Gold metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Tiaan Lordon presented this wine. The vineyard is on the edge of Petaluma Gap and was planted in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a very cool site that faces west, with 667 and Swan clones. This is a remarkable wine: it has real presence and density, but also freshness. There’s a sweet mid-palate with lush raspberry and cherry fruit, but there’s also good acidity and some nice structure. Has some savoury spiciness and a touch of salinity, but also lovely fruit. Bold and intense with amazing concentration and finesse. Finishes nicely sweet. 

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder includes 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% each Malbec and Petit Verdot. Cassis and blueberries are joined on the nose by hints of dried sage, bay leaf and cedary oak. Like the Cabernet Franc, it's full-bodied and silky, with drying tannins and mouthwatering ripeness on the long finish. Give it a couple of years in the cellar and drink it over the next couple of decades.

A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 4% Merlot and 2.5% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain delivers scents of cedar, pine, black cherries, blueberries and cassis. According to winemaker Chris Carpenter, the blend was necessary to ameliorate the tannins for the restaurant trade, a major market for the wine. It's medium to full-bodied, fresh, smooth and silky on the mid-palate, then firmer and more structured, with dusty tannins on the lingering finish. While it should age well for 20 years or more, I suspect much of it will be consumed on the young side, with a thick, well-marbled steak.

The 2021 Chardonnay Upland is a new wine that comes from a single block of 16-year-old vines in the Gran Moraine Vineyard. Grapes were whole-cluster pressed directly to very old, 500-liter French oak puncheons and matured sur lie with bâtonnage for 19 months. Winemaker Shane Moore says, “We allow for a native ferment, which is painfully slow, probably because of a combination of our low cellar temps, low nutrient availability in the juice and high acidity. I’m talking about nine or more months of primary fermentation, then multiple months of malolactic fermentation afterward.” Very little sulfur is added throughout the winemaking process, and it was bottled under Diam 30 corks. The Upland Chardonnay pairs opulence with energy, and this first release is very impressive. It has generous yet detailed scents of peach, honeycomb, pie crust and almonds with wafts of graham cracker and crème brûlée. The medium-bodied palate offers a highly concentrated core of honeyed, nutty fruit and a luxuriously satiny texture. It has a foil of firm, vibrant acidity and a very long, mouth-coating finish. 144 cases were made.

The 2021 Chardonnay Broken Road is a youthful yellow/green hue and is lifted in the glass with aromas of saline crushed stones, citrus blossoms, baking spice, and fresh pear. Medium to full-bodied, it has the most tension throughout the palate, with a bright feel and ripe acidity. It never feels austere, and it has a long finish. A lovely wine, it’s going to have a lot of longevity over the coming 10 years. It might be my personal favorite of the whites.

Displaying a youthful yellow/silver color, the 2021 Chardonnay Gravel Bench comes from a more shaded vineyard, where it has a shorter exposure to the afternoon sun. Aged for 10 months in 36% new French oak, in the glass it boasts notes of toasted spiced, lemon balm, melon, and green pear. On the palate, it offers more intensity in this medium to full-bodied Chardonnay, with a lovely chalky texture and a good deal of richness. It’s going to improve if given the chance and will drink well over the coming 8-10 years. Drink 2025-2035.

Magenta/purple-colored, the 2022 Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard is ripe with notes of black
cherry liqueur, licorice, violets, and blue fruit coming through. Full-bodied and ripe, it
has good mouthwatering fresh acidity, fine tannin structure, and good energy. I like this
one a lot. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.

A deeper magenta/ruby color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Sealift Vineyard was raised for 14 months in 8% new French oak and is inviting with aromas of kirsch, violets, delicate notes of licorice, and mossy earth. Medium-bodied, it has a refined and luxuriously seamless texture, with a weightless feel all the way through as well as a long finish. It’s very appealing now but will hold up over the next 15 years.

Moving north to the Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon, the 2022 Chardonnay Warrior Princess Block is a youthful golden yellow color and has a lifted flinty reduction on the nose, with notes of white pepper, lemon balm, bright green apples, and fresh yellow flowers. Chalky and medium-bodied, it has lovely focus and tension to it, with a long, mouthwatering finish. I love a lot of wines from this vineyard site, and this one is no exception. It’s going to have a good deal of longevity over the next 8-10 years

From a site adjacent to Cobb Coastlands Vineyard that looks out over the ocean, the 2022 Chardonnay Seascape Vineyard pours a ripe yellow/golden color. On the nose, it offers savory and resinous aromas of beeswax, sea spray, lime, and fresh peach. Medium to fullbodied, it has very nice length, a pithy texture, a savory feel, and a long finish. It’s going to show its best over the next 8-10 years.

Ripe yellow/straw in color, the 2022 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard comes from an estate site just south of the winery on fine-loam Goldridge soil. It’s ripe with aromas of gunflint on the nose, with deeper notes of melon rind and a hint of tropical fruit. Medium to full-bodied, it has a wonderful chalky texture and a weightless feel, with a lovely fresh, perfume that lasts on the finish. A gorgeous offering with a lot of appeal now, it’s going to hold on over the next 10 years,

Moving to the West Sonoma Coast (about 4-5 miles inward from the ocean), the 2022 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard boasts has a decadent feel but is not heavy. On the nose, it reveals bright, lifted notes of chalky earth, saline, citrus zest, white peach, honeycomb, and fresh flowers. Medium to full-bodied, it has a lovely freshness, with a kiss of sweet fruit through the finish. It has a lovely, savory, and mouthwatering feel without feeling austere and retains its rounded viscous texture, with notes of almond on the finish. Drink it over the next 6-8 years.

Like this wine’s Chardonnay counterpart of the same name, the 2022 Pinot Noir Warrior Princess comes from Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills of the Willamette Valley. In the glass, it’s a youthful ruby hue and is floral and ripe with notes of framboise, red apple, violets, brown spice, and pine. I love this site, which provides a fresh lift and mouthwatering feel through the palate, with ripe tannins and a linear feel. It retains its good ripeness and is going to age gracefully over the next 10 years.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Muldune Trail is also from the Anderson Valley and pours a more saturated red/magenta color. On the nose, it boasts deeper notes of woodsy spice, polished cedar, toasted incense, black cherries, and dark soil. Medium to full-bodied, it offers an equally rich structure and an earthy tone, with rich, broad tannins and earthy notes of black tea on the finish. This one is going to benefit another year or so and will drink well 2025-2040.

The deep ruby/magenta 2022 Pinot Noir MacLean's Block comes from a vineyard that lies just east of the town of Occidental, and the 2022 returns to its hallmark Russian River Valley personality. Aged in 5% new French oak for 16 months before bottling, it’s generous on the nose with notes of toasted cedar, sassafras, woodsy spice, and black cherry. Leaning toward full-bodied, it fills the palate with good purity and ripeness and a long finish that builds. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.

Pouring a ripe ruby red color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Hailey's Block comes from a colder area of low-lying vineyards in the Green Valley and offers a much spicier profile, revealing notes of cedar, cinnamon, wild strawberries, and potpourri. It displays good linear intensity on the palate, with lovely, focused purity, fine, well-defined tannins, and a kiss of juicy fruit throughout the finish. A very charming wine with a good deal of longevity ahead, enjoy it 2025-2040.

Detailed and “of somewhere” (in this case, the cool hills of Clarendon in McLaren Vale), this beauty opens with heady aromas of raspberry coulis, beef jerky, Chinese five spice, mint chocolate and dried florals. It’s a powerful wine but a shapely one, slinking around the tongue—the spiced red-berry flavors fresh, silky and persistent, even within a frame of muscular, sinewy tannins. Drink now through 2040. Cellar Selection.

Lovely layers of rich Bing cherry, cinnamon, mace and bay leaf aromas waft through the inviting nose of this bottling. The palate lands with a body that’s somehow both enveloping and light on its feet, showing snappy fruit and warm spice flavors. 

With notes of perfumed blood orange preserves and mulled kirsch leading the way, this stylish version's elegant, well-embedded acidity lets a backdrop of singed anise, savory and iris notes develop steadily, adding length and range through the finish. This is approachable but feels like it could easily cruise for a while. Drink now through 2037. From California.

From Block 12 on a southeast-facing sandy ironstone outcrop; 15% whole bunches, the rest crushed; matured in French and Austrian foudre for 18 months. A very Rhône-like release this, with peppery spicing, blackberry pastille, moody blue florals, lavender, blueberry, cocoa powder and freshly ground star anise. The elegance here is admirable, with a tannin drive from front to back, and no sweet spot. A very fine release.

This is sourced from a vineyard alongside the High Sands Block and planted in 1946. It’s a bright medium bodied wine exuding so much life and energy. Interestingly no oak has been used and the wine fermented and matured only in ceramic eggs. It’s an elegant style of great purity and power. A fine minerally acidity will ensure cellaring potential.

A thoroughly beautiful perfumed grenache from the Clarendon. Peter Fraser’s winemaking has been deliberately subtle and underplayed to ensure the beautifully flavoursome medium bodied fruit is expressed to perfection. The fruit retains a pristine purity which stems from the decision not to include pressings. Has a slight grainy mouthfeel capturing the slightly earthy varietal influence. Beautiful.

Gosh, this is an interesting wine loaded with interesting varieties. It’s grenache blanc, roussanne, picpoul, bourboulenc and clairette. A mix of ceramic eggs and whole bunch basket pressing, and skin contact before 4-month maturation in a ceramic egg. What you get is a beautiful fruit friendly wine of texture and layered complexity. A sprinkle of dried herbs and spices adds further complexity. So perfectly weighted.

With notes of perfumed blood orange preserves and mulled kirsch leading the way, this stylish version's elegant, well-embedded acidity lets a backdrop of singed anise, savory and iris notes develop steadily, adding length and range through the finish. This is approachable but feels like it could easily cruise for a while. Drink now through 2037. From California.—J.M.