Tarraford is exuberantly and unashamedly Aussie in all the best ways. It’s bright and lemony, underscored with toast, flint and salt. There’s length, poise, complexity and a seamless balance of freshness, texture and flavor. Set to age, this is delicious right now, too. It’s an excellent example of how far the Yarra and Australia in general has come with this variety

While Sexton’s single vineyard counterpart, Tarraford, is unabashedly Aussie in style, this gives a wink to Burgundy, with rich cashew, hazelnut, flint and melon-custard characters. This 2023 bottling was a cool vintage and it shows via wonderfully racy acidity, tension and poise. This class act by winemaker Melanie Chester and her team drinks mighty well now but that should cellar beautifully. 

Supple, slinky and downright sexy, with aromas you could take a dive into, Primavera exudes scents of red and blueberry fruit, dried rose petal and vanilla bean, with clove and Chinese five-spice characters underpinning everything and a mineral note at the center. There’s a calm, confident energy here. Balanced, with fine, seamless tannins, it’s less age-worthy that its single vineyard counterparts, but is a complete and utterly delicious drink right now.

The 2023 Grenache Ovitelli is stunning. This has wonderful purity of energetic red cherry, dried herb and subtle meaty tones. Savory complexity builds on a textural palate while holding impressive composure through to a finish of serious length accented by a twist of tannins.

The stunning 2022 Cabernet Shiraz The Peake shows exceptional clarity of fruit, delicacy and detail. It opens with wafts of violet and rubbed sage over a generous core of pure blueberry. Exquisite balance is the key to the 2022, with ample flavor and a rich core of fine yet firm tannins singing over a long, sustained finish. This whispers rather than shouts and is all the better for it.

87% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot and 2% Malbec, for all Aussie intents and purposes this is Hickinbothams Cabernet Franc bottling and it is handpicked, destemmed and whole berry sorted. 16 days on skins basket pressed matured in French oak barriques of which 60% was new for 15 months. Like a shiny new toy this is impossible to put down. Bramble, cassis and sandy potting soil, like the type used for succulents and cactus. There is an edge of salted licorice, handfuls of star anise and cardamom. Oak looks quite polished here and adds to the gleam and glamour of the wine. It’s seductive and supple with gathering waves of acidity that linger. A wine that’s pleasure is immediate and yet worth some time in the decanter to get to know it better, before you envelop it.

Hand picked, destemmed and gently crushed, basket pressed, 16 days on skins and matured in French oak barriques of which 50% was new for 12 months. There is Merlot and then there is MERLOT, a wine with heart and soul and a gentleness guiding pressure of oak. This has it all in spades and then some. Black cherries, carob and stewed plums. There are Rosella flowers and a ground black sesame paste. Some bayleaf and thistle. Acidity walks an ascending line without artifact and the wine manages that leisurely form that only merlot can provide. Satisfying, flavour and harmonious. Some powdery tannins mean this will age another 4-5 years gracefully. Beef and black bean stir fry would set this off nicely.

Vivid aromatics with bright red cherry and redcurrant fruit. The palate is texture with appealing red fruits, showing nice structure and potential for development.

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Brave offers up a complex bouquet of red and black currants, tobacco, sandalwood, and savory herbs. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with beautiful fruit and a round, velvety texture yet building tannins. There's solid mid-palate depth and concentration. This Cabernet-dominated blend (94% Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot) was aged for 23 months in 81% new French oak and will keep for 15 years if well stored.

The 2022 Caladan Cabernet Franc Napa Valley is a Right Bank-inspired expression from Spring
Mountain that delivers an impressive array of red and black fruits, black cherries, and sappy spring
flowers, along with some classic Spring Mountain wildness and meaty, iron nuances. A blend of
81% Cabernet Franc and 19% Merlot aged 22 months in 63% new French oak, this medium to fullbodied effort shows beautiful concentration and depth, with ripe tannins and a beautifully
balanced mouthfeel. It's a gorgeous, complete wine that will evolve gracefully for 15+ years.

A stunning, complex style, showing notes of grilled peach, lemon curd, wildflower honey and marmalade on a sleek, mouthwatering frame. Accents of lemon verbena, litsea oil, crunchy sea salt and lemon oregano add to the aromatics and harmony, with waves of flavor lingering on the finish. Drink now through 2034.

Gorgeous cassis, blackberries, spicy wood, and floral notes define the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Colline Vineyard, a medium to full-bodied, pure, and focused effort. It shows fine tannins, charm, and elegance on the palate, with beautiful layering and a hint of iron on the finish. Based on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, this beauty will drink nicely for 10-12 years.

Offers a frankly toasty frame of licorice and apple wood wrapped around a more than adequate core of plum and black currant preserves, all laced with a violet note. Sleek and reserved through the finish, with an iron hint peeking out amid the fruit, this offers length and a lovely mouthfeel and should develop well in the cellar while soaking up its toast. Best from 2026 through 2038. 3,500 cases made.

From the west side of the Zena Crown vineyard, and almost exclusively marine sedimentary soils, in this otherwise volcanic appellation of the Eola-Amity Hills. There's a fleshy blue and red fruits with gorgeous florals and sweet earth tones. Earthy and dark-fruited with exotic spices and smoke. Freshness, fruit and dusty blackberries paint the palate alongside earthen mineral tones.

Adjacent to the Sum block, this wine is fully destemmed and all from the 667 clone Pinot Noir. Next to the big Douglas fir in the vineyard, this wine gives off sweet truffle and sous bois notes with sweet and rich black fruits. Taut blackberries meld with a spicy clove. Exotic spices frame the palate with Oregon blackberry, raspberry leaf and a rich, loamy earth character.

Meaning "the crest," La Crête will be released in April of 2026; it's saline and mineral first, with whispers of tart red berries following on. Blood orange and sweet blue fruits align with wild alpine meadow herbs, wild carrot flowers and fresh saline minerality to finish. The 22 bottling of La Crête is sourced only from Emery and Triple Black Slopes.

The only over-vintaged wine at Penner-Ash, the 2022 fruit comes from Zena Crown, Jory Hills and Gran Moraine site floral, spiced aromas, and a palate embued with an elegance to the fruit.
Kate goes for nuance and delicacy with a succulent Meyer lemon pulp.

A combination of Riesling from the 1972 and 1974 blocks of old vine Hyland Vineyard Riesling. Kate Ayres goes for 10% botrytis bottled after six months and aged in a bottle for over a year. Gorgeously spiced with cardamom, sweet peach flesh, and brilliant minerality. The palate is
brilliantly balanced, with beeswax and succulent tart Riesling.

Tasted upon release (February 2025), there's a buoyance and freshness to this Yamhill Carlton bottling, fresh red brambles and wild strawberries with a notion of mint leaf on the aromatics.
The palate delivers mouthfuls of wild fresh red fruits, with raspberries, mint, wild alpine herbs and a taut saline character to the finish. The top 20% of the Gran Moraine fruit goes into this
bottling.

Ovenoy inspired Shane Moore to make this Upland Chardonnay with no sulphur; this is uplifted and buoyant on mandarin, it gives an Old World nod and purity of fruit, from the use of
10-year-old puncheons. This wine has a character that gives you a sense of bravery in the winemaking. Aromatics of tart lemon and wild flowers, beeswax, and the same on the palate.
With intense clarity and persistence

Generous and bold, showing notes of blackberry, plum, huckleberry and black cherry that are dense, succulent and velvety. Details of Earl Grey, rosemary and Saigon cinnamon, along with aromatic sandalwood, leave a lasting impression on the long, expansive finish. Drink now through 2037.—M.W.

Stunning, concentrated, firm and dark, with plenty of torque to the flavors of wild blackberry, blueberry preserves and spiced plum at the core. Dense but polished tannins complement the malty Assam black tea, black pepper and herbal details that continue to emerge on the long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Drink now through 2038.—M.W.

A stunning red, with a fleshy core of black cherry, plum and blackberry flavors accented with salted black licorice, cardamom, Earl Grey and dried thyme. Accents of fresh tomato leaf and sandalwood linger on the finish alongside firming tannins. Drink now through 2035.—M.W.

A stunning white, sleek and precise, with Key lime, makrut lime leaf and Meyer lemon flavors at the core. Details of white pepper, sea salt, jasmine and lemon verbena add complexity, and a touch of matcha lingers on the fresh finish. Drink now. 214 cases made. – M.W.

Bright ruby and purple in the glass. Raspberry, crushed terracotta and dried woody herb aromatics. Palate sings with fresh, just-picked raspberry fruits, as that sweet core evolves we see dusty earth, anise and dried rosemary notes build along the line. Tannins are powerful with a fine grained texture, driving the length and ensuring it builds power right to the finish.