Biggest Australian Wine Tasting Ever: 2,700+ Ratings This is an impressive take on the powerful shiraz that Yangarra is so respected for. The poise and polish emanate from quality grapes and some Rolls-Royce, large-format oak maturation. Sultry, spicy complexity warms the long finish in classy style. Certified organic. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

A sublime example of McLaren Vale Shiraz. Superbly handled, this has nothing but a beating heart that oozes class and precision. Sourced from a 1.8 hectare site which lies on a gravelly ironstone outcrop. Handpicked with 25% whole bunches used, wild yeast fermented before seeing 15 months in French oak (35% new). The fruit is elegant and glides through the mouth. Beautifully weighted, the balance of fruit and oak is insatiable. Delicate savoury influences are highlighted by fennel, clove and licorice which mesh with ease culminating in a finish which rides long leaving a sexy spicy hum in its wake. Just wow.

Deep, but bright, crimson-purple; this is full bodied McLaren Vale Shiraz at its very best, not the least extractive or clumsy, simply complex, the result of top-quality fruit and highly intelligent winemaking.

A very dark, intense and brooding shiraz that also as a sense of real refinement and purity, it oozes black plum and blackberry fruits, black stones, plenty of spice, hints of tar and dark leather. The palate's rich, fresh and beautifully poised around a core of blackberry fruit flavor, sweet spice, liquorice and very supple, noble and long tannins. Age this one.

65/27/8%, cold soak, 50% whole berries open-fermented, wild yeast, matured in used French oak for 9 months. Excellent depth to the colour; this is a mighty mouthful, somewhere between Guigal and Chateau Rayas in style, a veritable volcano of red and purple fruits that do, however, want to be enjoyed sooner rather than later. First class wine.

Polished, pretty, powerful and pure. High class McLaren Vale Shiraz. Blueberries, blackberries, crushed dry spice, clove and brighter red-berried notes. Fresh and energetic but with a motor of tannin purring in the background. Great finish.

I was thrilled by the awesome quality of the 2001 La Joie, a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 9% Cabernet Franc. Aromas and flavors of roasted espresso, grilled herbs, scorched earth, blackberries and cassis liqueur are accompanied by and unctuously-textured, full-bodied, expansive, dense, phenomenally concentrated, pure blockbuster. It should be at its finest between 2005-2020+.

The terrific, opaque blue/purple-colored 1999 La Muse (a 695-case blend of 89% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon) offers up gorgeous aromas of espresso, melted caramel, black cherry jam, tobacco, and flowers. It reveals an unctuous texture (amazing for a 1999) as well as a huge palate impact, yet great balance, purity, and overall harmony. This prodigious effort will be drinkable young, yet last for 20-25 years. I believe this is the same wine, with just a slight adjustment in the blend, that I referred to as the 1999 Merlot in issue #132

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines Aromas of dust, currants and black olives. Full body and round, chewy tannins. This is soft and round textured. Juicy and flavorful at the end.

Napa 2016 Vintage: 5 Consecutive Years of Fantastic Wines This is a fabulous, merlot-based red with blackberries, blueberries and rust. Ink, too. Medium to full body, round tannins and a juicy finish. 93 per cent merlot with the rest in cabernet franc and malbec.

The most exotic and aromatically seductive of the Verité wines, wild red and black fruits marry with nuances of cigar tobacco and incipient floral details. While similarly large-scalled, La Desir's tannic structure is more supple than its siblings and its palate presence appealingly energetic. 62% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Malbec.

Top Ten: California The 2013 Désir is a blend of 62/22/11/5/ cabernet franc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec aged 15 months in 100 percent new French oak. Perhaps the spiciest, it opens with a whiff an alluring hint of white pepper. The attack is as powerful and elegant as it gets, clearly mimicking the great wines of Saint Emilion. With so much finesse already evident you could drink this now although I would say wait a decade. The attack is round, the tannins chalky and soft with fine black tea, licorice, orange with a stony mineral backend. Impressive style and seemingly set to age for decades. Try now with Bistecca Fiorentina.

The 2009 La Muse is a rich, sumptuous wine bursting with dark plums, black, cherries, graphite, espresso, spices and licorice. It shows gorgeous balance from start to finish. Persistent veins of minerality frame the long, beautifully articulate, creamy finish. This is a deceptively accessible wine today, but there is so much underlying power and sheer structure that I will not be surprised if it shuts down in the bottle. The 2009 is 86% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029.

Good red-ruby. Musky aromas of blueberry, licorice and dusty spices. Dense and sappy, with terrific grip and saline intensity to the dark berry, dark chocolate, clove and mace flavors. Wonderfully energetic Saint-Emilion style of wine, with exhilarating inner-mouth spice character. Tannins are serious but suave and perfectly carried by the wine's density of texture and lingering fruit. A beauty.

The 2008 La Muse (1,500 cases) exhibits a dense purple color along with a big, sweet nose of chocolate fudge, black cherries, licorice, underbrush, camphor and espresso. Full-bodied, powerful and extraordinarily concentrated, but also tannic, it is a blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec all of which is accessed from Jess Jackson's Alexander Mountain Estate vineyard. Like its siblings, it is aged in 100% French oak, and has the highest level of alcohol (14.5%). Jess Jackson and his Bordelais winemaker, Pierre Seillan, have followed their 2007s (the finest wines they have ever made) with strong efforts in 2008. To understand these wines, readers must realize that they are not meant for near-term drinking, but rather for extended cellaring. Seillan truly wants to produce a wine with the ripeness of California fruit backed up by the structure and ageability of a top Bordeaux. All of these cuvees come from Sonoma County estate vineyards owned by Jess Jackson. The La Muse (dominated by Merlot) offering represents Verite's right bank Pomerol-styled wine, La Joie is their Medoc-styled effort dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and Le Desir is more of a St.-Emilion, possibly Graves-styled wine dominated by Cabernet Franc blended with Merlot. These wines all need 4-5 years of bottle age, and are capable of lasting three decades or more. If you did not catch the 2007s that were released in 2010, my scores are as follows: 2007 Le Desir (98), 2007 La Joie (100) and 2007 La Muse (99).

Full ruby-red. Knockout nose melds musky brown spices, iron, flowers and smoked meat, along with an exotic suggestion of white fruits. Broad, ripe and classically dry, with a palate-coating texture like liquid velvet. Strong underlying minerality gives energy and definition to this compellingly rich and pliant wine. The extremely long finish shows an exhilarating building sweetness and noble tannins.

(50% cabernet franc, 39% merlot, 9% cabernet sauvignon and 2% malbec) Good medium ruby. Cherry, minerals and caramelized meat on the nose. Wonderfully lush, suave and fine-grained, with captivating flavors of dark berries, black cherry, gravel and lilac. Finishes with extremely fine tannins, superb grip and outstanding subtle persistence. This reminded me of a ripe vintage of Cheval Blanc.

Good medium ruby. Cherry, minerals and caramelized meat on the nose. Wonderfully lush, suave and fine-grained, with captivating flavors of dark berries, black cherry, gravel and lilac. Finishes with extremely fine tannins, superb grip and outstanding subtle persistence. This reminded me of a ripe vintage of Cheval Blanc.

(50% merlot, 47% cabernet franc and 3% cabernet sauvignon) Deep, bright ruby-red. Complex, spicy nose melds currant, black cherry, licorice, iron and flinty minerality. Suave, sharply delineated and deep, with a terrific core of spice to the classy, perfumed fruit. This boasts stunning inner-mouth aromatic character and a wonderfully subtle sweetness. The noble, fine-grained tannins complement the wine's slow-mounting, extremely long finishing flavors. This should be spectacular with four or five years of bottle aging.

A huge, opulent wine, the 2014 La Muse wraps around the palate with tons of super-ripe dark red fruit, chocolate, spice and menthol. La Muse often shuts down after bottling, but the 2014 is still remarkably intense and voluptuous, with soft contours, silky tannins and exceptional balance. The purity of the flavors here is remarkable.

Vérité's 2015 La Joie is deep, powerful and structured, with tons of Cabernet savoriness running through a core of intense, dark fruit. Grilled herbs, leather, menthol and licorice all develop in the glass. Sumptuous and yet also structured, La Joie is another winner from Vérité.

The Surprise of 2015 in Napa and Other California Wine Reviewed Aromas of lead pencil, graphite and hot slate. Blackcurrants, too. Full-bodied, very tight and tannic. Linear and driven on the finish. Very fresh and energized. Racy and focused. Primarily cabernet sauvignon. Needs three to four years to come around completely. Try in 2021.

The 2009 La Joie (14.5% natural alcohol, and a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec) boasts an opaque purple color along with abundant notes of wood spice, barbecued meat, new saddle leather, creme de cassis and forest floor. Rich, full-bodied and powerful with moderately high tannins, it needs to be forgotten for 5-7 years, and drunk over the following 25-30 years.

The 2009 La Joie is dazzling. Firm yet well-integrated tannins frame an expressive core of dark red and black fruit, graphite, cassis, mocha and minerals. This is one of the more structured wines in the lineup, and it will require a few years in bottle for the tannins to soften. I especially like the energy and focus here. In 2009 the blend is 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029.

The blend is mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, with the other four classic Bordeaux varieties added for complexity. The grapes were sourced from vineyards throughout Sonoma County, and the finished wine was aged in 75% new oak. It’s very fine, with concentrated, intense blackberry, cherry and crème de cassis flavors. Minerality, in the form of granite, lends a lick of stone. It’s still extremely tannic, and needs much more time before it begins to come around.