From only the 1971 plantings and a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon and 44% Shiraz. You can think of it as being a single site version of Penfolds 389, only better. 370 cases made. If you wanted to show an overseas visitor an example of a ‘classic’ South Australian wine, then this would be a fine place to start. It’s medium to full bodied, almost svelte, with succulent but intense ripe tannin, truffle and grilled meat, blackcurrant and boysenberry, a little toast and smokiness, pitch-perfect acidity, and a finish  of impeccable length and composition. Great wine. Dead set classic.

In a word, breathtaking. Yes it's powerful, richly flavoured and full-bodied but the angel is in the detail. Black-crimson-purple same as the fruit notes within flecked with bay leaves, dark chocolate with cinnamon spice. The oak is neatly tucked in, the tannins plump and slightly grainy with exceptional length.

Joyous and aromatically arresting scents of creamy black cherry, black raspberry, licorice and black cardamom grab hold of the nose and don’t waver on this bottling. Deep and dark fruit flavors mix with hints of dank herb, tarragon and even cannabis on the palate, where the acidity is penetrating and persistent.

Black-raspberry, smashed slate, damp oregano and light pine-needle aromas all converge on the attention-grabbing nose of this bottling, which marks a return to the Santa Maria Valley for Greg Brewer. Snappy herbal tones, bright acidity and grippy tannins frame the sip, where mushroom and forest-berry flavors mesh into rounded strawberry fruit.

Lovers of forest-floor elements in Pinot Noir will rejoice at this four-barrel bottling, which is redolent on the nose with pine-needle, eucalyptus and sage-driven garrigue aromas, cut by intense green-peppercorn spice. Its mint and tarragon qualities extend to the sip, where wildstrawberry and cracked pepper flavors align.

Top 20 Shiraz of August 2020This is magnificent McLaren Vale Shiraz and a glorious Jackson Family contrast to the Hickinbotham Cabernet. Quality-wise they’re on a similar plane, but very different personalities. This is more translucent, less muscular, less oak-driven voluptuousness and some welcome spice. Both wines are McLaren Vale megalords, just different. The Ironheart still fits the definition of Vale Shiraz and, most importantly, it’s absolutely delicious. Winemaking-wise it 25% whole bunches and included in the wild ferment, the wine spending 15 months in 35% new French oak. ‘We select individual barrels which showcase the characters of the ironstone’ says the little quote. There’s this textural width here, with a certain silkiness too, the tannins grainy, the oak a lightly toasty companion piece. Nothing out of place, just pulsating McLaren Vale Shiraz with a surprising balance. Possibly the most drinkable Shiraz I’ve had in a long time. Really. I can’t fault much here, it just flows and feels lively, yet satisfyingly generous at every point. Superb. Best drinking: now to twenty plus years. Would I buy it? Worth a bottle.

Intensely flavored and full bodied in style, this wine shows golden oak, honey and flint, with a floral earthiness throughout. Fig, pear and quince dance around the opulence and texture, as forest mushroom and a touch of spice tease on the finish.

From a far coastal site dipped in Goldridge soils at 700-feet elevation, this white is adorned in mineral-laden earth, stone and briny fog. Pear, vanilla and orange peel contrast a refined richness, buzzing in tension and acidity.

From six estate blocks, 50% on sand, 50% ironstone. Destemmed and mechanically sorted whole berries and 20% whole bunches open-fermented with a splash of viognier, 10 months in French oak (20% new). Dark fruits with earth, chocolate and licorice nuances. Sensational price.

Hand-picked from vines planted in '46, wild yeast open-fermented. It only takes a millisecond in the mouth for the wine to establish its varietal purity and generosity. It is supple, round and deeply satisfying, red and purple fruits to the fore, fine-grained tannins bringing up the rear.

From Block 20 planted '46, hand-picked, mechanically berry-sorted, crushed, fermented in 675l ceramic eggs, remaining on skins for 158 days post-ferment, no oak used, the wine pressed and matured in eggs for another 6 months. Brilliant colour. Perfumed. The late Len Evans' description for bouquet such as this was ‘old lady's handbag.' Arrestingly fresh and vibrant.

Excellent flow of ripe, berried, fruit-driven flavour with grass, dust and herb notes as complexing inflections. Perfectly integrated, and yet assertive, dusty tannin through the back half of the wine. There are no missteps here and lots of highlights. Velvety mouthfeel and the perfect application of cedar wood oak add finishing touches to a dramatically high quality red wine.

The 2018s from Santa Barbara CountyThe 2018 Pinot Noir Julia's is one of the smaller production releases, with just over 1,000 cases produced. Its translucent ruby hue is followed by a complex, nuanced 2018 that offers gorgeous purity in its raspberry and strawberry fruits as well as lots of sappy, foresty, spicy notes, medium to full body, integrated acidity, and a layered, elegant, yet still powerful style on the palate.

The 2018s from Santa Barbara CountyThe 2018 Chardonnay Hapgood offers a touch more precision aromatically and gives up lots of buttered stone fruits, toasted hazelnuts, white flowers, and brioche aromas and flavors. More medium-bodied, concentrated, and nicely focused on the palate, it's a beautifully complete, classic Santa Barbara Chardonnay that does everything right. It has 10-15 years of prime drinking ahead of it.

I was thoroughly impressed by the opulent and layered texture of the 2016 Ironheart Shiraz, a wine that in previous vintages has sometimes seemed more about structure than pleasure. It starts off with scents of cedar, menthol, plums and baking spices, then eases into a full-bodied, plush, velvety palate that delivers waves of ripe black cherries. Deep and long, it's a terrific example of McLaren Vale Shiraz that should drink well for 10-15 years.

Aged entirely in older barrels, the 2016 High Sands Grenache is an epic effort that must surely be one of Australia's greatest Grenache wines. Exquisite perfumes of rose petals, strawberries and raspberries are underscored by hints of fine herbs and cedar, while the medium to full-bodied palate is plush and velvety yet structured, with a long, intense finish. I was still seeing fireworks long after tasting it.

Shit the nest! Second release of a straight Cab Franc from Hickinbotham, and it’s a beauty.Ripe dark raspberry, pencils and fine spicy biscuit oak, good perfume, a smattering of sweet dusty herbs and mint. It’s packing in plenty of ripe red and black fruit, roasted red pepper, feels supple and firm at once, and has a great sense of energy too. It’s succulent yet controlled. It lays on the charm and doesn’t let go. Of all the 2018 Hickinbotham releases, this is the wine that speaks to me most clearly. It’s exceptional.

From a panoramic estate site above Occidental in view of the Pacific Ocean, this wine is peaty and feral, with plenty of fruitiness to spare. Beautifully layered and crisp in orange peel and plum, it is aged in 100% French oak, 37% of it new, allowing for structure and grace with lasting teases of clove, pepper and briny sea.

This rockstar wine is from a cold site south of Sebastopol fed by the Petaluma Gap. Peaty and piquant in licorice, it is rich and balanced, with elongated tannin. Smooth, velvety texture carries strong flavors of blueberry,black raspberry and a tease of grapefruit.

Crisp tones of raspberry and strawberry give this coastal-driven red a sense of place and tangy freshness. The acidity is spread evenly throughout on the robust palate, while a forest floor tone and dense tannins add complexity and balanced weight.

This wine is sourced from an estate site planted to 100-year-old vines, with half the parcel head-trained and the other half trained on a high wire, thus the name. Tangy orange peel, cherry and blackberry mesh around a densely layered core. It’s complex and rich, but buoyed by bright acidity and a shock of white pepper.

Less overt lemon & orange fruitiness than sibling, & less new oak (50%) give 2017 a more refined, even stately, bearing, the vibrancy of the vintage showing in the current of limy acid supplying energy throughout. Thrilling now, will improve 5+ years. Own Banhoek grapes plus small portion brought in from Helderberg. 5 stars.

Full medium ruby. Sexy, wild scents of black raspberry, meat, graphite, mocha and flowers, plus a whiff of leather. Densely packed and fine-grained but also quite powerful; a very tactile wine with lovely restrained sweetness and a strong Cabernet backbone. Dense but juicy, with nothing heavy about it. Very wild, Old World style of wine with terrific definition and inner-mouth lift, not to mention outstanding intensity and sophisticated grain. Boasts uncanny inner-mouth floral/ mineral lift for such a strong wine. Finishes with subtly mounting floral length and noble tannins that arrive late. A stunning showing--and still very young. Clearly a top vintage for this St. Emilion blend. I described this wine as tightly coiled when I first tasted it from bottle, and it still needs cellaring to show its full potential. My sample held up for days in the recorked bottle.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018The only white brought up all in new oak, the 2018 Chardonnay Gravel Bench Vineyard comes from a higher elevation site and was fermented and aged 11 months in 100% new French oak. There are a scant 244 cases produced. This Burgundian styled effort offers a rich, opulent, full-bodied style as well as ample sautéed apple, white flowers, gunpowder, and rocky mineral aromas and flavors. While all of these 2018s have more moderate, integrated acidity, the wines stay light and elegant on the palate and hold onto a terrific sense of tension and freshness. It's a terrific combination, and the wines drink beautifully today (as do just about every 2018 Chardonnay out there), yet my money is on these aging beautifully as well.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Chassagne-Montrachet-like notes of white flowers, crushed chalk, toasted brioche, honeyed orchard fruits, and a liquid rock-like minerality all emerge from the 2017 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard. A beautifully balanced, elegant white from this estate, it builds on the palate, showing a distinct salinity, medium to full-bodied richness, bright acidity, and a great, clean, blockbuster styled finish. This is pure class and just a complete, gorgeous Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years or more.