Known for its pinot noir and chardonnay, La Crema has now stepped into the world with its debut edition of cabernet sauvignon. Drawing grapes from several appellations, it has solid and well-integrated structure with plum aromas and juicy black cherry flavors with a hint of coffee.

a gem hailing from the remote, western reaches of the Anderson Valley along Greenwood Ridge. With some of the oldest vines and one of the region’s coolest climates, this exceptional site delivers a fresh, mineral-driven Chardonnay that’s as delicious as it is versatile—a wine crafted to shine at the tab

textural and flinty, with a depth of stone fruit richness, as the name suggests, this is one of the winery’s longest standing, most esteemed vineyard estates and will wow red and white wine drinkers alike

f you think Californian Chardonnay is all about oaky, buttery wines at 15 per cent alcohol, try this. Made from vines over 40 years old, with just a touch of oak, this is more like a Chablis in style than most Californians: taut, elegant and retrained, but with nice apple and pear fruit and quite long

this is world-class South African Chardonnay made from grapes from two mountain vineyards, with 10 months in French oak. Bright citrus flavours and creamy depth, beautifully balanced and long

leading with Cabernet Sauvignon, this classic, oft 100-point wine also carries within its textural soul a good percentage of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a handful of Petit Verdot; this is a treat-yourself wine, and no one would be the wiser if you choose not to share

Enjoyment of this special wine begins with admiring its notable hue and complex nose, followed by its strength, heavy body, balance and additional excellence on the palate.

Quite a treat to taste a McLaren Vale Cab like this one, which is just beginning to shift and settle into the mellow comfort of maturity. Red plums and black pu-erh tea, roasted-bone-marrow earthiness and sun-dried-tomato sweetness. Camphor notes of freshness. The tannins a swag of heavy silk. Autumnal leafiness shaping the finish. (TC).

Developing gentle gaminess and tamari-umami underlay, but the fruit is still succulent, red, very gently tea-leaf smoked. Iron and iodine, Sichuan-pepper lift and fragrance. The tannins are beautifully resolved, curving around the fruit and layers of flavour like an aggregate of slender fibres. In a lovely place to drink right now. (TC).

Smells like that moment when you're bubbling strawberries in a pot and suddenly the kitchen is filled with the knee-buckling heady joy of strawberry jam. Wonderful layers of velvet-kiss, scarlet-lip, ruby-pool, indigo-ink-stained fruit and husky, dusky tones of coffee, cocoa husk, star anise. Tannins like an ensemble of cellos. It tastes disarmingly easy and ready and arms-wide-open. Deceptively easy, because this is a beautifully made wine and there is nothing simple about this jewelled Grenache. (TC)

Egregiously heavy bottle. Complex blend and winemaking! Despite four years in bottle, it smells as youthful and fruity as a one-year-old wine. It smells like a bowl of fresh quinces, like daffodils, like wet chalk and bergamot and yuzu cordial. So fresh! And so fresh on the palate as well, although here that hint of wet chalk becomes structural and mineral, taking shape and deepening the curved carve of acidity, drawing the white-yellow notes of the fruit into length, allowing tiny white and yellow flowers to dance on the edges, just out of sight. There is absolutely no hurry to drink this wine that tastes as if it hasn't even begun to get going. (TC).

Transparent garnet. Delicate earthy nose followed by surprisingly full-on strawberry fruit. Still quite youthful with good acidity and smooth texture. I’d wait until at least 2025 to enjoy this but there’s no excess sweetness and hardly a trace of oak. Long. A bit of a charmer but less forward that its Bastard Hill stablemate. (JR).

Tense, intense nose with marked acidity promised. Gosh, and there is it on the palate! Stony texture and extremely youthful. Hovering somewhere between lemon and grapefruit flavours. It certainly has potential but I’d leave it alone for at least a year. (JR).

A little lean for a stereotypically Aussie Chardonnay but this is, on the other hand, eerily like a Chablis with its sleek, stony fruit. Juicy and appetizing. Lots of texture but ready to enjoy already! (JR).

Transparent garnet. Very fruity and forgiving on the nose. Violet scents. Really mouth-filling and already very welcoming. There’s a hint of white pepper on the end. This is a really interesting wine with fruit that subsumes the light tannin. (JR).

Capable and obviously very clean and fresh Chenin. Far from the most characterful at this
stage but it's a very youthful (very pristine) wine. Bright-fruited but too expensive. Maybe
it will bloom?

The aim of winemaker Graham Weerts of Capensis, the Jackson Family Wines South
African Chardonnay project, is not to produce a copy of a northern Rhône wine but
something very evidently true to the site. Very pure, fresh and fruity. Hardly perceptible
tannins and lovely pure fruit. Perhaps not a very long-distance player but very charming –
a wine that improved overnight.

Nice balance between richness and crystalline character, with that grapefruit element running through it. Really sophisticated wine with a beginning, middle and end. I'm not at all sur it’s a bargain(!) but it's a very good drink.

Light nose but really very fresh and crisp on the palate with delicate fruit and more than a hint of the grapefruit character of the informing vineyard. The best-value Capensis wine? Though maybe not for the cellar.