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.

Deep ruby, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard offers its cassis aromas slowly, continually unfolding to accents of lavender, cured meats, chargrill, coffee and loads of savory spices. Matured 12 months in 70% new French oak, the palate is surprisingly lifted and silky, soaring with youthful fruit and spices, focused acidity and a streak of graphite driving the long finish. 1,379 cases were made. Hélène Seillan notes that the oak is sourced from about 15 different forests in France, and its singular, spicy, integrated oak is part of what makes this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon so distinctive.

The 2019 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon comes 100% from the Keyes vineyard. Deep garnet-purple in color, it prances out of the glass with showy notes of kirsch, black plum preserves, and warm cassis, plus suggestions of charcoal, roses, and forest floor. Full-bodied, the palate is completely coated with crunchy black fruits and firm, grainy tannins, finishing long, earthy, and refreshing.

The 2019 Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon comes mainly from the Wallis Vineyard, located at around 1,100 feet and consisting of gravelly loam. Deep garnet-purple in color, it is fairly closed to start off, soon revealing earthy scents of truffles, crushed rocks, and forest floor over a core of cassis and blackberry preserves plus a hint of tar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firmly structured with ripe, grainy tannins and stunning freshness supporting the tightly wound fruit, finishing long and savory.

The 2019 Red Wine is made from 67% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 0.5% Malbec, and 0.5% Petit Verdot, with all 4 mountains in the blend. Deep garnet-purple in color, it slowly unfurls to deliver a provocative perfume of chocolate-covered cherries, rose oil, and star anise with hints of violets, fallen leaves, forest floor, and dusty soil. Full-bodied, the palate has the most beautiful, silky tannins and well-integrated freshness supporting the perfumed fruit, finishing long and mineral-laced.

The great Aussie blend, this is 52% Cabernet and 48% Shiraz. It is sourced from four discrete blocks, all planted more than half a century ago, in 1971. All are low yielding. The varieties were kept separate for fermentation. All grapes were destemmed. The Cabernet spent 15 months in fine-grained Bordeaux barrels, 60% of them new. The Shiraz went to one and two year old barrels, spending 6 months on lees. Overall, the wine saw 50% new oak. At this stage, barrel selection took place with the best blended together for this wine. Although the wine certainly climbs the heights, it is not named after any local mountains, not that there are any, but rather, after Mr Edward John Peake, who planted the first vineyard in Clarendon around 1850. Black/purple. This is deep, dark, brooding and coiled. Serious underlying power with balance, force and focus. Notes of aniseed, blackberries, dark chocolate, axle grease (in a good way) and coffee beans. Great length here with soft powdery tannins. The two grapes meld together perfectly, neither dominating, but both enhancing the other. Plush and soft and cuddly, this is a cracking red. 15 years plus if needed, but good luck keeping your hands off it for that long. Love it.

Sumptuous, lively and generous in dried herbs, allspice and forest floor, this is a memorably intense and complex coastal wine, thick in tannin and enduring structure. Red berry and citrus give it a lightness that boosts the lovely, lasting acidity.

Sourced from a propitiously sited plot within the oldest realm of 1946 plantings, all on deep sands. Destemmed to whole berries and fermented wild for 21 days on skins. Matured 11 months in older, large-format French wood and eggs. This is the benchmark of the region on many levels, made in a denser fashion, perhaps, than its siblings. Yet this vintage feels more elegant. The fruit, crunchy and of the red spectrum. The acidity, salty. The tannins, lithe and slinky with the embellishment of oak an accent of intrigue, rather than a jarring dialect. Resinous. Powerful. Yet pixelated of detail as it strides to a long finish clad with thyme, orange verbena and a whiff of cedar.