The 2021 Syrah comes from the Perilune Vineyard, where vines were planted in sandy soils in 2017, in the Sta. Rita Hills. Made with 100% whole clusters, it's expressive and alluring with pure scents of cassis, bitter chocolate, garrigue and cracked peppercorn. The medium-bodied palate features a concentrated core of floral fruit framed by silky tannins and refreshing acidity, and it has a long, ethereal finish. It's beautiful now and will reward 3-5+ years in the cellar.

The 2021 Chardonnay 3D opens with matchstick aromas that give way to perfumed quince, peach and exotic floral and ginger tones. The light-bodied palate, however, is bright, salty and mouthwatering. It has a luxuriously silky texture and an expansive finish that hints at latent exotic tones. It's the most coiled of the Brewer-Clifton Chardonnays this year and will benefit from several years in bottle

The 2021 Pinot Noir Machado has deep, gently broody scents of pomegranate, blackberry, Angostura bitters and dark spices. The medium-bodied palate is chalky with vibrant acidity, a concentrated core of spicy fruit and a long, layered finish.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Hapgood is expressive and detailed. The nose opens with ringing tones of tangerine and pomegranate, plus nuances of tobacco leaves, mossy bark and dark spices. The light-bodied palate has a silky texture and softly tangy acidity that adds a shimmery quality to its core of spicy fruit, ending with an ethereal finish. It will benefit from 2-3+ years in bottle.

The 2021 Chardonnay Hapgood is scented of toasted meringue and apricot with accents of beeswax, cashew and citrus blossom. The light-bodied palate has a rounded texture which tempers its tangy acidity, and it has a deep core of youthfully reticent, saline-driven fruit. It will benefit from several years in bottle to unfold.

The 2022 Chardonnay, vinified without malolactic conversion and matured in stainless steel, opens with inviting aromas of quince, white peaches, toasted meringue and citrus blossom streaked with hints of matchstick and saline. The medium-bodied palate balances ripe, floral fruit with focused acidity, and a touch of textural breadth lengthens the finish. It combines the verve of Chablis with the ripeness of California. It deserves 2-3 years in bottle to unwind.

The 2021 Pinot Noir 459 is expressive and detailed. It's scented of blackberries and cranberries with nuances of tea leaves, bitters and tobacco. The medium-bodied palate is chalky and refreshing with a deep core of spicy fruit, and there's a flourish of spice and floral tones on the finish.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills, made with an unusually high proportion of whole clusters (90%), has broody scents of dark cherries, blackberries, woodsmoke, underbrush and rooibos tea leaves. The medium-bodied palate is chalky and refreshing with concentrated, spicy flavors and a long, nuanced finish.

The 2021 Pinot Noir 3D features cranberry, pomegranate and tangerine scents with accents of underbrush and bitters. The light-bodied palate is silky and energetic with generous, crunchy fruit, tangy acidity and a long, spicy finish.

The 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills opens with lots of flinty, matchstick tones over a core of spicy white peach and citrus blossoms. The light-bodied palate balances juicy acidity with a touch of textural grip. It has youthfully toasty, beeswax-laced fruit and a long, flinty finish. It will benefit from some time in a decanter.

The 2021 Chardonnay Machado is expressive and inviting. It opens with gregarious toast and allspice scents complemented by ripe quince and honey. The medium-bodied palate features generous, spicy flavors balanced by juicy acidity, and a touch of textural grip lengthens the finish. It doesn't need any bottle time to drink deliciously on its own or with richer dishes at the table.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Perilune comes from vines planted in 2007. It has a pale ruby color and layered aromas of pomegranate, underbrush, orange peel, earth and bitters. The medium-bodied palate has a deep core of tangerine-tinged fruit, chalky tannins, shimmery acidity and a delicate, spicy finish.

Impenetrably dark, blackish crimson. Very ripe Cabernet nose initially with a herbal overlay and no heat on the end – overall the wine is appetisingly fresh in fact – but there's a very slight suggestion of something charred on the very end. The finish is neither alcoholic nor drying but it's not that persistent – at this stage anyway. There's lots of pleasure to be had here, so long as you are not prejudiced against ripe Napa Cabs. I would guess it will gain complexity with time.

Deep crimson. Intensely aromatic with notes of coffee and chocolate but an admirably fresh finish. Really rather subtle and gorgeous. Perfumed and well balanced. Leaves the palate refreshed. The best Cardinale I can remember tasting. Gentler tannins than I can remember in any red bordeaux 2019. Sweet but not sickly fruit. Rather beautiful. I feel sorry for the reds I'm about to taste.

Transparent shaded garnet. Sweet, decongestant nose – unmistakably Australian! Quite marked acidity. Refined tannins and marked freshness but no great persistence.

Yangarra has championed Grenache for some time, and this wine shows real class. This has sensitivity throughout, seamless with bright freshness balanced with spices and savoury notes. Cranberry and cherries, with some herbaceous notes together – as the wine opens up on the palate there is a wonderful, perfect mouthfeel – this really does show just how good Grenache can be and will evolve perfectly. From a vineyard planted in 1946. Check out the Yangarra Roux Beaute Roussanne 2015.

A massive, powerful, full-bodied beast of a wine that reminds me of a great vintage of Ch teau Latour with its structure and regal character, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder offers a beautiful bouquet of blackberries, wild cherries, iron, spring flowers, and wild scrub brush. It’s concentrated, has massive extract and richness, no shortage of tannins, and a huge finish. It’s not for the instant gratification crowd and needs 7-8 years of bottle age, but it will see its 30th birthday in fine form.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District is another incredible effort, revealing a dense purple hue and a kaleidoscope-like array of cassis, violets, spring flowers, and tobacco leaf, as well as full-bodied richness and ripe, velvety tannins. It has perfectly integrated oak, tannins, and acidity, flawless balance, and the class to benefit from 4-5 years in the cellar and evolve for 25-30 years.

Another prime example of the genius of Chris Carpenter, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain reveals a deep, saturated purple hue as well as textbook Howell Mountain black fruits, scorched earth, savory herbs, bay leaf, and dark chocolate. It's a powerful, structured, full-bodied Cabernet offering remarkable purity as well as overall balance and equilibrium. Hide bottles for 4-5 years (if not longer) and enjoy over the following 25-30 years.

Another incredibly concentrated, focused, insanely impressive wine in the lineup is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, which offers a powerful nose of darker currants, scorched earth, graphite, and savory herb aromas and flavors. This full-bodied, dense, concentrated, powerful, inward beauty needs 4-6 years in the cellar but will age forever.

The 2021 Red Wine is mostly Merlot yet includes a splash of other Bordeaux varieties. It's a fleshy, full-bodied, concentrated Merlot yet nevertheless has remarkable purity and elegance, with ultra-fine tannins. Ripe black cherries, chocolate, leafy herbs, and tobacco notes give this an almost Pomerol-like style, and while it's just about impossible to resist today, I see no reason it shouldn't evolve for 20+ years if well stored.

The 2021 Cabernet Franc is a more elegant, almost Old World style expression of this incredible variety, and it's every bit as impressive as the Red Blend. Coming from Spring and Diamond Mountain sites, it has a gorgeous array of red, blue, and black fruits with some classic Cabernet Franc orange blossom, black tea, and floral nuances. This medium to full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless, incredibly elegant 2021 can be drunk today or cellared for two decades.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc. It's a classic Mountain Cabernet with full-bodied richness and ample, although velvety, tannins as well as pure cassis and currant-like fruits, gorgeous mid-palate depth and opulence on the palate, and beautiful complexity in its tobacco, graphite, and bouquet garni-like nuances. It's another remarkable wine from Carpenter that has some upfront accessibility today yet deserves 3-4 years in the cellar. It will have two decades of overall longevity, and as top Napa Cabernet Sauvignon goes, it's a terrific value.

While Bosche has a higher water table (so more vigor) and ripens earlier, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyard comes from a lower vigor site (near Staglin) that gets afternoon shade and ripens about a week to a week and a half later than Bosche. The blend is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, with the aging spanning 21 months in 63% new French oak. It's a more mineral-driven, savory wine, offering a stunning core of blackcurrants, cassis, pure graphite, leather, and dried herbs and it s already nuanced and complex. These carry to a full-bodied wine that has fine tannins, a big, dense mid-palate, and a great finish.

Darker red, blue, and black fruits, sappy spring flowers, graphite, and chalky minerality all define the 2021 Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain, a medium to full-bodied, ultra-pure, fine, graceful Cabernet Franc with tons to love.