Nielson’s 2018 Pinot Noir is rich, elegant and full flavored. Floral, earthy and berry-like elements dominate the aroma, while the palate offers suggestions of cherries and plums. This luscious Pinot is both elegant and dynamic.

Refined, with well-honed dark fruit and dried flavors that are supported by racy acidity and fine-grained tannins. Offers rich forest floor notes midpalate, with a finish loaded with Asian spice and minerally accents. Drink now through 2026.

A strikingly fresh and complex pinot that hails from a cooler season. Plenty of red-cherry, redcurrant an slighter strawberry aromas, as well as florals, spicy oak and sappy elements. The palate has a pure red-cherry core and fine, taut tannins. Fresh finish. Drink now.

A very fresh and composed chardonnay that offers aromas of lemon, lightly spiced pear pastry and peach. The intense and fresh palate holds a line of juicy peach and pear flavors in a smoothly enriched, focused style. Drink now.

Penner-Ash sources a fair number of blocks of the landmark Zena Crown vineyard, mostly at pretty high elevation. Most of the fruit is destemmed, and the cold maceration is being reduced to manage the extraction and assure elegance and vibrancy. The freshness and structure is achieved here, along with a vibrant blackberry fruit with hints of violet and ginger. Tannins are firm but not austere, and the wine has an exceptional balance between the fruit, the freshness, and the density that lead it to a lovely finish.

From a pioneering Napa producer founded in the 70s, this strikes a somewhat traditional note with more elevated tannin which I like in cabernet. The nose is classic and quite pretty with blackcurrant, cedar, violet some menthol and consderable oak. It is full bodied, fairly dense, warm and chunky with considerable alcohol heat and gritty tannin on the finish. The length is excellent. Best 2025 to 2035.

Moderately dark garnet color in the glass. Seductive aromas of Bing cherry and oak spice. Light to mid-weight in richness, featuring flavors of black cherry, black raspberry and a hint of oak spice. Very fine grain tannins and upbeat acidity compliment the fruit core. Plenty of gentle goodness in a glamorous wine that exudes class.

Showing more forward fruit than the 2017, this is nonetheless a sleek and mouthwatering Chardonnay with a hint of savoriness in the lingering, perky finish. Silky soft on the mid-palate, a clean, precise and chiseled acidity gives excellent tension. The long-lasting finish tastes of lemon zest and pomelo with a contrasting kiss of sweet cream. Vinous and dreamy to drink.

Very youthful, bold purple/red colour. The bouquet is smoky/char-oaky and slightly reductive, savoury, with traces of ironstone and graphite or coal-dust. Lots of character. The palate is full-bodied and youthful, fresh, bright and attractive. Chewy tannins persist long on the follow-through. A long-term keeper.

Purple colour with an inky black core, notes of incense and brambles. Full-bodied, fleshy, round mouth-feel with powerful notes of blackcurrants, fruitcake, cigar leaves and fenugreek. Ample, svelte tannins offers extra dimension, long persistence.

Creamy, accessible chardonnay with apple, citrus, hazelnut, bran biscuit and spicy oak flavours, with good supporting acidity and a backbone of subtle phenolics. A stylish chardonnay with cellaring potential.

Bliss. A lovely drink. Dancy, vibrant and mischievous, the fruit sings louder the longer it sits in the glass.Coming off 70+ year old unirrigated vines that are certified organic and biodynamic, blueberries, red cherries and sour cherries muse with ease. Dangerously sleek spices are delicate and captivating. A slash of mandarin, a lemony tang and earthiness all add layers of interest. A small step back from the super impressive 2019 release mind you, it's a great Grenache no less. It's worth noting the RRP has gone up 20% on the previous vintage.

Soft and lacy to start and highlighted by dark fruits and plums, but there is some oak here to negotiate. Not many people would reach for a straight Merlot out there in retail land, but if you do, this may inject some enthusiasm into the variety for you. Roasted capsicum, cedar and vanilla muse on a medium bodied delivery. Drying to finish, it leaves the mouth puckering as spices linger on a persistent finish.

The Tasmanian excursion for Giant Steps. Coal River Valley site. Whole bunch portion for one clone of the two used here. Taut and tense, dry and edgy. Sour cherry, tart cranberry drink characters, a bit of game meat, clove, meat drippings, paprika too with graphite notes in the mix. The tannin of paprika powder here too. Brooding but also kind of light too. Grippy and with this pleasing sour-bitter note through it all. Strict pinot, done well.

Supple, soft, spicy pinot noir, an almost gamay-freshness and light, lithe feel here. Cherry juice, dried cranbery, clove, cumin piquant notes and smoky notes. Bouquet and palate match well. Feathery tannins tickle the palate but with judicious grip and pucker in tow. A bit dust and overly drying to finish, slightly breathy, but pleasing is the main message.

“It was a cold, wet vintage, from spring all the way through summer and into the growing season. We were scratching our heads saying ‘are we going to make wine here?’ January turned things around somewhat, though there was botrytis to deal with. Fruit set was low, yields were low. A tiny bit of wine, but what’s there is precious. Beyond this, all the wines seem to amplify their personality of their place”, says Steve Flamsteed.Has some generosity, depth, glide and zest. A plucky, perky chardonnay full of tension in fresh-feeling and getting-ripe stone fruit characters, light mealy notes, licks of talc and faint pumice-like texture. Light on its feet but not without depth, layers of fruit, cinnamon spice, faint yeasty-sourdough savouriness. Feels pretty darn good.

Roussanne a strong suit for Yangarra. Slippery texture, ripe apple, cashew nut, cookie dough characters and some corn juice going on. Really good slide then grip to texture, a flavoursome white wine with lots to experience and sink one’s teeth into. Mojo is high. Delightful drinking.

Smoky complexity and good depth of flavor make this medium-bodied and ultrasmooth wine a standout. Light wood smoke, toasted almond and grilled peach flavors are lifted by fresh acidity for excellent balance, and the finish is lingering.

Focused fruit flavors are at the core of this well-balanced, lively, almost nervy wine as it gives up light caramel, Bosc pear and toasted almond aromas followed by lemon, butter and crisp apple on the palate. Best from 2025.

Hints of ripe peach, Pink Lady apple and lemon coast under a veil of tart dairy on the nose of this bottling. The palate is tightly woven, with orange-like citrus notes riding a penetrating acidity that rises through the sip, proving to be an engagingly sharp wine.

Honeysuckle, grapefruit pith and slight petrol aromas show on the nose of this bottling. The palate is wrapped in compelling tension, with flavors of lime balm, lemon verbena and brie rind complementing each other.

This is Merlot-dominant, full of plum and raspberry fruits, the silkiest of the three Vérités and the most approachable. Textured and rich, with grilled oak and cocoa powder, the tannins seductive but with big shoulders, and they do a great job of balancing out the more exuberant side of the wine. A long and relatively cool growing season at this estate.

There's glistening acidity to the richly spiced dried apple and dried apricot flavors in this lusciously spiced white, with a long, plush and mineral-filled finish that shows notes of dried thyme. Drink now through 2025.

Savory, shadowed by its oak and lees into supple complexities, this wine is layered in notes of baked apples and fresh autumn apples. Heady and rich, with a yeastiness that touches on a Saison beer, this wine continues to give more of itself the longer you spend with the glass. It would be delicious with wood-roasted oysters and duck-fat fries.

This wine gets its cool tones from the high altitudes at the Jackson family's Alexander Mountain Estate, a 5,000-acre property on the western slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains. Lisa Valtenbergs builds the blend from a range of parcels, at elevations from 400-1,800 feet. While the texture is soft and mellow, the wine sustains a crisp green freshness and bright undertones of lemon. Satisfying to drink on its own, this will readily take on soft-shell crabs or other rich shellfish.