Good bright ruby. Black cherry, minerals, musky Cuban tobacco and leather on the nose and palate, lifted by a minty nuance. Lush on entry, then concentrated, sweet and penetrating, with superb focus and sap to the middle palate. Wonderfully expressive even if still youthfully unevolved. Finishes with full but ripe tannins and a compelling combination of sweetness and energy.

Complex and delicious, with fresh, snappy acidity and a juicy tannin structure. An autumnal wine with aromas of fallen leaves, cranberry sauce, ripe wild berries and dried orange peel. A long, aromatic finish. Drink or hold.

Aromas of lemon peel, chalk and delicate white flowers. The palate is silky, with dense bubbles and refreshing, mouthwatering acidity, leading to a long, lovely finish of citrus and blossoms. Drink now.

A Jura-inspired, unsulfured wine, showing aromas of apricot pits, seaweed, crushed hazelnuts and yellow apples, with crisp green apples on the palate. Rich yet fresh, revealing textural acidity and an incredibly long finish. Intriguing and pleasurable. Drink or hold.

This wine is like a geography project in a bottle, with grapes sourced from different elevations, exposures, and soil compositions across Napa Valley. The result is an epically powerful and age-worthy wine. It balances rich notes of cocoa powder and espresso with fruit-forward notes of black cherry, plum, and blackberry jam. The palate also features prominent notes of vanilla and baking spices, from 19 months of aging in French oak (47 percent new).

Aged 20 months in French oak with only one new barrel, the 2023 Chardonnay Skysill Vineyard is picked at lower brix, balanced and lean and yet bursting in impressive, mediumbodied flavor and texture. Floral and savory, it’s bright and gorgeous in orchard and stone fruit, with a hint of oak spice. Only 171 cases made. Get your hands on at least one bottle and drink now through 2035.

From several sites including Seven Hills, Skysill, and Leonetti, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley offers bright cherry red fruit character, light oak and herbal spice, and impressive structure, with well-mannered tannins and tremendous integration of both oak and tannin. Entirely varietal, it sees some lees contact, which adds body and length to this already complex, structured, and age-worthy wine. Hold and enjoy 20282038.

An even split of Upper and lower Yarra fruit; both estate grown and from growers. 20% new oak. Brightly coloured. An immediate and attractive bouquet of white nectarine, lemon verbena, a little flint and salted almonds. Brightly fruited, with vibrant acidity that gives the wine freshness and energy. Drink now and over the next three to four years.

The 2022 Zena Crown Vineyard Desiderium Chardonnay from the Eola-Amity Hills displays a brilliant sun-bleached hay appearance with a vibrant golden-citron center. This medium-bodied white is defined by a tense, nervous energy that showcases salty tropical fruit and crushed oyster shell, evolving into complex layers of toasted herbs and honey-coated pear. High-toned acidity carries the palate through a savory mineral core, where notes of lemon verbena and wet stones linger with incredible persistence. Its sophisticated balance and lean textural grip conclude in a saline-driven finish that lingers across the tongue.

From a cool vintage, the Capensis 2021 Stellenbosch Fijnbosch Chardonnay spends an
additional year in bottle to build complexity and soften the impact of youthful fruit. “We
want to reduce the primaries and focus on the savories,” says winemaker Graham Weerts,
describing this small-batch selection drawn from the estate to create what he calls a
“complete snapshot of the property.” The wine shows impressive tension, firmness and
focus, with layered orchard fruit, baked pear and a creamy, toasted almond–inflected
finish. A subtle marine salinity adds precision and elegance, shaped by cooling ocean
breezes and the decomposed granite soils of the Banghoek Valley. Despite its medium- to
full-bodied mouthfeel, the wine carries a striking impression of lightness.

This elegant Chardonnay, sourced from vineyards in Stellenbosch, is an excellent example
of the thrilling white wines produced in South Africa. The aromatic nose reveals spices that
blend with subtle hints of lemon verbena. Its lively acidity enhances the flavors of perfectly
ripe fruits such as limes, apricots, and melons, creating a delightful and creamy palate.
Sovereign Wine Imports. Editors’ Choice. —J.V

Floral and milk chocolate notes on the nose, blackcurrants and damsons with red cherries too. Fleshy and ripe, I love the tannins on this wine, chewy but with a ripe skin texture - not dry but softly chalky that really extends to a long finish. This is the most delicate, if we can say, of all the three wines with a gentle juiciness and lots of concentration. I like it alot, maybe less forward and upfront than the other two but nonetheless interesting and enjoyable. 5% Malbec completes the blend. Owner Jackson Family Wines with director and winemaker Pierre Seillan of Château Lassègue in St-Emilion.

The 2016 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz leads with 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Shiraz. The wine is rich and dark, with layers of blood plum, dark chocolate, a dense corporeal note (not quite meaty and yet not quite not) and exotic spice notes that waft above it all. There are notes of clove and star anise, mulberry, licorice and even nutmeg. This is sensational, with really mid-palate weighted fruit. It is superb. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2017 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz contains 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Shiraz, and this is the vintage that the late Yangarra winemaker Pete Fraser stepped in and made the Shiraz decisions. Here, the wine leads with an altogether different perfume. In place of the open-weave notes of blood plum and mulberry, we see a smoother, somewhat sweeter profile to the fruit: notes of cassis, bay, scraped vanilla pod and cedar. It sits differently on the palate, too. It is seamless and unbroken. The higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon can be blamed for a lot—in the very best of ways. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2014 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz leads with blood plum and cassis, licorice and layered cocoa. It comprises 56% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Shiraz. The wine was made with Charlie Seppelt (he handled most/many/much of the Shiraz decisions). On the palate, the wine is silky, spicy and attractively fresh. It's leafy too, with sweet tobacco and tapenade to close. These are wines that need to age, and it is displaying that comfortability and grace here today, almost 12 years from its harvest. 2014 was hot in South Australia, and yet the wine retains an attractive coolness and mineral drive through the finish. It is very good. The wine will likely live for longer than the stated window. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2022 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz comprises 52% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Shiraz. The vintage was a lovely one, slightly cooler and wetter than 2021, and the wines have been excellent across the board. Here, the aromas lead with pomegranate and red apple, cocoa and bay leaf, licorice and tapenade. In the mouth, the wine is dense and powerful, with a firm base of tannin and a cool graphite-laden finish. This is a lovely wine here. It's lighter than the 2021 in fruit density, which is in line with the vintage. It's very good. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2018 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Shiraz, and the wine has a restraint and evenness about it that is most intriguing. 2018 was a warm year in South Australia, but I have found the red wines to have incredible energy and freshness despite that. In the mouth, the wine is cedar and sweet, textural and savory, long and persistent. There are attractive notes of bay leaf and cedar, tobacco and tapenade. This is an excellent wine. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

The 2023 The Peake Cabernet Shiraz comes from vintage that was cool and wet in McLaren Vale. The wines have been excellent, and I feel, generally, the conditions in the vineyard were well handled. The cépage here is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Shiraz, and the wine exudes a profusion of leaves (dried and fresh, herbal and floral, tobacco and spice). In the mouth, the fruit is dense and structural, and the length is very good. This is another excellent iteration of this wine, albeit through the lens of this cooler vintage. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. This will be released in 2026 in Australia.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall Vineyard seems to be frozen in time. Fresh blackberry, eucalyptus, incense and mocha coast effortlessly from start to finish, leaving behind a saturation of voluptuous, chocolatey richness but no sense of heaviness. Ultra-fine tannins scream polish. It’s easy to envision the 2016 cruising for at least another decade, such is its balance and sense of nascent energy.

From a site at 950 feet of elevation, the 2023 Chardonnay Gravel Bench Vineyard sizzles from the glass with an array of powerful mineral overtones. Finely chiseled yet ample and confident, the 2023 is a rich wine, that’s for sure, but it’s also a wine that impresses with its finesse and sense of gravitas. Apricot, orange curd, chamomile and hazelnut tones resonate through a long, supple finish. Gorgeous.

Concentrated in floral, rose petal prettiness and an earthy underbelly, the 2023 Pinot Noir Velvet Sisters is impressively elegant and complex. Black tea, garrigue, and fresh soil accent a tightly tannic midpalate of medium-bodied oomph flavored in blueberry and cardamom that finishes, yes, velvety smooth. Drink now through 2033.

The 2023 Pinot Noir Marin County showcases the lesser known area south of Sonoma County that tends to encompass extreme coastal sites. In this wine, the acidity is dazzlingly on point, fresh and long-lasting, a worthy accent to the light-bodied savory fruit, forest, and nutmeg at its core, with a finishing touch of lavender that's so pretty you'll want more. Drink now through 2035.

The 2023 Pinot Noir Docker Hill Vineyard opens to a great floral nose of spicy redcurrant, wild strawberry, and forest. From a vineyard near cool-climate Comptche, the medium-bodied frame supports firm, long tannins and a wealth of savory black tea, rose petal, and cardamom. Just a lovely, impressively made wine, this should continue to drink well over the next 10-12 years.

This is an immensely pleasing Pinot Noir. Voluptuous aromas of plump plum, lush strawberry, and generous cherry open into warmer baking spices on the nose. The palate is fresh and juicy with cherry, pepper, and citrus peel flavors.