This is gorgeous from the get-go, with the distilled essence of mulberry, boysenberry and blackberry fruit pouring through, all harnessed by a racy iron note and flecked liberally with anise, sweet bay leaf and iris accents. The finish shows terrific cut and drive as the fruit sails through. Dense for sure, but with purity, freshness and energy. Best from 2026 through 2046. 713 cases made.

The 2021 High Sands Grenache leads with spicy oak and juicy, salty fruit. It has a salted humbug candy nature about it, alongside blonde tobacco and green tea, graphite and blood, Boscobel rose and caper brine. The wine is both lush and lean, defined by its score of very fine, profuse, chewy tannins. The discussion of fermentation/maturation vessels in Grenache is rife, with many astute palates gravitating toward egg or amphora for their purity and unfettered expression within the wines. I am less dogmatic and more inclined to swing as a weather vane does in high wind, toward cuvées that I feel express the place, regardless of their vessels. The place in this case is McLaren Vale, specifically the old High Sands bush vine block, planted in 1946. While the oak is evident in this wine, it softens the fruit and texturally creates what I perceive to be a more subtle texture and nuance within the wine. 2021 was a beautiful season in McLaren Vale, and it shows in this superb wine. This is an excellent wine, with a significant price hike this year. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

From the slightly safer vineyard Ray Guerin planted for himself, and now one of Australia’s greatest pinot sites. Incredibly compressed complexity, like Shakespeare etched on the head of a pin. There’s a char siu meatiness lurking beneath bright cherry fruit. Energy, finesse and a beautifully supple mouthfeel.

This 2021 La Jota combines 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 4% Merlot, and 2.5% Petit Verdot. Grapes are sourced from the 8ha La Jota vineyard and 24ha Keyes Estate Vineyard, both atop Howell Mountain. Winemaker Chris Carpenter begins with native yeast fermentations after optical sorting, then pump-overs by hand and pressing at alcohol dryness. The wine goes into a barrel where malolactic fermentation takes place—aged 22 months in 75% new French oak. All of La Jota's barrels are culled from the centre of France and Navarre, and eight different coopers provide barrels that have mostly medium-plus toasts, with some medium-range toasts for Merlot. After every pressing, Carpenter fills in whatever gaps he feels need filling by leveraging the various oak characters in his barrel toolkit. Readers should note that by the time I tasted the 2021 wines with Carpenter (including the Mt. Brave, Lokoya, and Cardinale wines), they had been decanting for about 5.5 hours. A necessary step if you're popping corks on this within five years of their release. In 2021, with yields down 30-35%, the La Jota was very precise and focused, with saturated layers of extremely dark fruit nuanced by very expressive ironstone minerality and fresh garrigue. Full-bodied with robust, broad-shouldered tannins that are chocolaty. More of that iron minerality is layered throughout, and for all the fruit density here, there is a balance of freshness that is almost hard to imagine. So, don't imagine it; snap these up and see for yourself. When I visited with winemaker Chris Carpenter, who oversees production for La Jota, Mt. Brave, Lokoya, and Cardinale, he took the time to explain the distinct difference in his approach to crafting the La Jota and Mt. Brave wines in comparison to the Lokoya single vineyard Cabernets. 'The single-vineyard Lokoya wines are mountain wines that have a good amount of tannin and are in pursuit of the expression of their individual AVA. The tannin is concentrated and differentiates each mountain expression of Cabernet. With La Jota and Mt. Brave, I'm aiming to give the drinker of these wines an understanding of how the mountain expresses itself from an acid, weight, and fruit standpoint without those powerful and ponderous tannins. These wines are culled from blocks in each of the single vineyards that typically have softer tannins, so these are ideal for restaurants or earlier drinking wines. La Jota is owned by the Jackson Family

Winemaker Chris Carpenter says that his Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder is intended to serve as a counterpoint to the La Jota Cabernet, which is from Howell Mountain, but that each wine showcases a softer expression of mountain Cabernet, and one that is poised for earlier drinking for collectors who stash bottles of the single vineyard Cabernet wines from Lokoya in their cellar. The soils atop Mt. Veeder are volcanic and sedimentary, and two sites provide the grapes for Mt. Brave. One is the Mt. Brave Vineyard, formerly Chateau Potelle Vineyard, and the site is above the fog line on the northern part of Mt. Veeder, where the soils are well-draining, and yields are generally two tons per acre in good vintages. The other is Veeder Peak Estate. Each site is about 24ha. This blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet France, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot was aged 23 months in 80% new French oak. Super fragrant with black fruits, black cherry, and graphite minerality with violets and cherry liqueur undertones. Full-bodied with pronounced tannins that have a chalkiness about them, balanced by very soft and supple fruit that makes this wine so approachable in its youth. An extended finish is marked by blue fruit and pronounced garrigue, blue agave syrup, sage, and crushed cocao nibs. Mt. Brave is part of the Jackson Family Wines portfolio.

The Lokoya Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced entirely from their estate-owned W.S. Keyes Vineyard at 556m. A plethora of warming brown spices like cinnamon and coriander are interlaced with cassis, black cherry, and blackberry fruits tinged with notes of liquorice and toasty oak spices redolent of sweet clove with tobacco nuances. Powerful and robust chocolaty tannins are layered with a thread of red stone volcanic minerality. Despite all the power and intensity of the tannins and mineral character, the palate finds release rather quickly because of the wine's vivid, crisp, and savoury acidity, which layers in freshness and extends the full-bodied finish. Chris Carpenter makes the Lokoya wines, and the label is owned by the Jackson Family. There are four 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines in the portfolio, each from a different mountain: Diamond Mountain, Howell Mountain, Spring Mountain, and Mt. Veeder. The winemaking is the same for all the wines, with mostly native yeast fermentation, pump-overs by hand, malolactic fermentation in barrel and ageing for 22 months in 90% new French oak. What separates these wines is not style but place. Carpenter believes that fine Napa Valley Cabernet wines are not only defined by the soils of their sites but also by the Bay Area Pacific breezes that roll in and out daily, cooling the valley from the south to the north in the evenings and from the north to the south in the mornings. These mountains define cooling as any place in the valley and the diurnal temperature shifts at higher elevations create an equilibrium where climatic fluctuations aren't as pronounced as fruit grown below the fog lines.

At nine years of age, this has taken on some pale gold colouring. Gorgeous aromas of lanolin, really exciting with layers of nuts and lime flower. It's full-bodied, silky, elegant and fine, and so full of flavour. What an amazing wine! With its wonderful acidity, balance and impressive length, this is perfect for drinking now. From vines planted in 1999 at 175m on weathered sands and ironstone gravels in Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale. Biodynamic. 

A focused, sharp line of citrus flavours and aromas is driven by clean, crisp acidity, with tightly wound lemon and sharp green apple notes propelled by measured power. The Chardonnay I10V1 vine clones from this steep, 280m-high site demand different treatment – no malolactic fermentation, no battonage of lees during fermentation in mostly older French oak barrels, then nine months’ maturation. This is just enough to add a savory rim and a hint of roasted hazelnut to the smooth palate line, without intruding on a clean, crisp finish. It’s clean, confident and assured.

Lastly, the 2022 Chardonnay 3D comes from a sandy, 10-acre vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills and was brought up all in neutral oak. Its medium gold hue is followed by a ripe, exotic perfume of honeyed stone fruits, orange blossom, chalk, flower oil, and brioche-like nuances. This beauty is medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and incredibly textured on the palate, with nicely integrated acidity, terrific mid-palate depth, and a finish that won't quit. Don't miss this beauty. 752 cases.

52/48% cabernet sauvignon/shiraz from 1971 contour-planted vines; cabernet matured for 15 months in Bordeaux barriques, the shiraz in one- to two-year-old French and Austrian puncheons for eight months, then 10 months in a French oak foudre. The classic Australian blend rendered by the twin powers of winemakers Peter Fraser and Chris Carpenter, with shiraz and cabernet respectively. Named after John Peake, who established the first vineyard in Clarendon, and is also fittingly the peak of the range. The melding of the two varieties here is superb, a seamless intertwining, with shiraz gently flexing and cabernet calmly tensioning. A sophisticated note of oak seasons with ground coffee, clove and allspice over black and blue fruits, the wine building impressively with air. Excellent.

Very floral and bright with strawberries and flowers on the nose. Intense. Medium-bodied, very transparent, and brilliant with a ruby stone sort of beauty. Very citrusy. Interesting ripe watermelon undertone to it. Drink or hold.

A single-block shiraz; 60% whole cluster co-fermented with 2% viognier and matured mainly in puncheons together with one large foudre. A medium, bright, crimson purple. The first Tarraford syrah since '18, this promptly won the Trophy for Best Syrah at last year's Yarra Valley Wine Show. Aromas of dark cherries, blueberries and graphite, with the viognier adding some exotic allspice and incense notes. Concentrated, tightly focused and beautifully balanced. Impressively long on the floral-infused finish. Super wine.

From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere; 10% whole bunches and matured nine months in French barriques (25% new). A deep ruby. Aromas of kirsch, damson plums, licorice root and spices; this heady, concentrated wine has a lot of meat on the bones, with ripe, persistent tannins boding well for the future. A great contrast to the more delicate Giant Steps wines such as Bastard Hill and Primavera.

Made with 20% whole bunches. All D clones. Matured in barriques (20% new). A light, very bright crimson. Smells like a rose garden with a little lavender thrown in! You'll also find aromas of sour cherries and blood oranges. Poised, elegant and persistent, this flows mellifluously across the palate. A classic Upper Yarra pinot, driven as much by its fine vein of acidity as its silken tannins.

Made from a 50/50% blend of Gingin and Bernard clones planted between 100 and 200m in Gruyere. Whole-bunch pressed to French puncheons (25% new oak) with 15% mlf. Right now, this is the most salivating and seductive of Giant Step's superb array of single-vineyard chardonnays from '23. Perfectly ripened white peach, pear and some marine scents lead onto the palate, which is gently textured, saline and structured. The finish is energetic, nutty and long.

Since his start in the 1990s, Greg Brewer charted his own path in Pinot Noir, and the results are stunningly consistent, distinctive and addictively delicious. This bottling begins with aromas that recall eating raspberry sorbet surrounded by chaparral on the seashore. The palate continues that explosive red-fruit-meets-refreshing mint formula into an exciting finish

Enchanting aromas of golden apples, fresh pears and a hint of tropical mango led to a palate bursting with lively lemon and quince. A touch of vanilla oak complements the long and elegantly creamy finish. "

A blend of fruit from the family-owned Rhyolite Ridge Vineyard and Wallis Vineyard, Lokoya's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain combines black cherries and cassis with bay leaf and sage. Full-bodied and supple, with some blueberry shadings on the mid-palate, this is generous, but it still has an underlying mountain structure and a long, dusty but mouthwatering finish.

Sourced solely from the Jackson-owned W.S. Keyes Vineyard at approximately 1,800 feet above sea level, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain features hints of mint, cedar and pine against a backdrop of blackberry and blueberry fruit. This is full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with a long, velvety and mocha-tinged finish. The tannins are broader and plusher here than in the Lokoya wines from the other mountains.

The 2021 Cardinale is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon from nine different AVAs, plus 9% Merlot from the Jackson Family's Keyes Vineyard on Howell Mountain. Scents of black cherries, cassis, graphite and crushed stone appear on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is rich, generous, concentrated and expansive, then tightens up and becomes more classically structured and dusty on the lingering, mouthwatering finish.

From volcanic soils at 2400 feet elevation, above the fog layer, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard sports a youthful purple/black color and is aromatic with notes of black licorice, sweet tobacco, blackberry preserve, and forest floor. Fullbodied, it expands through the palate, with ripe, sweet tannins and a long, balanced, even finish. This powerful wine has a lot of elegance and never feels heavy. It’s a fantastic expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma. Drink 2025-2045.

Last (but certainly not least) in the wide range of Pinot Noirs from Hartford Court, the 2022 Pinot Noir Arrendell Vineyard is from a site planted in 1975 with the heritage Martini clone, in one of the coolest and lowest yielding sites of the Russian River Valley. The oldest vines they have, the grapes in this vineyard struggle to ripen and are often harvested by Hartford Court well into October. The 2022 was aged for 14 months in 34% new French oak barrels and pours a youthful ruby red hue. On opening, it’s layered with aromas of cherry liqueur, cola spice, leather, toasted cedar, and incense. It reveals a good deal of complexity and has a weightless feel with a velvety texture, sweet tannins, and a clean, long finish with lasting notes of tea leaf. This highly impressive offering is going to show its best over the next 15 years.

A rich and opulent shiraz which has been made without the addition of pressings. It’s an approach to retain the life and effortlessness of the fruit while losing nothing in fruit power and intensity. Has slightly more oak than others yet the fruit intensity and concentration laps it up with ease. Grainy minerally mouth feel of perfect balance.

Destemmed, crushed and fermented in 1800L ‘cocciopesto’ (or opus signinum – a Roman ‘concrete’ that was used in bathhouses, cisterns and aqueducts) amphorae, with about 150 days on skins before pressing and returning, with 15 months' total time. Compared to the Ovitelli, this often shows a little more forward fruit and textural flex. In a year like 2022, where tannins and savouriness are turned up, that brighter pop gives this an earlier appeal, though it is no less equipped with mouth puckering grip and zippy acidity. Raspberry, pomegranate, redcurrant, rosehip, musk, anise, dried orange peel, the fruit impeccably framed on the nose, and bound by an intricate net of fine sandy tannin on the palate carrying incredibly long. It’s an exceptional release.

All fermented in 675L ceramic eggs, 52% of final blend on skins for 120 days, the remainder whole-bunch pressed, a further four months in egg after blending. The power of this release is somewhat of a statement, as is the synchronised harmony of fruit and structure. Power is not to be mistaken for heft, but rather a certain density of matter, an intensity of flavour that Is inextricably locked with a commanding drive of skin tannins and subtle but purposeful acidity. Spiced pear, dried lime, green almond, grippy heirloom apple, dried mint … flavour descriptors are inevitably clumsy, such is the individuality of expression. It’s even better on day two, promising a very bright future. It’s world-class stuf