 2015. Sourced from a vineyard adjacent to Highway 29, it's earthier and dustier, more savory in style, but it still retains cassis and cherry fruit. It's full-bodied, firmly built and dense but with a bit of elegance as well and a long, softly tannic finish that hints at clove, cinnamon and lingering earth. At 550 cases produced, it's only available at the tasting room or online directly from the winery.

Hand picked and destemmed to whole berries. Wild fermented after a brief cold soak; 21 days on skins. Pressed to classy barriques (50% new). Full bodied, suave and dense, yet does not stray into decadence. Fine drinking. Damson plum, vanillin oak, spice and a swathe of dusty tannins driving across the finish. Forward and certainly approachable already. Fine drinking. More to come?

Amazing aromatics - very fruit forward on the nose full of blackcurrant, black cherry and black pepper. The strawberry, raspberry and cranberry fruit absolutely sings in the glass, punchy with excellent clarity and soft plushness. Silky tannins, barely there except to give a mineral, wet stone texture which is to the fore. It’s profound in terms of depth of flavour - vertical and structured, but not heavy or exuberant with freshness and focus keeping it lifted and graceful. Well balanced, harmonious and full of classicism in the best sense. This is the 19th vintage for winemaker Pierre Seillan, whose son will now take the helm. No chaptalisation needed here. 3.64pH. Ageing in 70% new oak. Drinking Window 2026 - 2040.

This is a firm, chocolatey, slightly baked shiraz with asphalt and plum flavours shooting through to woodsy spice, smoked tobacco and cloves. It’s a substantial red, taut through the finish, warm and yet well balanced. The wine’s mix of tobacco and chocolate is both distinctive and attractive, though it’s slightly baked feel robs it of some freshness. Most won’t mind the latter. Volume of flavour here is important but the real quality markers are the fine strength of the tannin, and the svelte mouthfeel.

From 4 Giant Steps vineyards, fermented in matured in 675L clay eggs produced in Byron Bay. Whole-bunch pressed, wild ferment and kept in clay for 6 months. No filtration and bottled by gravity. A very bright green gold. Aromas of almond meal, freshly grated ginger and white flowers. A little match stick, too. An intriguing palate, which is dry, grippy, even and long. A bit closed, this would be a great food wine and it will be fascinating to see how this evolves and changes over the next few years.

It’s fine in tannin, chewy and bright, perfume a little on mute but the detail in flavour and texture compensates. I like the lemon-ginger tea thing going on, a green pear note, fennel too. Scents and flavour profiles in synch. It flows beautiful, taut and long, finishes with a little sticky tannin and a juiciness kind of like nashi pear, skin and all. Maybe a little mono-dimensional in terms of complexity of flavours, but pleasure and interest is here in spades.

Deep, brilliant red. Highly fragrant, spice- and mineral-accented red and blue fruit aromas are complemented by suggestions of pungent flowers, cola and musky herbs. Shows very good depth to its sweet cherry-cola, black raspberry and spicecake flavors, which tighten up slowly through the back half. Shows fine clarity on a persistent, spice-tinged finish that's framed by smooth, slowly building tannins.

Fascinating aromas of cranberry and orange peel lead to generous strawberry, red-cherry and redwood-bark nuances on the palate. This medium- to full-bodied wine offers a silky texture, fine-grained tannins and a long-lasting finish.