The 2019 Zinfandel Jolene's Vineyard Old Vine is another beauty. Revealing a ruby/purple hue as well as a beautiful nose of ripe blueberries, red plums, flowery incense, and sandalwood, this outstanding red hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, elegant, layered texture, perfectly integrated tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s already hard to resist, but I think it has the balance as well as the density to keep for at least 5-7 years, if not upwards of a decade if you’re so inclined. There’s certainly no need to delay gratification, though.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Land's Edge Vineyards is another Sonoma Coast release from this great producer. Medium ruby/purple-hued, with an exotic bouquet of black cherries, blueberries, candied violets, and flowery incense, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, a juicy, racy mouthfeel, supple tannins, and a great finish. It will benefit from a year in bottle and drink brilliantly through at least 2030.

Coming from the Anderson Valley, the 2018 Pinot Noir Velvet Sisters has textbook savory, herbal, mineral style as well as wonderful darker cherry and exotic blueberry fruits, medium to full body, loads of floral and violet nuances, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's up-front and fruit-forward, yet it has plenty of tannins as well as remarkable purity and freshness. Drink this singular Pinot Noir over the coming 7-8 years.

Slightly more pear and honeyed peach fruits as well as honeysuckle, sappy green herbs, and a subtle sense of minerality emerge from the 2018 Chardonnay Fog Dance Vineyard, a more focused, elegant wine from the cooler Green River section of the Russian River Valley. The purity of fruit is spot on, I love its overall balance, and this crisp yet rich 2018 is going to keep for 5-7 years, if not longer.

The 2018 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard, which comes from the cooler Green Valley portion of the Russian River, offers a very clean, pure, complex style that's already a joy to drink. Notes of honeyed orchard fruits, spice, brioche, and floral nuances give way to a powerful, concentrated Chardonnay that has good acidity, plenty of mid-palate depth and richness, and a great finish.

I always seem to find a tropical slant in Chardonnay from Carneros, and the 2018 Chardonnay Sevens Bench Vineyard has it in spades, with ample pineapple, honeyed peach, pear, and toasted spice-like aromas and flavors. This is another balanced, rich, medium to full-bodied Chardonnay from this estate that's loaded with character. Drink it over the coming 5-7 years.

This has a rich, red-plum, red-berry and pastry nose with some stony elements on offer, too. Offers perfume and an almost chalky edge and the spice is starting to build here. The palate has exceptional tautness and a lively, crunchy texture. Red and dark-berry flavors abound. Long finish. So smoothly resolved and powerful. From biodynamically grown grapes. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

This packs in lots of dense yet sleek blackberry, mulberry and black currant fruit flavors, while anise, sassafras and violet notes add range throughout. There's plenty of structure embedded as well, though it tilts to the zesty, acid-driven side of the ledger, further enlivening the fruit. This has a serious oak treatment, but it's very precise and fine-grained. For the cellar. Best from 2022 through 2038.

Jam-packed with bright and juicy cassis, plum preserves and raspberry reduction notes, this pumps along nicely, with sleek licorice and graphite notes adding support. Flashes of sweet bay leaf and violet skitter through, and there's serious coiled-up energy on the finish, so a little patience will be rewarded. Best from 2022 through 2038.

Medium to light red/purple colour. Very floral and rose-petally, with a tinge of lavender. Highly aromatic pinot. The palate is light to medium-weight and finely-textured, with a sheen of firm but fine tannins adding grip and structure. The aftertaste has a brothy umami savouriness and a lingering aftertaste. Compact and focused. An excellent Yarra pinot but if anything just a bit light. (Site is 230m, similar altitude as Applejack but the difference is the soil, which is red basalt)

Medium-depth red/purple hue. Lovely ripe red to dark cherry aromas, fresh and bright, already very accessible. Ample fine tannins , in balance. Beautifully made. A juicy pinot to enjoy relatively young. This gives a stack of pleasure. (One of their warmest sites, the earliest pinot harvested; 100m altitude, east facing. All MV6 clone.)

Slightly reductive at first—smoky, then talcy and restrained, fresh and crisply tart, refined and lingering, with a hunger-inducing saltiness and grip at the finish. A beautifully refined, subtle and harmonious wine. (300m altitude. Unfiltered. Tiny crop due to poor fruit-set)

This coastal wine comes from a site north of Fort Ross and at high elevation. Rich and rounded in style, it has texture and complexity that complements and tames the opulent flavors of peach and vanilla. The finish is spicy and lifted, with a lasting tang. Enjoy from 2028–2032.

It can be hard to find coastal Syrah, so this hearty version from the producer’s Far Coast Vineyard stands out in several ways. It is lifted in tones of dried herb, lavender and garrigue, with a meaty midpalate that is notable in blueberry and game flavors. Supple, integrated tannins and oak accents surround it all.

A full-bodied, generously flavorful and robust wine, this is spicy and earthy in tree bark, cedar and dried herb. Fresh acidity confronts a wall of riotous intensity of crushed rock and deep, dark cherry.

This is a gorgeously crafted, complex and structured wine, made from a cool-climate site at 1,150-feet-elevation near the town of Occidental. Meyer lemon citrus bursts from the opening, leading the way to a silky texture of great tension and acidity. Green apple, Asian spice and a taste of tea round out the finish.

This deeply colored Cabernet sees small additions of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It is soft and supple, with red fruit at its core. A mix of cherry and currant play well against the savory components and graceful structure.

With a small amount of Merlot blended in, this ageworthy red is thick and concentrated in blueberry, black currant and a hint of black olive. With grip and power, it shows earthy, savory characteristics of cedar, tobacco and dried herb, with a length of firm tannin and integrated oak. Enjoy from 2027–2032.

Complex and powerfully structured, with vibrant acidity and tannins backing chiseled dried red fruit and berry flavors. Finely textured, with a rich savoriness and sanguine accents filling the minerally finish. Drink now through 2027.

Attractive spice aromas are deeply woven into blueberry and dark cherries. This has enticingly complex style. The palate has such impressive intensity and concentrated flavors of blueberry and dark cherry sweep long and fluid. A beautiful, bold pinot. Drink or hold.

This is a young wine that is knitted down in flavour but it is not tight or difficult to navigate. You feel the breadth and complexity to the fruit, along with juicy powerful freshness, and the gourmet packing of liquorice and chocolate. These are big wines that are big but expertly balanced by slate and crushed stone minerality, giving balance and succulence. 60% new oak. 3.75pH. Harvested 24 September to 13 October. A yield of 49hl/ha.

A McLaren Vale Shiraz always destined to impress. This 2018 is no different. Another excellent Ironheart Shiraz. Handpicked off certified organic and biodynamic vineyards, 25% whole bunches were used before sitting on skins for 16 days and 32% new French oak used. It's deep and brooding, dark chocolate and coconut husk reach out early. Packed with interest, cedar, cloves and raspberries seemingly skim across the surface but it's the darker red fruits that get in deep. Hold your breath before blackberries cut loose - it's the depth that screams out and captivates here. The oak protrudes a little for now but this will settle with time. This is most definitely a keeper. Dried herbs and a lashing of chocolate rush late as do fine spices. A finish that runs long and seemingly never-ending. Brilliant! Drink to ten years+.

Very spicy and intense, this complex pinot shows blueberry and dark-cherry aromas, as well as some sappy notes, roses and forest wood. The palate is weighty with plenty of ripe fruit flesh. Quite supple and velvety with flavors that run from red to dark cherries. Flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

Spice, fresh raspberry, sage and dried mint and flowers. Crisp with a fresh crunch of pomegranate, slightly peppery, cool and perfumed, stony almost concrete dust tannin, flesh and succulence, with high cheekbones and fine tailoring. Love the cranberry dryness and fine grip of dusty tannin on a long raspberry sorbet finish. Beautiful expression of Grenache.

A measured yet powerful grip holds interest from beginning to end of the palate. This is just dripping with salinity from crushed stones, graphite and slate - a physical presence that balances beautifully with the fleshy black cherry and damson fruits, and the chocolate shavings. An excellent quality Lassegue, hard hitting and muscular but with pace and persistency. 52% new oak barrels (from 15 different forests - always a key signature of this estate's ageing policy). 3.6pH, average vine age between 50 and 60 years old.