A true Southern Rhone blend beyond the usual suspects of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre; each component handled separately, prior to final assemblage. Smells a touch rooty on opening, again I stress there's no bunch component, yet 50% whole berry. It's light, slick and racy across the palate - a juiciness that cannot be escaped and fails not to freshen. A light rub of tannin, gentle maceration ensuring a fine extraction and delivering length. No artifice, all expression of fine fruit and the winemaker's craft.

This vintage of Trueman emerges as a quintessential example of McLaren Vale Cab, round in shape and fruit forward, backed by spice and savory herbs. It offers ripe blackberry, violet, tobacco leaf, olive and peppery spice flavors. In the mouth the plump fruit is tempered by the variety’s typically powerful tannins. The juxtaposition works well, although it lacks some of the elegance and complexity inherent in the cooler 2017 vintage. Drink 2022–2036.

Stewed cherry, toast and sandalwood aromas align on the nose of this bottling. Sour-cherry-compote flavors come through on the palate as do sagebrush and mountain-herb elements.

A pretty nose of ripe red fruit and berries, dried herbs and subtle spice. Medium-bodied with well-integrated tannins. Graceful, with a light touch on the palate. Ripe raspberry and rooibos come though. A lighter-feeling style of California pinot. Drink now.

An inviting nose of red cherries, rose petals and red licorice. Medium-bodied with well-integrated tannins. Juicy and vibrant on the palate with underlying floral character. Well balanced and with good intensity. Drink now.

Bright with good tension, the 2019 ‘Yamhill-Carlton’ by Gran Moraine is an excellent, cool vintage effort. Teaberry and pine needles combine with orange zest embers that all take shape in the glass. The palate shows sterling tension and medium-bodied red fruit flavors that combine with the earthy undertones of the wine. I can see this cellaring well for at least another decade.

Soft, nicely textured and very approachable now, the 2018 ‘Yamhill-Carlton’ Chardonnay reveale shades of sourdough bread, white peach and Pink Lady apple on the palate, with light minerals backing thing up. Finishing long, this beautiful effort is already nicely evolved and will drink well over the next eight years.

Stellar Values in California Chardonnay from Sonoma CountyA blend of fruit from Stonestreet’s estate mountain vineyards, this Chardonnay reveals scents of chamomile tea, smoky oak and high toned tropical fruit. The palate is round and softly textured with appealing, firm phenolics and good mid-palate weight. Finishes dry with lingering lemon and tropical notes. Clones Hyde-Wente, UCD 4, and Peter Michael from Mayacamas vineyards blocks at 400-1800' elevation. Barrel fermented with ambient yeast, full malo with monthly lees stirring and aged 11 months in 33% new French oak. TA 5.1 g/L, pH 3.61, 14.1% alc.

Stellar Values in California Chardonnay from Sonoma CountyThis Sonoma County blend of mostly Alexander and Bennett Valley grapes is relatively reserved aromatically, showing lemon-like citrus with a honeysuckle accent. The palate is broad and balanced with light stone fruit complemented by earthy/savory notes, finishing dry and crisp with good length. An outstanding value in premium Sonoma Chardonnay. Sourced predominantly from the Alexander Valley and Bennett Valleys, fermented in new and used oak barrels (a small percentage was fermented in stainless steel) with native yeast followed by malo and elevage on the lees in barrel. 13.7% alc.

The 2019 Viognier Tepusquet Vineyard is a beautiful wine that balances varietal character with notable verve and freshness. Apricot, tangerine peel, mint and exotic white flowers all open nicely in this pretty inviting Viognier.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Machado is painfully inward today. Even so, there is terrific energy and purity to the red-fleshed fruit. The Machado feels just a bit compact. It will be even better than this note suggests if the fruit emerges more fully.

Well-structured, with a lush spiciness to the red berry and cherry flavors. Juicy richness midpalate, with underbrush notes backed by fine-grained tannins on the finish. Drink now through 2025.

Well-knit, with a rich core of dark cherry and plum pastry flavors that are accented by cocoa powder and wild spice accents. The loamy finish lingers with notes of forest floor. Drink now through 2025.

Concentrated pear tart and apple pastry flavors are rich and well-framed in this offering. Displays sage cream and orange zest accents midpalate, with a plush and open-textured finish. Drink now through 2025.

Bright and structured flavors of cherry and pomegranate gather accents of orange tea and cardamon, building richness toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2027.

This bright red colored Pinot Noir from Copain opens with strawberry jam and red plum bouquet with hints of pine sap and cinnamon. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied with mild acidity. The mouthfeel is delicate and gentle. The flavor profile is unique. It features a crushed stone and loam influenced strawberry with notes of red raspberry and cedar plank. I also detected hints of cola and a touch of cinnamon in the aftertaste. The finish is dry and its mild flavors fade away nicely. This old school styled Pinot would pair well with smoked sausage and creamy mushroom risotto.

Refined and well-structured, with vibrant acidity to the juicy red fruit and spice flavors that show a minerally verve. Ends with light herbal and savory accents on the lithe finish. Drink now through 2025.

Powerful and structured, with plenty of crushed white stone notes to the crisp green apple and Asian pear flavors that are backed by crunchy acidity. Minerally richness fills the fresh, focused finish. Drink now through 2026.

Well-structured, with rich acidity to the fresh-cut apple and Asian pear flavors that show savory richness. Sage cream accents fill the contoured finish. Drink now through 2026.

Produced in the estate vineyards in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA, the 2019 vintage from Gran Moraine is a bit reserved initially with a bit of smoky reduction. Yet, with time a bright, pure raspberry and black cherry fruit develop with a pronounced mineral cast and interesting complexity of savoury smoky aromas. The texture is fresh yet not lacking in breadth or body, and the finish is rewardingly long.

This midnight purple colored red blend opens with a black licorice and blackberry bouquet with hints of vanilla oak. On the palate, this wine is full bodied with medium acidity. It is also mouthwatering and savory. The flavor profile is a crushed stone minerality and mild blackberry blend with notes of black plum and oak. I also detected some hints of blueberry and dark chocolate towards the end. The finish is rather dry, and its dusty tannins build-up and stick around for a very long time. This wine would pair well with dry aged ribeye.

Wines like these are hard to fault - they just ooze class. A clever Shiraz once more from Peter Fraser and Yangarra Estate.If you ever get the chance to walk the Yangarra Estate vineyards, take it. The geology is something. 50% of the fruit for this Shiraz was grown on sand and the other 50% on ironstone - all certified organic and biodynamic. It spent time in 20% new French puncheons with the balance in older barriques, puncheons for 12 months. Mulberries and blueberries captivate. There is a sleek and polished presence about the way this carries itself. Vibrant and energetic, it is delicately spiced. The mouth is filled with generous fruit yet it is not weighty. No sad faces will be seen with this in the glass.

Essentially a Rutherford-based cabernet sauvignon with minor roles played by franc, merlot and petit verdot for an overall perfectly reasoned, seasoned and spiced bit of classic wine film. Rich in ’17, tannic through alluvial chalky drive and a slight gravel overbite. Hard not to be seduced by the rugged beauty and hard to get at fruit zone out of a vintage that can be stubborn when it so chooses to be. Lay this down another year at the very minimum. Drink 2022-2027.

Full-throttle in approachability and juiciness, this Chardonnay is packed with stone fruit pits and generally über juiciness. Lightly layered in texture with solid concentration but no overt glycerol and plentiful acidic vibrance, this is very well balanced. The mild finish tastes of toasted oak and warm nuts with a light citrus tinge. The acidity surges throughout to give this excellent freshness.

Quite brutish and muscular, a Cabernet Franc that is bigger than I imagined to be honest. Some choc mint appeal, dried herbs, lots of black currants and dark plummy fruit. It's drying and the hefty oak plays its part here too. Over a couple of days it didn't budge too much but wines like this aren't built for now given the oak and acid tension. It's a wine I'd love to revisit in six to eight years.