Wonderfully supple, elegant and aromatic, with notes of toasted green tea, lemon blossom, candied ginger and spice to the fresh, juicy core of lemon curd. Drink now through 2030.

Plush and creamy up front, with spice and peach blossom flavors, tropical and citrus accents at the core and appealing grace notes of spice and honey. Features a touch of minerality on the finish. Drink now through 2025.

Polished and precise, showing crisp and pretty pear, citrus and fresh ginger flavors that finish with freshness and lift. Drink now.

Black-cherry compote, cola and baking-spice aromas make for a very rich, inviting and delicious nose on this bottling. The palate lands with a lush set of black-cherry and toasted wood flavors, as firm tannins hold the richness together.

Opening in a strong perfume of oak, this robust, concentrated white offers woody spice, lively acidity and rich layers of Gravenstein apple, tangerine and ginger. A lush finish accentuates its bold, memorable personality.

The aromas bring an assortment of spices: cinnamon, clove and anise. Dark fruit notes sit behind them. There’s intensity and richness to the flavors but also balance and depth. The flavors hang on the finish. Compelling stuff that explores the variety’s riper side, with fruit and barrel playing well off each other.

There’s complexity to the aromas, with notes of moist soil, mushroom, assorted dried herbs, red cherry, anise and various spices. The palate is fuller in feel, pretty and nuanced, showing detail. Finegrained tannins provide support. It’s impressive.

With a big, rich opening of toasted oak, this crowd-pleasing wine delivers tropical richness and intensity around a spicy complement of baking spice and vanilla. It is well made and balanced within a full-bodied style.

Applejack is a tightly structured Chard with vibrant yet delicate aromas of citrus and florals underpinned by seashells, toast and a bit of toffee once it warms. The palate is like a jolt of electricity: a tart, lemony acidity bringing energy and freshness to a chalky texture. Could be a knockout with sole or a similar white fish. Drink now–2030.

Extended maturation on skins in a large ceramic egg has amplified the textural roll of Roussanne’s savoury mid-palate without allowing broadness to dull the intrigue. Instead, there’s a lively, electric zing in the grapefruit and barely ripe white nectarine flavour, adding body without bulk – a taut midriff. A rich, burnished gold colour identifies intensity, but the perfume is shy and austere. The sum of its parts provides pleasing intrigue.

The 1011-hectare Tenuta di Arceno estate sits 404-809 metres above sea level. The site between Florence and Siena has been producing wines for nearly 3000 years. According to Roman mythology, an ancient Roman statue, Il Fauno, was installed in the estate’s centre to protect it from intruders. The nose is a riot of savoury black cherries with a dusting of mint. Rich, robust and full-bodied, it is only beginning its life. Black plums and licorice dominate the palate, supported by cedar, toasted oak and a more savoury, peppery note in the finish. Il Fauno is a Bordeaux-style blend of 43/32/20/5 Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. It is one to lay away for seven to 10 years. However, wild boar would be a good match if you must drink it now.

A yummy Syrah by winemaker Greg Brewer, that always over-delivers at the price point, this medium ruby stunner, with a pinkish rim, bursts with notes of boysenberry, blueberry compote, wet pine needles, black olive, and ground pepper. It’s leaner on the palate than on the nose and produces a very balanced, saline, and earthy finish. Tannins are a bit elevated so giving this a year or two in the bottle to settle down will be richly rewarded.

Delicate nuances of clove, thyme, ripe red and black berries and hints of smoke. Vibrant and mineral, with grainy tannins. Lovely.

Fragrant aromatic of dried herbs, ripe black fruit, sweet liquorice, sage, rosemary and coffee. Sweet black fruit on the palate with firm fine-grained tannins.

Blackberries and violets with some spices throughout. Medium body, with medium round tannins and a savory finish. A little light at the end, but attractive. Drink now.

A floral note of violets mingles with sage and bay leaf details in this red, with a core of blackberry and currant flavors that are round, juicy and supple. Earl grey tea and black pepper accents linger on the long, expressive finish. Drink now through 2040.

Tightly coiled yet expressive, with berry cobbler, river stone and white pepper flavors that build tension and structure toward broad-shouldered tannins. Best from 2023 through 2030.

Deep ruby-red colour in the glass. The nose lifts with ground coffee, tobacco leaf and mixed berry. It fills the mouth with dark berries and mocha notes, glides with a slippery tannin line and a hint of oiliness that adds depth to its flow. Good length and finishes softly .

Ink black core to a deep purple rim. Cassis, bay and wood oil aromatics. A big and voluminous wine that shows ripe cassis alongside significant oak spices. Goes long and the structure is up to the task of controlling the flow. Time and a serious serve of red meat will bring it into context.

Grown in California, most Dijon clones deliver fruit forward wines, making this savory bottling of Barbara’s, made with Clone 667, somewhat anomalous. Cambria’s Barbara’s doesn’t much behave like a Dijon clone, at least not at first; this wine’s smoky tobacco savor goes up against its cherry fruit, lingering with a sneaky persistence. The subtle plum fruit is weightless and lifted, ready for something with an umami feel, like a pork cutlet.

This estate wine is remarkably elegant, with scents of smoke, olive and cola all wrapped around a plum compote core. The sleek and soft texture, with tannins as suave as pipe-tobacco, suggest a pairing with braised beef, like Bourguignon.

It’s easy to anticipate the concentration of this wine just by looking at its dark purple color. It smells of pine and dark plum, then tastes of spiced cherry, rye and peppercorn, with terrific acidity that keeps the wine on point.

High Rock Ranch is Copain’s estate vineyard in the Yorkville Highlands, a stark, barren hilltop composed of schist and exposed to plenty of Pacific wind, cold and fog. This syrah leads with baking spices and smoke, coolly delivering a dark array of fruit—fig and carob and black plum—with a finely wrought texture that feels firm and balanced. For grilled pork.

A side project from Greg Brewer of Brewer-Clifton wines, this brings out the funk from Santa Barbara vines. Its dark concentration yields with scents of thyme, ash, olive and cheese rind over blackberries. The brushy herbal notes provide a savory backdrop to a wine that’s packed with flavor, for ribs.

The Yarra Valley chardonnay comes off five sites: Sexton, Tarraford, Applejack, Primavera, and Wombat Creek Vineyards. It is hard to believe it could get better than last year, but it is, and the alcohol is down an entire point to 12.5 percent. The vintage was large and of high quality. The overall temperature during the growing season was lower than average, which led to a long, slow ripening period and great concentration of flavours and natural acidity. The result is a high quality white with mealy, leesy notes, bright apricot, and lemon that rush through the finish. Rich in a Grand Cru way but not overpowering. Outstanding value. Food possibilities are endless, including these winery suggestions: fish tacos with coriander, chili and avocado salsa, grilled eggplant with tomato relish, salad with grilled goat cheese on croutons, roast crispy skin chicken with preserved lemon and roast garlic. It is all hand-picked, chilled overnight to 12C, then whole bunch pressed, fermented on full juice solids with wild yeast in 500L French puncheons (15% new) for eight months. No lees is stirred, and only 10% of the blend underwent spontaneous malolactic fermentation.