The 2019 Pinot Noir Docker Hill was matured for 15 months in 24% new French oak. It has a medium ruby color and loads of fragrant aromas: strawberries and raspberries, white pepper, saline and licorice, with tones of black tea leaves, bitters and garrigue. The energetic, medium-bodied palate is intense, layered and floral, with silty tannins and bursts of fresh acidity that highlight its floral perfume and lingering spicy layers.

The 2019 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1975, which have been part of the Hartford Court program since 1994. It spent 15 months in 43% new French oak and is a touch reductive to begin, opening to dark berries and kirsch with tones of mushroom, iodine and tar. The medium-bodied palate is firm and broody, with intense, earthy fruits, loads of grainy tannins, seamless acidity and a long, mineral-driven finish. It's the most youthfully coiled Pinot in the lineup of Hartford's 2019s, so give it plenty of time to unwind in bottle or a long decant.

The 2019 Chardonnay Three Jacks Vineyard, from vines planted in 1995, was barrel fermented and matured in 31% new French oak for 14 months. It's one of the best iterations I've tasted, combining expansive flavor and texture with precise, laser-like acidity. It offers delicate, pure scents of apricot, dried tarragon, white pepper and citrus blossoms with a stony undercurrent. The medium-bodied palate has dynamic energy from its oily texture and shimmery acidity, and it finishes with tense, mineral-driven flavors. It has much more to give as it unfurls in bottle and will be long lived in the cellar.

The 2019 Chardonnay Stone Côte was barrel fermented and matured for 14 months in 35% new French oak. It's an incredibly intense, expressive iteration with continually unfurling aromas of candied lemon, crushed stone, dried herbs, orange blossom and beeswax. The medium-bodied palate is silky yet concentrated, with loads of mineral-laced fruits, seamless acidity and a very long, layered finish.

The 2019 Chardonnay Radian Vineyard was barrel fermented and matured in 22% new French oak for 14 months. Youthfully shy on the nose to begin, it opens slowly to spring blossoms, quince and white peaches. Medium-bodied and silky, it slowly unfurls its rich, ripe citrus fruits and floral layers, with seamless freshness and a touch of texture that draws out the long finish. It deserves another 2-3 years in bottle to unwind.

The 2019 Chardonnay Far Coast Vineyard comes from vines planted on a mountain ridge north of Fort Ross on the Sonoma coast. It was barrel fermented and matured for 14 months in 39% new French oak. It is bursting with aromas of white peaches, tangerine, ginger and honeycomb, with exotic spicy undertones. The medium-bodied palate is satiny, expansive and intense, with tangy acidity that pulls out highlights of candied citrus and an array of spicy accents. It has a very long, textural finish and loads of personality!

The 2018 Syrah SeaLift Vineyard is a glorious first rendition of a Sonoma Coast Syrah from Copain, matured in 16% new oak and inspired by the wines of Pax and Arnot Roberts, says winemaker Ryan Zepaltas. It has a deep ruby-purple color and alluring scents of crushed blueberries, red cherries, milk chocolate, mint leaves and thyme. Full-bodied, fresh and layered, the palate offers intense fruits with pretty floral and botanical nuances, and its powerful but refined structure points to a long life ahead in the cellar as it continues to unfold over the next decade.

The 2019 W S Keyes Chardonnay was aged for 24 months in oak, 10% of it new oak puncheons, with no malolactic and lees stirring to give texture. It pops with lively lemon curd, fresh grapefruit, and lime blossom notes with suggestions of blanched almonds and mandarin peel. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is super intense, with amazing tension and fantastic length with loads of mineral sparks.

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot, sourced mainly from Keyes and La Jota vineyards. Deep garnet-purple in color, it storms out of the glass with notes of blackcurrant pastilles, plum preserves, and chocolate-covered cherries with hints of tar, cedar chest, and cardamom. Full-bodied, the palate is solidly constructed with a rock-solid texture of grainy tannins and bold freshness supporting the tightly wound fruit, finishing with loads of shimmery mineral sparks. 6,825 cases were made. While the 2018 is bright and floral, 2019 has more of the savory character. Every vintage has a personality, and 2019 is definitely more sultry.

The 2018 Cabernet Bosche Rutherford is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes galloping out with energetic notes of blackcurrant cordial, stewed black cherries, and black raspberries, plus hints of pencil shavings, black olives, camphor, and fragrant earth. Full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid structure of super firm, ripe, tannins and compelling freshness supporting the intense, youthful fruit, finishing long with a skip in its step. It should age very well! 2,200 cases were made. The wine takes its name from the Bosche vineyard situated in the Rutherford Bench, which features deep gravelly soil and a seasonal underground stream that feeds the vines in the spring and dries up in the summer.

The 2019 Cabernet Franc is a blend of 79% Cabernet Franc and 21% Merlot. From Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain, this Cabernet Franc is very different from what Carpenter makes at La Jota or Mt. Brave. Deep garnet-purple in color, it delivers gorgeous notes of red roses and lavender over a core of ripe redcurrants, black raspberries, and mulberries with suggestions of underbrush, damp slate, and pencil shavings. The medium to full -bodied palate reveals a compelling texture of super-pixilated tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and fragrant.

When I was at Yangarra, we tasted the component parts of the 2020 Ovitelli Blanc straight from egg. For those of us who have been to the estate, I am certain you will join me in saying that there is much to love and admire, from the organically/biodynamically farmed and certified vineyards (and winery) to the understanding of the inherent benefits of the McLaren Vale region and its suitability to Rhone varieties, all the way through to the eggs, the amphorae and the other good-looking ceramic vessels in the winery. This is a place of specificity and purpose, responsible for wines of poise and impact. So, to the wine. Composed of 50% Grenache Blanc, 25% Roussanne, 12% Clairette, 9% Piquepoul and 4% Bourboulenc, all components contribute to the whole. You’ll find white spice, flowers, chalk, white tea, apricot kernel, green apple skins, a faint whiff of honeydew melon and nashi pear. The acidity is threaded throughout it all in such a way that it pulses with life, but the main event is still the phenolics, which is a pretty cool balance to strike. In terms of white wine, this is the future of McLaren Vale.

As an Australian, it is hard to read “Roux Beaute” and not think “you beaut.” Thankfully, the internal rhyming suggestion is apt. The 2020 Roux Beaute Roussanne is concentrated and broad, with layers of phenolics in the mouth—bitter almond, green apple skin, white flowers, caper berries, cheesecloth, brine and feijoa, even custard apple, perhaps. It's good. It's really good. It shows that textural breadth and depth can still be lively and bright. This is an exciting wine and very well handled. You beaut.

Red-fruited, nutty, almost raspberry, pomegranate aspects, pips, florals, star anise. It seems slight and lifted, strict and precise, on the whole, but its exuberant fragrance and that slight sweetness to the fruit helps promote an impression of generosity. Talc-powdery, ultra-fine grained, velour tracksuit-esque tannin is another high quality marker, as are the whispers of stalk and briar. This is from a vineyard planted by Lou Primavera 25 years ago at Woori Yallock. Excellent release, no question.

Mid-light purple-red colour, bright and youthful, with aromas of mixed spices, raspberry, smoky oak and charcuterie, gentle palate texture and pleasingly drying tannins at the end. Excellent intensity. A nice touch of fruit sweetness at the heart of it, then a drying flush of fine tannin moves in. Delicious pinot.

Delivers a gorgeous, generous mix of velvety dark chocolate-covered cherry, red licorice and mocha as well as hints of fresh mint, huckleberry and boysenberry at the core. This wine's power is matched by refinement and a long, expressive finish, where spicy notes linger. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Drink now through 2035.

Smoky, peppery and sleek, this medium-bodied wine offers great complexity on an elegant frame. Vivid aromas of black pepper and wood smoke lead to generous but focused blackberry and sour cherry flavors braced by moderate tannins. Best 2025–2030.

Juicy cherry, berry and citrus give life to this bold, lush and brilliant wine, sticky in grippy tannin with a muscular, sturdy structure. Dense and brooding in style, it finishes in bolts of cardamom, vanilla bean and forest.

Velvety smooth and earthy in compost and crushed rock and herb, this hearty red wine is rich in red cherry and strawberry, with a persistence of baking spice. Secondary notes of cedar, cigar and oak provide a savory complement and edge.

Varietally intriguing and compelling in tobacco, clove and blackberry, this full-bodied wine is tremendously appealing, with dark, brooding layers of spice and garrigue. Rich and lengthy, it shows plenty of complexity around a supple core of inviting succulence and well-integrated tannin and oak.

Thick, tannic and herbal, this is an earthy and ethereal wine from the coast, aromatic in rose petal and forest floor. A notable backbone of acidity keeps it fresh and energetic in the glass amid a savory landscape of salty, silky structure.

While the 2020 Ovitelli has this levity, purity and freshness above and beyond Hickinbotham, there’s no doubting the pedigree, tannin prowess and finesse of this wine. I prefer the drinkability and drive of Ovitelli, but I admire the Hickinbotham more, in a way. Richness, ripeness of fruit, lifted on trails of pomegranate juice and rose hip tea, grippy tannins go gummy and draw the wine long, it has a mouth-watering fresh finish at the lingering depths of the red fruit characters. Dried herbs, anise, fennel, brambles, some hazelnut and ashy clove for complexity. Serious stuff, very, very good.

This has aromas of cassis, plums, oranges, milk chocolate, bay leaves and clay. So juicy and succulent, with a medium body and firm, creamy tannins. Pretty hazelnut and chocolate character at the end. Long and elegant. Drink or hold.

Fresh, brambly and fragrant, this has aromas of blueberry and red plum with a very chiseled palate that winds fine tannin around an elegant core of red-cherry fruit flavor. So focused and elegant. Drink over the next six years. Screw cap.

This has such effortless depth and impressive measure. It delivers aromas of ripe red and dark plums with slate and blackberries, framed in fresh, subtly spicy and cedary oak. The palate is packed with ripe red plums, red cherries and mulberries, as well as deeper blueberries and darker plums. The power is innate and the palate so focused. Elegant and pure. Drink over the next decade or more. Screw cap.