A classy Pinot for the price, rich and gutsy, with intense plum and raspberry fruit and firm tannins. Drink now through 2020. 14,000 cases made.

Youth proves both an asset and a slight liability here for, while fresh and alive, the wine is also a bit cramped and a little coarse at the end. It marries moderately deep, ripe-apple fruit with a well-measured complement of gentle oak, and, if just a touch too chalky to really charm at the moment, it will be helped by service with food and should be much improved by a brief stay in the bottle.

A pretty, elegant and fresh effort that has loads of charm, the 2011 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard has plenty of sweet cherry, raspberry and spice to go with a medium-bodied, pure and supple feel on the palate. Juicy acidity emerges on the finish and the focus here is on beautiful Pinot Noir fruit. Enjoy it over the coming handful of years. Drink now-2016.

Graced with a light touch of sweet oak and mildly suggestive of fresh butter with a constant complement of fairly juicy, ever-so-slightly-candied apples as its major motif, this one may not vie with its more serious cousins in terms of depth or complexity, yet it tastes and feels like real Chardonnay. It is both bright and balanced with welcome acidity diminishing the effects of its very slight residual sugar, and it is tasty and affable right to the end. GOOD VALUE

Simple, clean and very direct in its mildly juicy, reasonably lively, apple-like fruit, Kendall-Jackson’s 2012 Avant is all out in front with nary a hint of complexity or potential. It is, however, a very likeable wine at the price, and its slight trim of sweetness makes it eminently well-suited to service with various chicken dishes as well as being a pleasant pour on its own. GOOD VALUE.

If a bit slow to start and never showing much more than a smattering of mild, green-apple fruit in the nose, this wine proves to be both a bit richer and better defined as Chardonnay on the palate. It is reasonably well balanced with enough acidity to be useful with a wide range of foods, and it has the structural legs to last for a couple of years.

Light and crisp, with flavors of ripe pears and golden apples.

The 2008 Arcanum is a monumental achievement and my favorite wine in an already impossibly impressive collection. The blend sees Cabernet Franc (77%), Merlot and a very small part of Cabernet Sauvignon. Like many Tuscany growers, Tenuta di Arceno is betting on Cabernet Franc's performance in the warmer corners of Tuscany. The integration here is absolutely beautiful and the wine glides smoothly over the palate with the perfect balance of extraction, glycerin, residual sugar and acidity. The aromas span the spectrum, from bright cherry to dark chocolate. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2030.

The 2008 Valadorna is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and is named after the remote vineyard where Merlot finds its preferred growing conditions. This is an immensely modern and monumental wine that oozes forth with thick layers of sticky Indian spice or cardamom followed by black current, candied plum and toasted espresso. There's a pretty touch of sweetness that fits perfectly within the super-rich embroidery of the wine. It will be fascinating to see how it evolves over the next decade or so. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2030.

A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese and Petit Verdot, the 2008 Il Fauno di Arcanum opens with an inky dark color and perfectly ripe aromas of plump cherry and blackberry. Beyond the enticing fruit aromas is a long list of spice and tobacco-related characteristics. This is a thickly layered and opulent Tuscan blend that is enhanced by territory-driven aromas of grilled herb and rosemary oil. The best part for me, however, is the soft richness this wine delivers in the mouth. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2027.

The 2009 Chianti Classico Riserva Strada al Sasso is a compelling wine with power and sheer intensity. Ripe fruit and black currant mingles with exotic spice, espresso and leather. The finish is extra long and smooth. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022.

The 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva opens to a large-scale taste profile with bold cherry, blackberry and dark spice. Firm tannins wrap around the velvety finish. The folks at Tenuta di Arceno have taken great care at pairing each variety they grow with the various soil types found on their large estate in the southern part of the denomination. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2022.

The 2011 Chianti Classico possesses great energy and finesse. This elaborate and sophisticated interpretation of Tuscany’s most historic wine delivers bold and modern tones of vanilla spice, cedar wood and black fruit. Sweet cherry and baking spice complete a pretty picture. The plush sweetness you taste on the close is divine. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2020.

A bright and lively sauvignon blanc with notes of nectarine, spice and a hint of lemongrass. Crisp and clean.

This is a rich and supple Chianti with ripe cherry and strawberry flavors and notes of licorice and cedar. The ripeness of the fruit is balanced with zesty acidity and dusty tannins. It’s sophisticated enough for a formal dinner with roasted or grilled red meats, but it won’t talk down to a sausage pizza.

A quiet rendition, subdued in aroma, with delicate but sufficient acidity, juicy-smooth and flavorful; neither Italian nor Alsatian in style.

Rich, juicy and deep with black cherry, caramel and soft oak; lush and dense with finesse, elegance and complexity; long and lovely.

Smooth and ripe with plum, spice and herbal notes; complex, tangy and built to age; juicy and complex.

Smooth, lush and ripe with plum, blackberry and spice; dense and balanced with good acid structure and a tangy finish; another solid Ted Edwards effort; long and stylish.

Bright, smooth and juicy with grapefruit and tangy citrus; complex, minerally and rich; long and lively.

Smooth and juicy with ripe cherry and earthy notes; tangy, fresh and balanced with good length and style.

Opened this, drank a glass, didn't think much of it. Opened the Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2010, drank a glass, thought it was excellent. Wanted more, but the shiraz beckoned. It's grown on sandy ironstone soils. Single vineyard. Northern edge of McLaren Vale. $100. Poured a second glass of it - and liked it quite a bit more, though I still preferred the grenache, mostly because I was trapped in a lazy moment. Oh it's a bad boy all right. All surly, brooding, black mooded and gritty. When the reception goes on your television, now, all you see is black with a scribble of light type, and so it feels with this wine. Bright light summer fruits are minor to the tarry earthen licoricey leathery smack of flavour and alcohol. Tannin, blow some air into this wine and it grows big on you, like an urge, chewy and meaty, spicy, an old wooden pipe in a velvet pouch. It's rustic, bordering on rusty. It asks a bit of you, more than perhaps you'd like. What comes easy leaves empty. I liked it, more and more, it grew on me and in me, but only once I had come to its gravel-voiced terms.

High Sands is a delineation for this grenache that comes from the highest vineyards on the Yangarra estate from bush vines planted in 1946, of course on sand. The estate is tended biodynamically and a less-is-more mantra follows in the winery, again with attention to biodynamic cycles. Wild yeast, 24 months in used oak, winemaker Pete Fraser at the helm. They call this patch of dirt 'the beach'. 135 cases produced. Immediately you notice the gravelly, dusty texture. A wine for aesthetes in a way, you have to let the wine unfurl a bit, drink in small sips and appreciate structure, appreciate the clarity of fruit and glorious perfume, or get blown away by oscillating in the finer detail. I shared the wine on day two with wine-savvy and non-wine-savvy friends who thought it was the best wine on the table out of a series of luminaries, and drained the bottle first - it's got a lot of easy charm. Definitively shows how grenache and power can work hand in hand, serious stuff here with firm tannins, grunt of fruit and savoury disposition. Impressive, and look forward to seeing the wine with time notched into it too.

Very supple and caressing, yet vibrant and succulent. Nicely oaked, with rich cassis and hints of cedar and mocha. As suave as Napa Cabernet gets.

Generously oaked and voluptuous, with supple tannins and rich blackcurrant and blackberry flavours, with a crack of black pepper. Opulent, yet with a refreshing close.