Napa Valley Cabernet: 2018 vintage reportThe perennial centerpiece wine from Jackson Family Wines and winemakers Chris Carpenter. Composed around mountain fruit with supporting roles from valley floor vineyards across the valley. Hedonistic and commanding on the nose, with dense aromas of ripe black currants, black cherries, coffee beans and fresh herbs. The palate is svelte, balanced and expansive. The finish is grainy but fine, retaining a core of bright, refreshing acidity. Very much in the style of a modern cult Napa Cabernet but manages to do so with restraint.

The 2016 Mt. Brave ‘Mt. Veeder’ Merlot is a simply gorgeous effort by superstar winemaker Chris Carpenter that impresses now at the four year mark. The complex and hedonistic aromas entice with sandalwood tones that are woven together with kirsch cordial, cassis and graphite with chocolate covered espresso bean that all take shape in the glass. The palate is soft, seamless and very elegant, as this effortlessly glides across the mid-palate. A deep core of dark fruits collide with minerals, pipe tobacco, loamy terroir and suggestions of coffee grounds on the palate. Rich and layered, with tremendous aging potential, the 2016 Mt. Brave Merlot will cellar well for decades to come. Be sure to give this at least an hour decant if enjoying in its flamboyant youth. Drink 2020-2038

Flagship as detailed as the fynbos bordering its Stellenbosch single-parcel source. 15 full gamut of citrus tones (including piquant yuzu), nectarine & spice beguile on nose & palate; present yet harmonious oak (50% new) & vibrant acidity add impressive shape & stature for 5+ years cellaring.

LDR stands for Light Dry Red, a term used by Maurice O'Shea in the '40s-'50s. From three vineyards, one in the Upper Yarra, two in the Lower Yarra Valley, 51% pinot noir, 49% syrah, co-fermented, very little work during fermentation, matured for 5 months in large French oak vats. The bouquet is highly perfumed, rich and spicy, the palate a near identical display of flavours. This blend is here to stay.

In terrific form. It captures you from the outset. Stone fruit, custard powder, toasted bran and cedar spice notes have sparks flying in the glass. Crushed fennel too, particularly through the aftertaste. It attacks with flavour from the start and maintains a good pace throughout. The finish takes care of itself.

A finely textured and delicious pinot with ripe-strawberry and floral aromas and flavors. Medium body. Fine tannins. Flavorful finish. Always a gem. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

This producer may be more lauded for Chardonnay and Pinot, but this Syrah is downright sexy—cool-climate Shiraz at its finest. There's something comforting yet dynamic about the nose, the way it interlaces juicy, pristine plum and berry fruit with violets, licorice and soft baking and earthy spices. The palate is medium bodied with elegance and focus. Taut, powdery tannins slink around silky-textured fruit, and the gently pepper finish is long and fine. Drinking beautifully now but could likely cellar for another decade.

Deceptively light colour and body, but you have to wait until the wine opens its peacock's tail on the finish. As it does so, a wave of red fruits, violets, spices and forest notes flood the senses. Whole bunch vinification is the key.

Love the aromas of tea, strawberries, cherries and freshly cut flowers, which follow through to a medium to full body. Tight and silky tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Shows focus and finesse with structure. Drink now or hold. Screw cap.

Sourced from vineyards at 984-feet in elevation in the Upper Yarra, the nose of this wine is intensely reminiscent of truffles, but there's plenty of fruit, florals and spice, too, expressed in tones of red berries, roses, white pepper, dried herbs and minerals. Beautifully nuanced and textured on the palate, it's both broad and laser-focused, slinking with savory tannins, crunchy red fruit and herbs. The finish is long and complex, making it impossible not to take another sip. It's delicious now, but it could cellar until 2029.

A very attractive, succulent style with intense and energetic white-peach and lemon aromas and flavors. The drive and depth on the palate really impress here. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

Identical vinification to its siblings, the intention to place all the emphasis on the site, including its micro-flora. A wine with substance and depth, and a (non-residual sugar) touch of fruit sweetness. I am confident that the individual personality of each sibling will express itself more and more over the next 2 years.

Tarraford Vineyard is located in a small valley that provides protection and a cooler site climate than adjacent parts of the Yarra Valley floor, with consequently higher natural acidity than any of its siblings (7.6g/l). The vinification remains identical. deliberately leaving the minerally shell intact.

Apples and honeydew melon with pie crust and poached pears in a fresh, attractive mode. The palate has a smooth, evenly paced and sleek feel. Polished texture and good depth of fresh white peaches and pears. Drink or hold. Screw cap.

A deep well of aromas fill this wine: plum, cherry, cocoa nibs, rose, violets, earthy herbs, baked clay and a charred note, like the pan scrapings of a roast. The palate is velvety and downright sexy, with spicy tannins and terracotta components adding complexity and austerity to the plush, almost playful fruit. It shows a power play of muscle and elegance. Drink now with a slab of charred red meat or age through 2030.

This has a savory, crushed stone edge to the nose with fresh pastry, as well as white peaches, lemon pastry and hazelnuts with honeysuckle and citrus blossom. The palate has an alluring density that holds very long into the peach, lemon and pastry-flavored finish. A spark of zesty lemon to close. Drink or hold.

A spicy mix of red and purple berries, cinnamon and oak-char, cinnamon spiced red plums. There's a lifted red-cherry note to the palate, energy and vigour, pinot-esque in its agility. Delicious and lithe. Masterful winemaking.

Yarra Valley Shiraz tends to be overlooked in favor of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but wines like the 2018 Tarraford Vineyard Syrah should begin to change the public's impression. There are only 450 cases of this beauty, but it should be on the shortlist for Syrah lovers the world over. Intoxicating aromas of violets, cracked pepper and fresh blueberries lead into a medium to full-bodied palate that feels almost Pinot-silky but with great depth and richness and a complex, lingering finish. Approachable now, it should drink well for at least a decade. Exciting stuff at an incredible price!

50/50% Blocks 4 and 5, vinified separately. Block 4 was created from the original planting of Block 5 that included the Red Dog clone. The Block 5 ferment was 100% whole bunches, the bunches removed, destemmed and returned, Block 4 was 100% destemmed and given 7 days post-ferment maceration. It's a wine with intensity and extreme complexity, a long future ahead.

Light red colour with the merest tinge of purple. The bouquet is lightly spicy, meaty and somewhat charcuterie-like, bresaola rather than prosciutto. The wine has weight and grip beyond what its colour implies. A very smart pinot, with a fruit-sweet core as well as charm and complexity. Delicious.

Medium to light red/purple hue, the aroma fusty, earthy, forest floor, a note of oak and a touch of humus. Very rich and ripe, almost opulent flavour with charming fruit sweetness and a succulent core. A delicious wine.

All the Giant Steps single vineyard chardonnay is found in this wine. A combo. The wine is fermented and rested in 600 litre clay egg vessels. Cool. But we’ve been here before. Giant Steps’ winemaker Steve Flamsteed puts very little feet wrong in his quarry. This is another wine to keep his (Flamsteed’s) brain ticking, while delighting and audience no doubt. This one is right on the pace of the 2018. A multi-dimensional chardonnay of easy pleasure but lots of fine detail. There’s a slickness but also light chew to the wine, concentration of flavour is pronounced but acidity is too, lifting the wine and keeping all that green apple, faint cookie dough and citrusy zing all integrated and brought precisely and compact across the palate. There’s a sense of general ‘purity’ too, though a quiet, yeasty savouriness might pop question marks up around that statement. It’s a wonderful chardonnay, character-filled, delicious, just shy of medium weight, bright and vivacious. You’d do well getting into this.

Light, bright yellow hue, with cashew nut, preserved lemon and toasted almond notes in its fresh, youthful bouquet. In the mouth, it's restrained and crisp, youthfully refined, restrained and undeveloped. Oak has been sensitively used. Traces of toasted hazelnuts emerging on palate. An attractive wine, with potential.

The One That Goes All Minerally. Huge mineral feel, indeed, you’d paste this into the section under ‘Wine; Minerality’ in an encyclopaedia. All pebbles and talc in perfume, sure, some citrus, citrus blossom, faint bread dough notes, but you’re drawn to the flint and element rocky notes primarily. The palate does the same, flint, wet slate, smooth pebbles rolled around the palate, olive brine, green apple juice and lime comes in too. Feels quite firm despite a sense of juiciness and being dart-shaped and long. Finishes with the faintest kiss of salted nuttiness. Just beautiful. Poised and fine.

A particularly expressive shiraz with interleaving, luscious purple/dark red fruits with classy ripe tannins. Drink now or in 20 years, or any time in between.