The 2022 Siduri Seascape Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands channels the vineyard’s coastal intensity with precision and flair. Fermented with 10% whole clusters and matured for 10 months in 20% new French oak, this bottling—sourced predominantly from Clone 777—unfolds with savory depth and maritime elegance. It opens with a lifted bouquet of blood orange peel, wild raspberry, and crushed herbs, laced with flint and smoked salt. The palate is sleek yet textural, offering layers of cherry skin, dried thyme, and wet stone that speak to the vineyard’s windswept, fog-laced terrain overlooking Bodega Bay. A delicate smokiness lingers beneath the fruit, giving way to a briny, mineral-charged finish that echoes with lovely energy. A little over 200 cases made.

The Capensis 2020 Stellenbosch Fijnbosch Chardonnay is recognized by the slightly darker color of its label. This is a tiny release of 1,800 bottles and represents a selection of the best vineyards and blocks. At the Capensis estate, Graham Weerts has planted 11 cultivars over 49.5 hectares. The site has rusty sandstone soils, which creates a creamy finish and abundant texture in the wine. Sandstone definitely stands out on the bouquet along with peach, poached apple and almond paste. The 2020 vintage was slightly warmer compared to 2021.

The 2022 Merlot is a blend of 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it shimmies out with showy notes of rose bud tea, Chinese five spice, and sandalwood, leading to a core of juicy plums and Morello cherries. The medium- to full-bodied palate delivers a chewy texture with well-knit freshness and loads of spiciness on the finish.

The 2022 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it features notes of baked blackcurrants, stewed plums, and sautéed herbs, plus nuances of cedar chest and pencil lead. Full-bodied, the palate is taut and muscular with a sturdy frame of chewy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and earthy.

It takes a bit of aeration in glass before this Shiraz, from a cooler corner of McLaren Vale, releases its grip on the cocoa-dusted raspberry, plum licorice and dried herb aromas. Once they’re set free, those layers are hard to stop smelling. As if sensing the more intensely structured vintage, the reins seem to have been loosened a bit on the palate to allow for succulent, silky fruit amidst dusty, chiseled, well-placed tannins. Drink now with protein and over the next decade. Hickinbotham. —C.P.

Cab Franc from as warm and sun-soaked a climate as McLaren Vale’s runs a risk of losing its herbal varietal character to the plush fruit. While there’s certainly no shortage of the latter here (think: wild blueberry and raspberry), the former still flies bay leaf and dried oregano flags high. It’s tightly structured with taut, cocoa-dust tannins, lovely freshness and tension that suggest this could age quite beautifully over the next decade or more. Hickinbotham. —C.P.

One of those wines that changes in glass every time you taste it, Ovitelli ’22 is (at first) ferrous, then earthy then mushroomy. Eventually it opens to reveal complex aromas of wild strawberry and an array of dried herbs and florals. The time on skins within a selection of Yangarra’s now-famed army of ceramic eggs gives a distinctive texture to the tannins, like licking the concrete itself. But it never overwhelms, thanks to the elegant fruit and tangy red berried acidity. Chiseled and foodfriendly, with Euro-vibes. Yangarra Estate Vineyard. —C.P.

Offers succulent black cherry and raspberry fruit laced with a lively streak of savory, plus singed mesquite, red tea and sandalwood notes that all extend lengthily. Mouthwatering threads of oyster shell and chalk lend this drive and precision. Distinctive. Drink now through 2033.—J.M.

Rich, deep and saturated with cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, rose, iron and Mediterranean herb flavors, this red is both complex and intense. Driven by vivid acidity, with dense tannins lending support. There’s youthful harmony, and this resonates on the aftertaste. Sangiovese and Merlot. Best from 2027 through 2045.—B.S.

A wheated bourbon aged five years, this bourbon has a pleasing cookie-dough scent. The palate opens drying and spicy, showing off lots of cayenne and cinnamon fireworks, before fading into smooth vanilla. Hints of toasted almond and mocha mark the lipsmacking finish. 

Sappy but fresh and focused, with a note of wet slate driving underneath the layers of red currant, raspberry and damson plum coulis. Mouthwatering rose hip and rooibos tea accents echo through the finish, which shows lingering tension. Drink now through 2033.

Lush and seductive in texture and elegantly multilayered, with raspberry and guava flavors that draw in accents of fresh violet and dusky spices as this builds richness and tension on the finish. Drink now through 2033.

A Pinot with fragrance and elegant detail that opens with pretty raspberry and cherry flavors highlighted by fresh violet and forest floor tones as this builds grace and suppleness on the finish. Drink now through 2033.

The 2023 Grenache High Sands is a more restrained edition that delivers refined and crystalline aromas of raspberry and watermelon dusted with star anise. It starts a little slowly but then builds savory, stony minerality with chewy textures yet still with a fine, ethereal core of flavor delivered over an extended finish. The 2023 is a sleeper that will be best over the medium term.

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Trueman is a claret style. This is composed of gravel and blackcurrant aromas with a strong, cedary oak tone. A dense backbone follows, with blackberry flavors amped up with marked acidity and tannins providing strong foundations to enjoy after at least another decade in the cellar.

93% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon. The second release of Malbec. Handpicked sorted, destemmed and 100% whole berries retained. Basket pressed and matured in French oak barriques of which 255 was new for 15 months. Perhaps a dialled up version of the Malbec we are coming to know and love in Australia. Here red berries are luminous with red toffee apple, raspberry and Gala apple skin. A hint of potpourri and sandalwood shows off the sweet oak spice. There is a wild lift of florals thanks to some intracellular fermentation and this really pops in the aroma and middle palate of this wine. A touch of creeping ivy and winter pine needle with stirring levels of bright acidity. You are in for a thrill ride with this wine, buckle up and bring out the Sichuan Mapo tofu for a full bodied experience.

Brewer-Clifton aims to convey the unique qualities of California’s Sta. Rita Hills appellation through refined expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. This bottling, made with Chardonnay grapes from four different growing sites, shows a complete picture of the region. It offers a savory nose with hints of herbs and minerals. The palate is very balanced with the fruit playing a supportive role to the bright acidity and seashell minerality.

Supple and harmonious, this expressive red exudes beautifully defined aromas and flavors of black cherry, black currant and violet. The fruit and floral elements converge on the long aftertaste, where a mineral note emerges. Sangiovese and Colorino.

Dark and savory, the 2022 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard is a powerful, medium-bodied wine that’s effusive in mineral and spice, the tannins silky and long. Despite its power, it’s pretty and aromatic, inviting one in with violet perfume. This has long-lived potential; enjoy it through 2032.

The first vineyard Siduri picks in the appellation, the 2022 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is explosive in purple fruit, allspice, and toasted oak, a memorable study in brute power and forceful tannins. Finessed and elegant despite its power and intensity, its beautiful, understated acidity holds it all together, refining the full-bodied nature of this age-worthy wine. Cellar through 2032.

Light and earthy, the 2023 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard has less-upfront fruit but more in the way of structure and acid backbone, showcasing the coolness of the vintage. Medium-bodied, it is savory and lightly toasted, with supple tannins that elongate on the palate. Cellar through 2033.

With a high-wheat mash bill and no rye to be found, this lovely five-year-old bourbon shows all the sweet stone fruit and warm honey that you could hope for. A gentle sweep of vanilla-tinged cereal notes provides a terrifc counterpoint to subtle maple flavors. This is a beautifully crafted first release from the brand founded by Christopher Stonestreet Jackson, son of Barbara Banke and the late Jess Stonestreet Jackson, founders of Jackson Family Wines & Spirits. 94 proof.

This bottling from what’s turning out to be an epic vintage punches far above its price class, and stays on point even days after being opened. Aromas of freeze-dried strawberries set in a pile of dusty white rocks combines freshness with earthiness on the nose. The palate is snappy, bright and yet rich with raspberry, rose petal, white pepper and sagebrush flavors.

Checking in as a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché offers plums, black fruits, spice, graphite, dark chocolate, and scorched earth wood smoke aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows concentration and nice balance, with a structured mouthfeel and ripe tannins. While the fruit leans to the very ripe side, this impressive effort will evolve for 8-10 years.

There's a lot of whole cluster; 50-60% minimum says winemaker Shane Moore. These specific Zena Crown blocks are adjacent to the Cristom estate. Stone and savoury with smoky notes on the nose of rose petals and mountain scrub. On the palate, you get ample fleshy berries; this wine has a depth and sweet fruit character.