Graham Weerts makes the Legacy wines at the Field Stone Vineyard, a property acquired by the Jackson family in 2016. He includes fruit from that vineyard as well as the family’s Jimtown and Alexander Mountain properties, focusing this blend on cabernet sauvignon (74 percent), along with small amounts of four other Bordelais varieties. Fermented in small French oak uprights and aged in French oak barrels (60 percent new), the wine is generous in its tannins, showing notes of lanolin, black mushroom and full-on chocolate richness. Everyone on the panel went immediately to an herb-roasted leg of lamb.

Greg Brewer’s wines are always intriguing and sometimes challenging, often recasting what one grape can be. This bottling from a vineyard in the Los Alamos Valley leads with dried lime, wet wool and citrus pith aromas. The palate is laser-focused on citrus peel and pith and yet somehow also earthy, reflective of damp sand.

Meaty and iodine on the nose, the fruit is pretty much hidden behind those two elements. Maybe a little herbal as well (mint?) or eucalyptus. This is “different” as it seems to focus on secondary (or even tertiary) elements over the fruit. But me likey. Excellent.

Medium color, translucent. Sweet corn and red cherry on the nose. Big, luscious fruit on the palate, more of a ripe style here. Lovely tartness, a touch of earth. Fantastic. Excellent.

Powerfully structured, with crackling acidity backing the intense red fruit flavors, layered with minerality. Savory flourishes show on the finish. Best from 2021 through 2025.

Sleek and vibrant, with snappy raspberry and red plum flavors accented by sweet basil and spice and finishing with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2027.

Give this Yarra Valley Chardonnay, from renowned producer Giant Steps, some time in the glass or decanter to open up, for it's a subtle and somewhat reductive wine at first that needs some air (it also may need a few more months in bottle to knit together). With time, it unveils delicate, pretty notes of citrus blossom, ginger and flinty minerality. While there's less texture and complexity here than on this producer's Sexton Vineyard Chard, this is nevertheless a balanced and ultra food-friendly drop.

Shows off a core of silky fresh cherry and raspberry flavors, with accents of black tea, toffee and nutmeg, delivering plenty of concentration and intensity. Hints of blood orange and green tea pick up momentum on the finish, where the tannins provide some appealing structure. Drink now through 2034.

Lou Primavera planted this vineyard in 2001; it’s a northeast-facing site in Woori Yallock. As the vines have matured, the Giant Steps team has begun to hold the fruit separately for a single-vineyard bottling. Cherry-blossom notes carry through this wine’s light, transparent flavors, grounded by gaminess and gentle minerality. The cherry flavors allow the soil character to show through, extending and deepening the flavor, setting the wine up for crispy roast duck.

Hints of smoke and gunpowder tea give way to fresh, vibrant pomegranate and cranberry flavors on a sleek frame, with notes of baking spices and caramel coming in on the finish. Harmonious and complex, featuring polished, fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2035.

Showing more peachy, tropical notes than the other bottlings, the 2018 Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay is a ripe, generous effort. It's medium-bodied, round, silky and easy to drink, yet it remains fresh and clean on the finish, with citrus notes more like tangerine than lime or lemon. Like the other single-vineyard wines, it was fermented and aged in 20% new French oak.

Coming from vines 200 meters higher and nine years younger than this producer's other single-vineyard Chard, Tarraford, this wine is clearly made in the same vein, but shows distinctive differences. Less fruity, this vintage is initially a touch reductive and oaked, but as it warms in the glass, notes of salted nuts and honey, along with delicate citrus, float to the fore. The palate is richly textured and laced with minerals. The wood is present but not overwhelming. It's very approachable now, and while it may not age quite as long as its counterpart, there's enough length, depth and harmony for another six to eight years of happy cellaring.

Subtle notes of toast and cinnamon appear on the nose of the 2018 Applejack Vineyard Chardonnay, sourced from the Upper Yarra Valley. It's a medium-bodied but plump and generous offering, with melon and pineapple fruit filling out the silky-textured mid-palate, then easing into a long, citrusy finish.

Plenty of purple in the medium to deep colour, the bouquet sweet and blackberry, black-cherry-like. It’s bold and very ripe, with chewy tannins and some alcohol warmth, the finish is firm and upright. Solid, boldly fruit-driven and straightforward, this should take some age to advantage. I suspect it will build complexity if given time.

Savoury, fusty bouquet of earth and dried flower heads. The palate is intense and focused, refined and quite complex, especially considering its youth and station. Lovely mouth-feel and balance. Soft, fine tannins. A touch of aniseed and berry jam to close. Drinking superbly already.

My conspiracy theory is that some closed room conversation happened at a high profile wine show and senior winemaking judges all decided to revitalise the pinot noir syrah blend. Specifically, the correlation between Hunter Valley senior judges and a migration pattern to the Yarra Valley. It’s spreading too. Not a bad thing, I really like the combo and style, but when I do a mental roll call of winemakers new to the field with the style, particularly ex-Hunter, it’s an intriguing list that plays into the hand of my jocularly posited theory. You do the maths. I think they all wear Black/White Nike Cortez sneakers too…

Ripe, concentrated and rich with tannic structural intensity. Cocoa, rosemary and thyme lead to a savoury finish.Drinking Window 2020 - 2040

Initial sweetness of ripe fruit is succeeded by more savoury, dried herb notes. Concentrated and rich with fine balance and fresh acidity.Drinking Window 2020 - 2040

Outstanding, postured, supple.The 2015 is an outstanding Super Tuscan with components of Merlot (59%), Cabernet Franc (30%), Cabernet Sauvignon (9%) and Petit Verdot. It rolls out sweet wild cherries and wild blackberries, leather and brown spices, dark chocolate and tobacco aromas. A supple entry rolls into a postured wine that is fresh and deftly woven. Spiced plum cake and bitter cocoa, lead to a finish of tealeaf and cedar flavours.

Bright loganberry and açaí berry fruit bursts forth in this exuberant red, with notes of melted red licorice, sweet toast and mocha striding through the finish. Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2024.

A bright and extroverted style, with cherry, cassis and damson plum notes streaking through, lined with fresh savory and violet details along the way. The pure finish shows a lively iron streak. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2026.

Rounded and easy in feel, with a mocha frame caressing steeped plum and black cherry fruit flavors. Tobacco and loam elements check in on the plush finish. Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Drink now through 2025.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2018 VintagePale to medium ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir 3D has a nose of dried lilac, blood orange, cranberries and rhubarb with spicy accents and an earthy undercurrent. The palate is light to medium-bodied and silky with bright, crunchy fruits and lifted acidity, finishing spicy.

USA, California, Central Coast: The 2018 VintageThe 2018 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills has very pretty aromas of perfumed quince, pears and peaches with notes of honey and hazelnuts and a bright lemon peel lift. The light to medium-bodied palate is slow to unfold to delicate, seamlessly fresh fruits with savory bass tones and a long, lifted finish.

The nose is pineapple, white blossom and pink grapefruit. The palate entry is silky papaya, mango and pineapple with notes of marshmallow and orange peel. Shows nice fruit and acid interplay on the finish. Drink 2020 - 2024.