From a panoramic ridge top parcel west of the village of Occidental, the 2012 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard reveals the lowest alcohol at 14%. It possesses great balance, a burgeoning complexity, good freshness and lots of honeyed tropical fruits intermixed with notions of wet gravel, spice and oak. With fabulous fruit, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a long finish, it should drink well for 6-7 years.

The 2015 Zinfandel Jolene’s Vineyard comes from another site for century-plus-aged, head-trained bush vines. Aged in 100% French oak, it was to be bottled unfined and unfiltered right after my visit. Inky bluish purple, this wine from a vineyard on Olivet Road has loads of pepper, roasted meats, Provençal herbs and loamy soil undertones interwoven with blackberry, black cherry liqueur and spice box. It is a pedal-to-the-metal style of wine, with superb richness, a full-bodied unctuosity, but good acidity keeping everything energized and vibrant. Drink it over the next decade.

The 2015 Zinfandel High Wire Vineyard also comes from century-old vines and is aged in 100% French oak for 14 months. This looks to be sensational, with an inky ruby/purple color, a big, peppery, spicy nose with layers of charcoal embers, blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, some licorice, spice box and earth. It is full-bodied and viscous, with layers of fruit (mostly black fruits like blackberry and cassis) and a deep, full-throttle, inky finish. Drink it over the next decade.

Bright, dark medium ruby. Medicinal black fruits, menthol, rose petal, brown spices, mocha, espresso and molten chocolate on the very ripe nose; some hints of _surmaturité. Boasts a texture like liquid velvet; not particularly sweet but delivers terrific depth of dark raspberry and chocolate flavor and an incredibly glossy texture. As seamless as this wine is, its powerful structure gives a kick to the finish, where broad, serious tannins saturate the entire palate. This very young, sophisticated wine is a beauty, but give it some time in a decanter if you plan to open a bottle anytime soon.

Light to medium crimson. Beautiful pure strawberry, chinotto aromas with camomile, hint aniseed notes. Generously concentrated with attractive strawberry, red cherry pastille, cola flavours, fine looseknit chalky, touch al dente textures, very good mid palate viscosity and fresh long crisp acidity. Finishes minerally, bittersweet and firmish with seductive red fruits. Allow a year for the elements to fold and integrate. From the highest block of 1946-planted bush vines. Drink 2026 – 2032

Intense ruby red in colour with purple highlights. Dark mature aromatic notes of black berry fruits, balsam, dark chocolate and exotic spice. Black cherry, blackcurrant, white smoke, liquorice, Kirsch, pomegranate, sweet tobacco and grilled herbs. Developed and beguiling on the palate, juicy and intense.Assertive in its structure. Wide and long on the close.

Another very well made, focused, but incredibly intense expression of Chardonnay that is simply brimming with smoky minerality, lemon and lime confit, crushed granite, green citrus, honeycomb, and vanilla pod spice. Beautiful balance, massive intensity of fruit concentration, and a truly delicious symmetry of acid and bright citrus fruit. Very impressive from a great vintage.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Clairière is inviting and kaleidoscopic on the nose: wild red and blue berries are accented by tones of orange peel, wildflowers, tea leaves, mushrooms and damp earth. The light-bodied palate is finely chalky and refreshing with latent flavor layers that gain detail as the wine opens. Despite its aromatic generosity, it's tightly wound on the palate and deserves 3-5+ years in bottle. 330 cases produced.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Slope comes from grapes planted in volcanic soils, and on the nose, tar and scorched earth aromas give way over time to pomegranate, rhubarb, dried herbs and amaro. The medium-bodied palate is expressive and inviting, flooding the mouth with dynamic flavor layers. It has suede-textured tannins, vibrant acidity and a very long finish streaked with flint and spice. It will reward five or more years in the cellar and should be long lived. 378 cases were made.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Conifer comes from grapes planted in both volcanic and marine sedimentary soils and offers aromas characteristic of its name: pine needles, mushrooms and botanical nuances complement a core of wild berry fruit. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated yet seamless. Its spicy fruit is framed by clay-textured tannins and vibrant acidity, and it has a long, layered finish. It opens dramatically with air and will benefit from time in bottle. 629 cases were made.

Pale purple in colour with bright pink undertones. Red rose petal, violet, fresh crushed Mediterranean herbs, red berry and vanilla, all act as on introduction. Red cherry, boysenberry, orange peel, cedar shavings and salty liquorice. Warm broad inviting entry, noticeable interaction between all the elements that define this wine: starting with the ripe fruit, fresh crisp acidity, ultra fine tannins and complex minerality. So translucent. Long juicy finish.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is medium ruby-purple in color. After a little swirling, notes of black raspberries and mulberries spring from the glass, leading to hints of lavender, bay leaves, and wet pebbles. The full-bodied palate is packed with muscular black berry layers with a firm, grainy texture and bags of freshness, finishing long and mineral-laced.

The 2021 Chardonnay Perilune strikes an effortless balance between vibrance and ripeness. It opens with streaks of matchstick and saline that give way to white peaches and honeysuckle perfume on the nose. The palate is satiny and expansive, its fruit tinged by exotic tones of ginger and flowers, and it has a very long, flavorful finish. It's beautiful now but will be long lived in bottle.

Blackcurrant, dark raspberry, a little dried flower and herb perfume, mint, iodine, creamy chocolate and spiced cedar oak, also a dash of paprika. It’s dense and packed with graphite tannin, a lovely ferrous edge to it, tobacco, red and black fruit, deep and rich, but also fragrant to close with chocolate and pencilly tannin. Serious wine here, the highlight being the integration of (plentiful) oak and fruit, and a superb muscular tannin profile. Touch and go for 96 points really.

The 2021 Merlot Howell Mountain checks in as 93% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Tannat, with the levage spanning 22 months in 70% new French oak. This beauty has bright red and blue fruits as well as complex, spicy nuances of dried flowers, savory herbs, and graphite. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, has ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's concentrated, has a smoking good mid-palate, and will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Bear Point Vineyard was aged for 20 months in 43% new oak. It's loaded with gregarious aromas of blueberry, boysenberry, lavender, fresh sage and dark chocolate. The palate is full-bodied with abundant, grainy tannins, seamless acidity and concentrated, floral flavors. It's still somewhat flinty and will benefit from 3 to 5+ years in the bottle. 1,091 cases were made.

The 2021 Hickinbotham Grenache has that lovely,
skinsy, ashy quality that comes from extended time on
skins in amphora (69% of the blend remained on skins
in amphora for 198 days). There are notes of
dehydrated orange rind, dried thyme,
lavender/potpourri, crushed shells and sand, fresh
tobacco leaf and layers of very fine, pluming tannins in
the mouth. The aftertaste is where the tannins assert
themselves; after a mouthful of chalky, fine, gritty
texture that prompts a little chew and squish, they
leave a trace of flavor that brings us back to the
aromatics. It's a gorgeous thing, this wine. It's shape is
circular, and it's graceful, like watching a lava lamp.
14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. This was
made with 100% destemmed fruit, crushed and tipped
into cocciopesto stone egg-shaped amphoras. No
pressings were used in this wine. It matured
exclusively in this format for 13 months.

“Steel and spice, some dry pear, citrus, apples, preserved lemons and pink ginger. Wonderfully intense but at ease with it; what this wine does is take its intensity and run with it. This is a wine. Upfront and backwards at once. Go.”

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Vales Edge matured for 32 months in 58% new French oak and was bottled without fining or filtration. It's an elegant, structural iteration with a toned-down expression,although it will need a bit more time in bottle to unfold. It has a deep ruby color and emblematic "Cabernet" aromas of black currants, thyme, violet and tobacco. The palate is intense and layered, with a seamless, powdery structure, bright freshness and avery long, fragrant finish. 200 cases were made.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Réserve Spéciale matured for 32 months in 70% new French oak and was bottled without fining or filtration. Opaque ruby in color, it opens very slowly to wafts o fpencil shavings, tobacco and cedar, with a core of blueberry and cassis. The full-bodied palate offers power and detail, with generous, grainy tannins, rounded acidity and a very long, fragrant finish. It has the stuffing and strength to be very long lived in the cellar and will require plenty of time before all the nuances of this barrel selection fully emerge. It will be released in 2023. 390 caseswere made.

The 2020 Pinot Noir 459 is similarly ruby/translucent in color yet has a more fruit-forward bouquet of ripe strawberries, red plums, forest floor, and exotic flowers, with just a kiss of background iron and marine-like nuances, which is classic Sta. Rita Hills. Nicely structured on the palate, with medium-bodied richness, it has ripe yet firm tannins, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. It's pure class. Give bottles 2-3 years in the cellar and enjoy over the following decade.

One of the great things about Australian wine is that the planting frenzy in the late half of the 1990s now has a great many vineyards marking their 25th year in the ground. The east-facing Applejack Vineyard was planted in 1997 at Gladysdale and is a star performer. This release saw 80% whole bunches and 25% new oak. Pure red cherry flavours push straight into undergrowth, mushroom, fragrant herb and spices. Cedarwood oak is present but so happily married to the fruit. There are briar notes here, particularly through the finish, and throughout it feels structured without necessarily feeling grippy. There’s a (positive) smoky aftertaste and a (very) good level of richness, in a varietal context. All up, hands down, this is a gorgeous wine to drink.

The 2021 Tarraford Vineyard Chardonnay comes from the Tarraford Vineyard—it is the most northerly vineyard in the collection and is planted to the P58 clone, planted in the 1980s. The fruit was originally intended as sparkling base and was being sold to Chandon. The fruit now goes solely toward table wine Chardonnay, and in this case, we are able to see for potential in the glass than merely sparkling base. This is a south-facing vineyard in a warmer area in the Yarra, which brings an attractive combination of streamlined linearity and a fine, mineral, nutty, briney character. In the mouth, the wine cascades across the palate, leaving a trail of white flowers, pink grapefruit and the faintest sense of caper brine through the finish. Very cool.

Down the hill by approximately 100 meters from the Wombat Creek Vineyard and planted on the same deep red basalt, the 2021 Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir was made with 50% to 60% whole bunch and constructed from clones MV6 and 115. It is the leanest note of all of the wines in this collection, but my favorite wine: crunchy, strawberry, red apples, cranberry, redcurrant, red cherry...and abundance of red. The fruit is open and seductive, but it has a gentle herbal edge, like rose petals (specifically David Austin's Boscobel rose), musk sticks and Turkish delight. This is satisfying. Fleshy. Plump. Beautiful.

Rutherford. I really like Napa Cabernet. It’s all about the quality of tannin, which in some respects, I think, trumps Bordeaux. Sycamore planted in the mid 70s,and raised in 74% new oak for 27 months. So, that sort of wine. I’d love to see less oak, because the fruit is so good, but here we are.
Powerful, dense and packed with ferrous and graphite tannin. Blackberry, dark chocolate and coffee, menthol and spice, vanilla and dried herbs, and yes, quite a lot of oak, but the fruit soaks it up. So much chew to tannin, all coffee and tobacco savoury stuff, rich dark fruit, raspberry coulis, very firm with a liquid ‘mineral’ feel, and a long fresh finish. Kind of overt and showy, but the quality of tannin is superb. Potent Napa Cabernet here, that needs plenty of time in the cellar.