Wild fermented. Open tops. Extracted dutifully across a 21 day window. Foudre and eggs for 11 months thereafter. This is a wine of power reigned in by sumptuous tannins, like matrix dots doused with spice and teeming across the mind's eye. More southern Rhône than Gredos, often the inspiration in these parts. Moroccan souk. Goa trail blazing. Darker, danker fruits, clove and assertive tannins ... those gorgeous tannins, trailing the wine to prodigious length. Wow!

Complex and lifted aromas of grapefruit pith, green melon, feijoa, white flowers and a nutty, nougat edge. Complex, mouth-filling and layered flavours of just-ripe stone fruit, citrus and mealy, nutty oak. There’s fabulous weight and texture and the acidity has lovely snap and crack. Sophisticated, compelling, world-class chardonnay

Hand picked and wild fermented. The norm here. Long, gentle extraction in amphorae, with 69% on skins for 198 days, gleaning long-limbed tannic nourishment and the sense of pixelated freshness that marks so many of the grenache wines. While the buzz is around Blewitt Springs, Clarendon expresses a more ferrous and firm iteration. Pithy. Nobly bitter, if not a little unresolved at the finish. Cherry cola, licorice root, dried thyme, bergamot, raspberry and persimmon. Latent but very fine. Your patience will be appreciated.

An exemplar of warm-climate shiraz, full-weighted and plush, yet managing to come across as fresh, poised and eminently drinkable all at once. Not an easy feat. Hand picked and extracted gently, with the cap kept wet across a three-week period on skins. Matured in oak (30% new) for eight months before blending and transfer to an old 25L foudre and a concrete egg for a further 10 months. Raspberry coulis, clove, star anise and black plum. The tannins, impeccably managed, as is the wont here, with a fine line of savoury chew. The freshness, bright and salty. Excellent wine.

A large-framed wine defined by a serendipitous ripening season and skilled craftsmanship. The tannins, impeccably managed and refined. The oak, all sex appeal. The sheer density of currant, sage, black olive, rosemary and thyme, an immaculate forcefield. This is built for the cellar. An Australian wine that tastes, as it always has, as if it was made by an American with a deep comprehension of tannin management.

A joint effort from Chris Carpenter and Pete Fraser. Majority cabernet (60%) riding riffs of cassis, mint, rolled sage, tapenade and bay leaf over shiraz's warmer chord below. A rich wine of immaculate tannic cladding, attesting to optimal fruit quality and a deft hand. Like alloyed ballbearings running through the mouth. The mocha-cedar of the oak is salubrious of feel rather than obtuse or excessive. Maritime freshness, a classy undercarriage infusing energy while towing impressive length. This is an immensely classy wine that sets the bar very high for the quintessential home blend.

Bright purplish crimson. Heady, rich, rewarding nose and subtle palate. Long and a hedonistically made wine. Pure pleasure! A wine that could be served at a wide range of temperatures. 14.5%
Drink 2023 – 2028

Transparent crimson. The Carignan rawness on the nose is just a little too much for me but I know I am biased. Its acidity certainly brings this beautifully integrated blend freshness. And there's that persistence again. Really very well made indeed. Clever Peter Fraser. So much more appetising than many a Châteauneuf. GV 14%
Drink 2023 – 2028

Deep gold. Rich nose but wonderfully tangy on the palate – seriously refreshing. A gastronomic wine that gives the impression of being higher alcohol yet is far from skinny. Some honeysuckle notes and very intriguing. Long and really interesting. More appetising than many a true French white Châteauneuf. GV 12.5%
Drink 2023 – 2027

Broad pear-drop character on the nose and quite enough acidity – counterbalancing some residual sweetness. A popular mouthful in which mouthfeel is all, and which leaves an impression of slightly more than 13.5% alcohol. 13.5%
Drink 2021 – 2023

Quite a deep, lustrous crimson. A lively, slightly vegetal edge to this wine. Luxurious and sensual with good acidity to counterbalance the ripe fruit and impressive persistence. This has the guts to enjoy a relatively long life. Jewel-bright impression. 13.5%
Drink 2021 – 2027

Bright ruby colour and more richly exuberant than the Sexton Vineyard 2022. Sweet and a bit lolly. Not as refined or fresh. Was it the journey or the vineyard? Fine but without great subtlety. 13.5%
Drink 2023 – 2026

Rich, sweet nose with real grunt and user appeal and only the slightest hint of oak. Lots of vibrancy. Pretty smart for an Australian Pinot! Though some palates may find it just slightly too sweet. But it's very well made and persistent. 13%
Drink 2023 – 2027

Pale garnet. Sweetly fruity without excess oak or alcohol and, just, enough acidity. Really quite delicate. And with impressive persistence. Superior Australian Pinot which may not last as long as the single-vineyard bottlings but is a great buy for short-term drinking. 13%
Drink 2023 – 2026

Very pale ruby. Spicier than the 2022 on the nose – an oak thing? Very nice and mellow already on the palate with quite sweet fruit and less freshness than the 2022. 13.5%
Drink 2022 – 2024

Richer nose than the Tarraford Vineyard 2022. Lots of sweetish impact on the palate with just a hint of spicy oak and masses of acidity and a stony finish. This is still very youthful and should blossom into a fine wine but I'd save it for a while. 13%
Drink 2024 – 2030

Fine, intense citrus nose. Very pleasing, well-balanced palate entry and great neatness on the palate. Not showy and really rather burgundian in its subtlety. Very successful. 13%
Drink 2023 – 2029

Pretty smart, convincing and refreshing on the nose. Very delicate with winemaking as accomplished as for the single-vineyard Chardonnays. Lots of fresh acidity but no shortage of just-ripe-enough fruit. Amazingly long for a basic bottling. I'd be tempted to save money and go for this one! 12.5%
Drink 2023 – 2026

Marked acidity and real tingle and palate impact. Racy and lifted. So refreshing! It doesn't really taste a year older than the 2022 and I'm not sure it would have been as much fun to drink in 2022 as in 2023. 12.5%

Dark garnet. Nose of heady, herbal old California (but not jammy) fruit. Lifted with soft tannins and lots of sweet but not sickly fruit. Dry (not drying), appetising finish. Not overworked. You feel this is a vineyard-dictated wine. Tasting it, I almost feel I'm in California. Lots of guts here. Bravo! GV 15%
Drink 2021 – 2026

Transparent garnet. Sweet and a bit lolly on the nose. Some attractive freshness on the palate but it's a bit constructed rather than artisanal. Sweet finish. Well made but just a tad warm on the end. A long way from Burgundy! 13.8% Drink 2022 – 2024

Richer than the Silene and rather more California-tasting. But it's a jewel of a wine that is luscious and has obviously been very carefully constructed. Good balance and not at all sickly. 14%
Drink 2021 – 2025

Saline and refreshing on the nose – influences seem cooler than for the Cambria Chardonnays. A serious, deep-flavoured, complex wine with an appetising green edge to the palate. Quite long. Much more expensive than most South African Chardonnays but one can see that a lot of effort has gone into this. Very long. A complex wine to be taken on its own terms rather than as a copy of white burgundy, with a zesty, dry finish. 14%
Drink 2022 – 2026

Lighter, fresher nose than on the 2021 and less obviously ripe. Very appetising and possibly at its apogee now. Very flattering texture and long. Just the ticket. Really carefully and sensitively made. Pure pleasure. 13.9%
Drink 2021 – 2025

Pale gold. Rather beguiling combination of richness and freshness with a mild spiciness. No one would confuse this with white burgundy but it's a relatively delicate version of California Chardonnay style. Satin texture. Flattering without being sweet. Not overpriced. 13.9%
Drink 2022 – 2025