Snappy, exuberant aromas of black raspberry and cherry draw the nose into this bottling, and then lines of cinnamon and lemon peel add elegance to the lush core. The palate is zesty, candied and refreshing, carrying cherry, strawberry, red spice and white pepper into a long-lasting finish.

Gold metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

So fresh, vibrant and balanced, while almost bursting with delicious red and black fruit, spearmint and savory accents. A full-bodied wine that delivers power with elegance from one of the Willamette Valley’s most celebrated sites. Layers of sour cherries, red currants, subtle oak spices and vivid acidity add up to a wine that’s gorgeous now and will improve through at least 2028. 

The 2021 Trueman Cabernet Sauvignon hails from the Hickinbotham vineyard in Clarendon, in McLaren Vale. It is truly one of the lovely vineyard areas in Australia, with rolling hills, dramatic valleys and a proximity to the ocean. From memory, this vineyard was planted to Houghton clone, or includes some of the Houghton clone selection in it (from Western Australia), and the wine feels structural and velvety at once. You get cassis, raspberry compote, dark chocolate, tobacco, licorice (salted black cats!), cardamom and mulberry off the bush in summer. It's a wonderful wine, pleasurable, complex, poised and rounding out with a delicious delivery of ductile Cabernet tannin. Ripper. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2021 W.S. Keyes Merlot is a blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the Merlot coming from a block planted in 1986 (a partner block goes into Cardinale). Scents of cedar, mint and black cherries dominate the nose, while the palate is full-bodied, rich, round and even opulent but with a strong spine of acid and tannin that prolongs the finish and should see it age well. Concentrated, long, dusty and firm but fully ripe, this is the rare Napa Valley Merlot than can age for up to two decades.

All Cabernet Franc, with the core of the bottling coming from vines planted in 1976, La Jota's 2021 Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain harkens back to the terrific Cab Franc bottlings this estate bottled in the early 1990s. Complex and gently leafy, with notes of pine and red raspberries, the nose is enchanting, while the palate is supple and almost creamy in feel, medium to full-bodied, then moves into a long, elegant finish, capped by gently dusty tannins. Terrific stuff.

A blend of 54% Merlot, 13% each Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, plus 7% Malbec, Caladan's 2021 Red Blend offers up hints of floral aromatics and tobacco but more prominent notes of ripe cherries. It's full-bodied but supple, richly concentrated and tannic but silky, with a long, gently dusty finish.

The 2021 Chardonnay Upper Barn is a bright silver/yellow hue and is complex on the nose, with notes of white pepper, orange peel, peach, and baking spice. Leaning toward fullbodied, it has more intensity on the palate, with a rich, balanced structure, and it expands through the finish, showing a lot of complexity and a decadent feel without feeling heavy or weightless. It’s persistent with Meyer lemon on the finish. Drink 2025-2037.

From a steep southeast-oriented vineyard with a steep 30% grade, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall is a saturated purple with magenta highlights and offers more mineral notes of graphite, blackcurrants, dried lavender, and wild herbs. It has a compact, full-bodied structure with chiseled tannins, as well as nicely balanced acidity and long finish. It will be worth it to cellar it another year or more. Drink 2025-2045.

From a deep gravelly site and pouring a black/red hue, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Monolith offers a deeper and darker, concentrated profile with aromas of tarry earth, black plum, espresso, and cigar box. Full-bodied and plush, with a more velvety tannins, it has a very polished and approachable feel now, and while it’s brooding on the nose, it’s quite enjoyable and long on the palate. This lovely wine is going to drink well over the next 20 years.

Black/purple-colored, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Stature comes from Pocket Peak in the Alden Park and Kellogg Vineyards. It opens to reveal a deeply layered profile with aromas of pencil lead, gravelly earth, pine sap, blackcurrant, and cigar box. It fills the palate with a plush, full-bodied structure that expands, with balanced notes of oak accents framing the wine nicely through its long finish. It keeps lovely freshness throughout, with a broad-shouldered feel, and it should age gracefully over the next 20 years if stored in cool cellars.

Pouring a medium red/ruby color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard is expressive and juicy in the glass with notes of mixed berries, raspberries, sweet spices, candied roses, fresh forest earth, and cardamom. On the palate, it reveals a good deal of refinement, with fine tannins and a long, elegant, graceful feel through the finish. Weightless and refined, it will drink well 2024-2040.

Pouring a medium ruby/red color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Jennifer's gives up ripe and
concentrated aromas of kirsch, toasty incense, crushed flowers, and dark stones. It’s
medium to full-bodied and weightless but has a broader shouldered feel, with plush, ripe
tannins, good freshness, an even texture, and a long, mouthwatering finish. It displays a
lot of polish and is going to be an age-worthy wine to enjoy over the next 15 years.

Dark red magenta in color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard belongs to the recently added West Sonoma Coast AVA and was aged for 14 months in 32% new French oak barrels. In the glass, it’s ripe with notes of black raspberries, crushed pine needles, licorice, and toasted cedar. Medium-bodied, it has sweet tannin and a good deal of fresh, ripe fruit, with a juicy feel throughout its long-lasting finish. It’s quite charming out of the gate, but it also has a very well-balanced structure and a more interesting level of refined complexity. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.

Fermented with 25% whole bunches; matured in French puncheons for seven months (35% new), then transferred to Austrian and French foudre for 12 months. The sandy ironstone soil is the key driver here, with a lilting fragrance combined with rocky ferrous notes, blackberry, blueberry, tar, tapenade, anise, iodine and a briary herbal complexity. Oak is well integrated, though more time is needed to cohere in general, as this is fashioned to age, and it will do so impressively

The winemaking approach follows similar lines to that used for Yangarra’s grenache. It also gets 18 months in a mix of Austrian and French oak with six months on lees in foudres. It is brilliant and so bright with a high energy palate that penetrates to a very long finish. Exquisitely balanced and poised with the fruit and structure for extended cellaring

From 1946-planted vines in Block 30, adjacent to the High Sands Block; destemmed, crushed and fermented in 675L ceramic eggs; pressed after about 150 days then returned to the eggs for a total of 14 months' maturation. Taut and sinewy, both a function of making and the year that was, this is a coiled spring of dried flowers, cranberry, raspberry leaf tea, cherry, pomegranate and dusty white pepper spicing. The pedigree of place, venerable vines, impeccable viticultural stewardship and fine-tuned making suggest this will have a long and exciting future, but it needs a few years to unlock all its mysteries. As it stands, it is a thrilling bottle, if a little stern at present. I have a feeling the score may tick up with time.

As good a roussanne as I have tasted in Australia. There’s a lot of winemaking involvement here, but it is not intrusive. Rather it’s designed to capture the fruit and express it with a distinctive style. A combination of ceramic egg fermentation, skin contact, separate portion management, whole bunch basket pressing and then a final four months in ceramic eggs before bottling. Brilliant bright colour with a textured and plush palate offering layered complexity and richness. A dry savoury finish completes it.

A blend of 58/24/8/5/5% grenache blanc/roussanne/ grenache gris/bourboulenc/clairette. Some grenache and clairette on skins in concrete eggs for 120 days, the remainder whole-bunch pressed to egg; 59% skin contact in the final blend. Organic/biodynamic. The skin contact provides meaningful detail to this, but in a quiet way, gently tugging the palate with a pumice-like texture, shaving off overt fruitfulness and layering in savoury flavour. Dried pear, poached apple, quince, ground ginger, beeswax, lemon barely water and chamomile. It’ll be fascinating to watch this age, no doubt picking up honeyed tones, while that bedrock of artfully laid grape tannin will provide a moreish succulence for many years.

Offers a beautiful, steady stream of blood orange, bitter cherry and raspberry coulis notes stitched finely with subtle details of rooibos tea, singed sandalwood, dried anise and savory. Feels pinpoint in focus, with serious length on the finish thanks to its nicely buried mineral tension. Drink now through 2038. From California.—J.M.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the single-varietal 2021 Merlot skips out of the glass with bright, cheery notes of black raspberries, juicy plums, and kirsch followed by suggestions of pencil lead, wild thyme, and damp soil. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers impressive freshness, with ripe, rounded tannins and bags of red and black fruit flavors, finishing with a provocative lift.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the single-varietal 2021 Malbec is quite broody and closed to begin, offering glimpses at black cherries, tar, wild sage, and black truffle before opening out to a core of preserved plums, rhubarb, and tapenade plus a waft of lavender oil. The full-bodied palate is rich and powerful, delivering firm, ripe, velvety tannins with wonderful freshness, finishing long and earthy. This is impressive!

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, with 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a lot of swirling to unlock notes of blackcurrant preserves, blackberry pie, and boysenberries leading to hints of cedar chest, beef dripping, crushed rocks, and garrigue. The full-bodied palate is solidly constructed with super-firm grainy tannins and just enough freshness to support the dense, muscular fruit, finishing long and savory.

The single-varietal 2021 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is all estate grown, coming from two different vineyards. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sashays out with flamboyant notes of black cherries, mulberries, and warm cassis opening out to hints of cumin seed, violets, and espresso. The full-bodied palate is jam packed with tightly knit black fruit and mineral layers supported by firm, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with great persistence.

The 2021 Merlot, with 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Tannat in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. It comes out swinging with powerful notes of stewed plums, baked blueberries, and boysenberry preserves followed by nuances of underbrush, black truffle, and crushed rocks plus a hint of garrigue. The full-bodied palate delivers a bright, refreshing backbone and firm, fine-grained tannins to frame the expressive black and blue fruit layers, finishing long and earthy.