Ripe blackberry and dark plum aromas, peppery and earthy too, intense and concentrated; clean and lightly spicy. The palate is full-bodied and elegantly-structured, with refinement and linearity. Very attractive flavours, big on mixed spices. (10% whole-bunch; 50% whole berries; wild ferment. 5, 530 cases) Drink 2018 - 2030

Deep red with a good tint of purple, the aroma fumey and woodsy, fairly savoury, with a hint of super-ripeness. A rustic, full-bodied wine with flesh, density and grip, but going further than simple varietal fruit personality. It has good extract and could repay a little time in the cellar - though doesn't really need it. There's good richness, weight and flesh as well as drinkability. (Certified biodynamic. 50% destemmed; 50% whole berries; wild yeast. Older French oak for 10 months; filtered but unfined. 370 cases)

Deep purple/red colour with a coconut, slivered almond bouquet, fresh and bright. There's a stony terrestrial edge to it. The wine is medium-bodied and very dry but softly-textured, with abundant supple tannins and an aroma and flavour of dried banana. Medium-bodied, and very appealing. It's the antithesis of fruity. (Perhaps because it was fermented in concrete eggs?)

Chocolate, red and black fruits and black olives with a floral lift – lavender and flowering basil perhaps. It’s firm and savoury, rather than sweet, with excellent shape and a lovely dry finish. Drinks beautifully and has a drier, more Euro food friendly feel than many locals. Impressed.

Destemmed whole berries, cold soaked, with wild yeast employed in small open topped fermenters. There's a distinctly sauvage feeling all about this wine which is entirely appropriate. It's sophisticated McLaren Vale shiraz in all its glory so to speak. Aromas and flavours purely of the black fruit from the red earth, and with minimal interference, here it is.

Strong red-purple; sweet, luscious, juicy berry grenache varietal character; soft tannins and subtle oak.

Made from vines planted in 1946 on, according to the back label, a sandy dune in McLaren Vale – overlying the North Maslin Sands. If grenache isn’t your thing then this won’t win you over – despite its quality. It’s not thick or dense, it is warm with alcohol, its main flavour is sweet raspberry and there’s not much oak to speak of. If you do like grenache though, these facets are a good part of why it’s so good. It’s fresh, jubey, alive and uncluttered. It speaks of beautiful grenache grapes, ripe and delicious. Not too heavy, not too light; just right. Best consumed young – and often

Bright, full red/purple colour and a fresh fruit, slightly lifted aroma of cherry and other red fruits. The wine is very tight and firm in the mouth, a little unready, with grip and a little hardness. There's a stoniness that is almost nebbiolo-like. If there is VA (volatile acidity) it is not obvious on the palate. Good length and resonating aftertaste. Some would describe it as minerally. I'd give this wine a year or two's cellaring. (94 cases produced; unwooded; fermented in two 675-litre ceramic eggs; 120-day post fermentation maceration. Source: Block 30, planted 1946)

Medium red colour with a tinge of purple. The bouquet is very smoky, earthy and savoury. Later, more floral and aromatic than its High Sands siblings. The tannins are quite firm. Savoury spice flavours. It's very dry and very different. A lighter, elegant style of grenache. It's not easy to see the value in this, a very left-field grenache, but I have to admit it grew on me. (Vines planted 1946. Biodynamic. Hand-picked, destemmed, berry-sorted, 50% crushed, wild fermented in two ceramic egg fermenters. Unfined. 1128 bottles) 29/6/2017

Roussanne is one of the white grapes of the Rhone Valley where it is often blended with Marsanne. In the past it’s been a co-star but is now moving into a solo part. There is a smell to Roussanne that can be described as slightly unpleasant, there is no richness or overt fruit nuisances. The smell is of the earth, a slight odor of sweet decay, there is also a tang on the palate - in short it’s not an easy wine but one that needs input from the drinker. Taste it and it’s easy to dismiss, taste it with some thought and it becomes a different creature altogether. This is a smart wine, perhaps not to every ones taste, but I give it 92 and think it well worth the $25 price tag.

This is the non ‘egg’ roussanne. Tasted side by side though. Fermented in barrels of which around a quarter used are new. Yangarra, Your Roussanne Specialists. Has a ring to it. It’s pretty tight but also kind of juicy, shows nice pear and quince perfume, whiffs of green herb too. The palate has this nice, tight, puckering character, breathy licks of nougat and cinnamon woody spice, a slurp then starts its roll to tension. It’s nice to drink. It shows complexity in its way. It feels fragrant and serious and frisky. It’s doing a lot, yet feels kind of simple too. I find this all good.

362 cases made. Looking back, I see the 2011 was around 12%, with 2012 and 2013 being more weighty. In 2014, the scales are running backwards again. This Viognier has no trouble seeing its…feet.
Nice perfume here, and some savoury funky stuff going on as well. White flowers, spice, nectarine, nuts. Light to medium bodied, crunchy rather than fat, but delivers flavour very nicely. The line is unbroken from front to back, and throughout finesse and perfume are the order of the day. Almost lemony acid to close, though not coarse or hard. I like what they’ve done here.

Green apple, lemon zest and herb, lavender and sea spray. It’s tangy and crunchy in texture, good grip and lively acidity, saline with sour green apple and real lemonade flavour and a dry and flinty texture closing out a finish of good length and energy. Excellent.

Quite tart and sour on the nose. Some fruit, but a bit hidden. Weighty on the palate, on the verge of heavy. Thick rich fruit, pretty good balance, certainly on the big end of Pinot Noir. Not my style, but I really like it. Excellent.

A bit on the dark side when it comes to Pinot Noir but still translucent. Dark earth on the nose with dark berry fruit. Dark on the palate as well with bright acid and earth. Nice. Excellent.

This stainless-steel, no malolactic fermentation wine sourced from Chalk Hill Vineyard showcases the floral earthiness of the variety. Woody cedar and dried herb, with just a hint of bell pepper, accent dense red currant and
balanced acidity.

Garnet to dark garnet color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of cranberries, raspberries and cherries. Flavors of cranberries, strawberries and raspberries. Medium to tart acidity, medium to firm tannin, full bodied. Drink over the short term.

La Crema’s Willamette Valley Pinot is sourced from 8 vineyards across four sub-appellations of the Willamette Valley which results in a very complex and representative premium Oregon Pinot. The inviting bouquet draws you in with dark cherry, plum, baking spices, cured meat, and a hint of mineral/earthiness. Medium-full bodied, this Pinot shows great freshness, with dark cherry and raspberry tarts on the long finish. Enjoy now and over the next 5 years with classic roasted rack of lamb, bœuf bourguignon, or pan-fried venison with blackberry sauce.

Gran Moraine Brut Rose Yamhill-Carlton Willamette Valley, 92 McD, shows spring florals, hawthorn and green apple nose. Orange citrus and slaty minerality without the petrol hints one would find in German Riesling complete the package.

Charming aromas of sliced lemon peel, chopped hazelnuts and crushed thyme. Medium-bodied with silky texture. Fresh and open on the palate with crisp acidity and subtle tannin structure. Sustainable. Drink now.

La Crema's 2019 Willamette Valley pinot is an expectedly polished and sleek, seamless wine from this professional organization. High quality wood is well-enmeshed into the ensemble, while sweet red cherry fruit and cola, pomegranate syrup and raspberry purée flavours lead in the classic west coast style. Length and depth are excellent. Drink or hold 2-5 years.

13.5% alcohol. Three day cold soak, 40% whole bunch, 10% new oak, seven different clones. Sweetly aromatic cherry fruit nose with some ginger and cinnamon notes. The palate is sweetly fruited, textured and quite generous with smooth, ripe berry and cherry fruit. Supple and expressive, in a smooth style with some ripeness. Fine grained tannin.

Grown biodynamically and matured in used oak. Tastes quite neutral at first but it reveals notes of nuts, ginger, honeysuckle and mineral as it opens and warms in the glass. Crisp finish but the palate is slippery and textural. Sweetish aftertaste. Delicious.

Light yellow hue with a spicy, stone fruit bouquet, apricot and fig flavours predominating. There is richness and roundness, with a substantial phenolic grip and a faint trace of bitterness, which is perfectly acceptable. A full-bodied, ample white wine with generous flavour and some viscosity. It would make an excellent food wine. (Fermented in ceramic eggs. Two-thirds fermented on skins with extended skin contact; one-third fermented without skins)

Full-bodied and firm, with good intensity to the blueberry and blackberry flavors at the core, with dried herbs, black pepper, loam and savory green olive and tobacco details. Drink now through 2030.