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

Smoky, lively nose with a hint of smoke and lime with more obvious freshness than the Colluvial California Central Coast Chardonnays I have just been tasting. Not austere, not mean. There is quite enough fruit here and some persistence. Though it's not that long …

Tenuta di Arceno is located at the fork of the Ambra River, which flows towards Florence, and the Ombrone River, which flows towards Grosseto. The word Arceno has Etruscan origins and roughly translates to “point of origin.” Wine has been made in this area since the 16th century and there’s a long history of estate owners and winemaking families associated with Tenuta di Arceno including the Del Taja family followed by the Piccolomini family. This eleven-year-old red blend from Tuscany is made primarily with Cabernet Franc. It has aromas of freshly ground black pepper, cassis, and black raspberry and flavors of ripe red cherry, dark chocolate, espresso, and tobacco leaf. It is full bodied in the mouth with silky soft tannins and a beautiful long finish.

Yeeeee-haw! Saddle up
for some old school, bold, bruising Zin fun.

The wine showed a pale straw color. Grapefruit, lemon candy, ripe peach and apple each arrived on the nose. Grapefruit, lemon candy, lime zest and ripe peach drove the crisp palate followed by notes of graphite. The wine exhibited electric acidity and great minerality. It was light-bodied and demonstrated good length. This wine would be an excellent aperitif on a warm afternoon and would pair well with Kumamoto oysters as the winery suggests.

A great spring dinner is lemony chicken piccata with an equally citrusy Sauvignon Blanc. The zest in Matanzas Creek's Sonoma County SB is balanced by some lovely white floral notes. Perfect for Earth Day, as Matanzas Creek is certified sustainable and has fields of lavender that attract all kinds of pollinators and insects.

Grown on Mt. Veeder, this is full of the classic crunchy tannins and acidity you’d expect from its origins. It’s a taut, coiled Cab from mountain-wine expert Chris Carpenter, and the cassis, mountain berries, and warm figs are lent immediate generosity by waves of dark chocolate pot de creme and cola spice.

Crafted by winemaker Sam Teakle from estate fruit grown on Pine Mountain - Cloverdale Peak, this explodes from the glass with crushed blueberries and huckleberries, dates, melted dark chocolate, and toasty cedar, all of which are sweetly spiced with cinnamon stick and grilled vanilla, finishing with a final pulse of candied violets. Even at six years of age, this is still youthfully exuberant, though it’s just beginning to show inklings of the savory maturity it has in store.