Pretty nose of dried roses, strawberries, orange zest, bergamot and nutmeg. Bright and crunchy, with a medium body, fine tannins and a vibrant finish. Drink or hold

A myriad of fermentation vessels makes for a classically bright Sauvignon Blanc with ample body and richness. Blended with a small percentage of Sémillon, it's a wine with fresh florals, bright acidity, and some depth and viscosity—aromas of ripe peach, beeswax, pollen, and lanolin open into a palate marked by rich texture. Flavours of honeyed pear, chamomile, hazelnut skin and ripe nectarine show a wine that has real ageing potential.

12.1% alcohol. Own rooted vineyard planted in 1982 at 1000 ft. Lemony and bright with a touch of marmalade and some nice stony characters. There’s a tapering lemony finish with nice weight and a lovely fruity character. Some lime oil hints too. It has some fruit sweetness, but it’s dry.

Offers grilled pineapple, white peach and lemon blossom notes that are robust and effortless on a sleek, juicy frame, with fresh-cut green apple, tarragon and sea spray emerging on the mouthwatering finish. Drink now. 17,000 cases made.

Wild fermented with 16 days on skins; 15 months in French barriques (60% new) before a couple of months in old foudre, post blending. Mocha, coffee bean, damson plum and a slither of herb-crusted tannins, beautifully managed. A full-weighted wine, with a lilt of herbal freshness. As good as merlot gets on these shores.

There’s a lemony high note to this wine’s acidity, lifting the floral scents over flavors of green apple. White flowers and a hint of oak frame the fruit for a balanced, elegant white.

Tasted off the Earl's wine list in early March. Winemaker Peter Fraser is behind this single vineyard McLaren Vale shiraz grown biodynamically at 180m on the estimated 54 million-year-old North Maslin Sands, a mix of sand and ironstone that covers a dozen unique blocks. It has an unusual aromatic dark fruit aroma with bright spice that lifts the wine out of the glass with style. The tannins are supple and speak to an impeccably balanced wine. The long and entertaining finish pitches more blueberry, blackberry, and black licorice. The texture, as always, is amazing. Technically, 10% of the fruit remained as whole bunches, with the remaining fruit destemmed and mechanically sorted. 50% remained as whole berries, while the other 50% was lightly broken. It was native fermented in open fermenters, and finally kept for 12 months in 25 percent new French oak.

An elegant shade of reddish purple in the glass, this bottling offers asphalt, game and aged berry aromas on the nose. The palate is lightly bodied by extremely expressive and layered, moving from purple flower and fruit flavors to savory pork fat, wood spice and sagebrush.

Hints of almonds and savory herbs in the aroma accompany Bosc pears and vanilla on the palate as this handsome, toasty wine balances fruitiness and an oak-aged spiciness for a complex and complete expression. Best through 2028. Editors’ Choice.

I last opened a bottle of this two years ago and I have to admit that those tasting notes are still pretty spot on. Like I said in the previous note (“golden in the glass, but no signs of oxidation on the nose, just tons of honeyed, even candied lemon curd, laden with heavy doses of vanilla and oak. Yeah, this is a big’un, certainly in the style of those late 90s California Chards“), on the continuum of fruity and fresh to oaky and buttery, this definitely trends toward the latter, way towards the latter. That does not scare me in the slightest (although I prefer my Chardonnay with a defter hand), but this is not a Chard for the Anything But Chardonnay crowd. At. All. Excellent.

Mint sauce and tobacco and white pepper underlay plump plum and cherry fruit on this Cab Franc, which vibes more Bordeaux than Loire. There's a lick of polished vanillin oak present, too. Tannins are distinctively textured, raspy and spicy, weaving through the plush red fruit. Well structured, this could be drunk now with a roast leg of lamb or cellared through to 2030.

I can't think of a better term than "exquisite" to describe the 2019 La Crema Russian River Valley Chardonnay! It romances your palate with the abundant flavors of apple, pear, lemon zest, and a crisp finish with a mineral note, and a hint of mellow oak.

Coming from both Coombsville and Carneros, the 2020 Chardonnay spent 10 months in 36% new French oak. It’s a classy, outstanding effort offering lots of apple blossom, white flowers, and orange zest nuances in a medium-bodied, bright, juicy style. It’s perfect for enjoying over the coming couple of years.

Dark strawberry, raspberry jam and light herb aromas make for a familiar and complex nose on his bottling. The palate is edgy in texture and brisk in flavor, showing red plum, pomegranate and rounded red-flower flavors, with pepper spice on the finish.
Editors’ Choice.

Giant Steps 2021 Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay (Yarra Valley). This is a mediumweight, fruit-and-toast driven Chard from the upper Yarra. High-toned aromas of lemon, apple peel, grilled white peach and musk are backed by cream and saline notes. It’s slippery in texture, balanced by a salty acidity, with length and poise. This vintage feels more reticent than previous ones, so cellar for a year or two then drink until 2031. Jackson Family Wines. Cellar Selection

Produced from 100% Sangiovese, the 2019 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Strada Al Sasso is concentrated and potent with fresh pine, worn leather, sage, and black cherry. It is medium to full-bodied, with a driving linear feel to its acidity, and reveals angular tannins, notes of dusty baked earth, orange peel, rosemary, and cedar, and a citrus-tinged finish. Drink 2025-2035.

A broad, creamy version, with flavors of fresh-cut apple, yellow plum, blanched almond, chamomile and honeycomb defined by mouthwatering acidity that pushes the flavor range, streamlining everything on the long, salty finish. Drink now through 2028. 200 cases made, 150 cases imported.

Rich, with butterscotch and apple butter notes as well as ripe peach flavors on a supple, creamy frame revealing fresh acidity and spiciness. Shows a wonderful sense of balance and elegance on the finish. Drink now. 217 cases made

The 2020 Ovitelli Blanc (a white Rhône blend made from Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Clairette, Picquepoul and Bourbelenc) presents a complex, although reserved, experience. It opens with an engaging array of waxy, pithy and nutty aromas with a subtle chamomile lift. Dry and quite textural, tangy acidity drives upfront impact before slowly taking a more savory turn to a textural finish. This is a good effort and a wine to watch.

The 2020 Merlot The Revivalist with splashes of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon is a sumptuous, fragrant wine. Already approachable, it delivers plush open-knit aromas of blackcurrant and blackberry with tinges of leaf and dried herbs. A good volume of flavor follows but is slightly edged out by toasty oak and drying tannins through a reasonable finish. This has crowd pleaser written all over it.

This 2020 Cabernet Franc, blended with small volumes of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, offers beautifully pristine blackcurrant and graphite aromas with a well weighted vein of spicy French oak. There is impressive elegance and balance, too. Firm but fine tannins underline well-defined flavors through a lengthy finish. Beautifully approachable now but also with the potential to improve over the medium term.

The popularity of Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve label, which blends grapes from the Jackson family’s vineyards across California to produce consistently flavourful and concentrated wines, might make some underestimate this Alexander Valley Cabernet. That would be a mistake. Alexander Valley in Sonoma County is a choice spot for cabernet in California, rivalling Napa in terms of quality and character. This estate-grown cabernet includes 22 per cent merlot in a red wine with a sweet and vibrant character. Drink now to 2030. Available in Ontario.

The 2019 Chardonnay Estate is plush, creamy and super-expressive. Apricot, mint, chamomile and light pastry notes all grace this smooth yet understated Chardonnay from Stonestreet.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard offers attractive brightness to play off a core of sweet red cherry/plum fruit. The style is a bit on the linear side, and yet there is plenty of both fruit and mid-palate pliancy to pull it all together. This is nicely done.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Perry Ranch Vineyard is a bold, potent wine. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, clovers, licorice and mocha give the Perry Ranch its dark, rather brooding personality. The 2019 needs a bit of time to come together, as it is a bit awkward in its contours. But there is certainly plenty to look forward to.