Yellow apples, hard melons and minerals zip along with limelike acidity, a hovering note of jasmine in the background. Fervent yet with an elegant, anchoring, tactile quality. Long. Drink or hold.

The 2023 Siduri Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands is sourced
from Clone 666 and aged 10 months in 25% new French oak. It shows a radiant ruby-blue
center with a soft red edge. The nose layers black cherry, wild strawberry, and dusky
blackberry with accents of coastal breeze, herbal citrus, and a hint of baking spice. On the
palate, darker fruit tones mingle with warm spice and a touch of vanilla, creating both
richness and lift. More powerful and concentrated than its regional counterparts, it still
carries finesse through its balance of fruit, structure, and elegance. 236 cases made.
Highly recommended.

The 2017 vintage was not dissimilar to 2011 and 2023, in that it was as cold as 2023,
without the rain of 2011. So here, the 2017 High Sands Grenache was so perfumed on my
first look through the wines prior to sitting down to write about them, and here those
flowers and spices have sunk deep into the fine leather and sweet roasted marrow that I
am tasting right now. This is an elegant wine, with more fruit weight than the 2011 tasted
before it and less upper-spice register that is inherent in the 2023. This is still so youthful
today.

The 2024 Roux Beaute Roussanne hails from a fantastic year in McLaren Vale. Warm and
dry, with a healthy lead-in, thanks to the cool 2023 season that preceded it. I was lucky
enough to taste a bottle of the 2015 Roux Beaute Roussanne last night at dinner, and the
wine was aging so slowly; among some very strong French icon wines, it more than held its
own and never wavered from expressing the freshness and detail of this place in McLaren
Vale. So here, the 2024 Roux Beaute Roussanne is floral and fresh, and the phenolics really
help the flavors to penetrate onto the palate. This is already so concentrated and intense
but with tightly wound phenolics. This will be a superstar. It will not be released until May
2026.

From a vineyard planted in 1986, when the grapes were destined for Duckhorn, La Jota's
2022 Merlot W.S. Keyes Vineyard offers up scents of black cherries, vanilla and mocha—
almost like a coffee-grounds character. It's full-bodied and rich, with much smoother, finergrained tannins than the regular La Jota Merlot. Concentrated and long on the finish, this is
undoubtedly one of the best Merlots currently coming out of Napa.

In addition to fruit from the Jackson Family’s Mountain holdings (Diamond Mountain,
Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder and Spring Mountain), the 2022 Cardinale includes grapes
from the Atlas Peak, Rutherford, Saint Helena and Stags Leap District AVAs. It spent 22
months in 81% new French oak, resulting in a wine redolent of cedar, black cherries and
vanilla. Truthfully, it's not as complex as you might hope for, but it's still a mighty impressive
mouthful of Cabernet, being full-bodied and velvety-textured. It's not quite plush, showing
just a bit of chewy tannin at the moment, but it should prove very enjoyable to drink over
the next two decades.

The 2022 La Joie is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot matured for 16 months in 95% new French oak. It bursts from the glass with explosive aromas of cassis, garrigue, violet and ferrous undertones. The full-bodied palate offers the same open-knit, blue-black flavors and compelling iron-like mineral character. It’s framed by velvety tannins and vibrant acidity, and has a very long, perfumed finish. Its new-oak spice is already well integrated, and it should be long lived in the cellar.

Based on 100% Pinot Noir that was not destemmed and was aged 15 months in 100% neutral
oak barrels, the 2023 Pinot Noir Machado offers Bing cherries, red plums, candied violets,
peppery herbs, and incense. It's medium to full-bodied, has a broad, layered mouthfeel, ripe,
velvety tannins, and blockbuster length. It's a big, rich, opulent beauty that does everything right. I
doubt it's for the low alcohol crowd (it's 15%), but it's a brilliant, singular Pinot Noir that has so
much character, as well as a decade of prime drinking. Drink 2025-2035.

Made from 100% Pinot Noir that was not destemmed and was aged 15 months in 100% neutral
oak barrels, the 2023 Pinot Noir 459 offers candied cherries, leafy herbs, wild strawberries, and
sappy, rose petal nuances. It's medium to full-bodied, has a decadent, layered, yet balanced
mouthfeel, polished tannins, and a great finish. Drink bottles over the coming decade. Drink
2025-2035.

Based on 100% Chardonnay and aged 15 months in 100% neutral oak barrels, the 2023 Chardonnay 3D brings a touch more richness, with Meyer lemon, oyster shell, blanched almonds, and orange blossom aromatics, followed by a beautiful salty minerality that emerges with air. It's medium-bodied, concentrated, has a pure, layered mouthfeel, and brilliant length on the finish. Coming from a site near Lompoc and lighter soils, it’s going to evolve gracefully over the coming decade. Drink 2025-2035.

Fijnbosch is the richest and most textured of the Capensis Chardonnays, produced in what
might be termed a Meursault style. The expression of a single site in Stellenbosch, planted
between 1996 and 1999, it has scented 50% new wood, layers of fennel, lemon butter and
oatmeal and plenty of underlying structure

A wine that demonstrates Graham Weerts' skills as a blender, this uses grapes from
Stellenbosch, Robertson, Barrydale and the Overberg. Fermented in 30% new wood, it has
a touch of malolactic, effortless structure, energy and complexity, notes of toast,
lemongrass and green tea and a racy, saline finish.

This is powerful and structured with lovely sweet floral cherry fruit as well as some blackcurrant. This is structured and focused with floral aromatics combining with dense fruit. Such grippy structure under the fruit, with nice finesse. This has lots of potential but you can drink it now.

This is ripe but really well balanced with sweet blackcurrant and cherry fruit with some warm berry notes. Fresh despite its size, with lovely depth of fruit. Has freshness, a touch of florality, good structure and well integrated oak. Warm and slightly spicy, but with harmony and presence.

Aged 15 months in French oak barrels, 60% new. This is the one that was blended remotely by Chris because of lockdown. This shows fresh, floral blackcurrant fruit with nice density but also lovely balance. There’s a sleekness to the fruit, but also some floral perfume and freshness on the finish. Very stylish.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Block 14 pours a bright red and leaps from the glass with notes of raspberry, spice, and wildflower perfume. Sourced from west-facing, rocky soils, this wine is light on its feet yet precise, with fine tannins and impressive detail. Only produced in standout vintages, this release delivers outstanding energy and transparency. Drink 2025-2040.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Cascade is bright ruby and highly expressive, with floral perfume, ripe raspberries, wild cherry, cedar, fresh herbs, and spice. Medium-bodied, it has fine tannins, ripe acidity, and a long, elegant finish. It’s a standout in the red wine lineup from Gran Moraine. Bravo.

The Applejack Vineyard at Gladysdale in the Yarra Valley is on an east facing slope. There’s a 100 metre drop from the top of the vineyard to the bottom. There’s also significant clonal diversity in this vineyard. It was planted in 1997. The Bastard Hill and Primavera vineyards are red dirt; we’re into caramel-clay soils here at Gladysdale.

When I was a kid in suburban Melbourne various neighbours along my street would, in autumn, sweep up the fallen leaves into brown piles and then burn them, in the gutter, in the street. I’d walk to school and pass intermittent piles of smouldering smoke, which was cinematic, atmospheric, and mind-boggling simultaneously. I mention this here because this release of Applejack Pinot Noir is so inherently autumnal. I picked up the glass, took one sniff and sip, and thought: hello. The smoked herbs, the leaves, the walk through a misty-smoky field of red cherry and plum. The palate puts its foot down, upping the presence, and then fanning out through the finish. It’s a wine of extreme length but it’s the feels, the fleshes and the nuances that motor the enchantment.

Discreet spices and smoky plums on the nose; fleshy and rich in the mouth with sumptuous flavour and ripe fruit suppleness, the tannins balanced and relatively easygoing while they supply a drying, authoritative finish.

Liberal oak at first sniff gives way to superbly ripe cassis, blackberry and dried sage aromas with extended airing. Full bodied and firm with abundant tannins that persist through a long farewell. Superb cabernet indeed.

The ‘Hapgood Vineyard’ is located near Melville winery. The wine is comprised of selections 459 and Mt. Eden. This 2023 Pinot Noir was given a small amount of whole cluster fermentation having amazing weight and freshness, with ultra-pure red fruits alongside orange peel and rose water notes. This is pure Santa Rita Hills. Drink 2025-2038

The Perilune Vineyard was planted back in 2006 as this location is on rocky soils. This saw a touch of whole cluster fermentation. Bright red rose petals collide with wet rock, guava and red currants. The palate is a total knockout with amazing flavor density and tremendous salty character. Only made from clone 114. Drink 2025-2038

The 2023 Siduri ‘Rosella’s Vineyard’ Pinot Noir was stored in roughly 40% new French oak before bottling. This offers a great combination of red and dark florals on the nose alongside baking spices and dense red fruits with Nori notes. This is silky and refined with serious weight and texture, with loads of mouth-watering acidity. Drink 2025-2040

Zin rarely has this much focus and refinement. Multilayered raspberry and boysenberry flavors are laced with savory anise, dark spices and briar patch as it build richness and tension toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2035. From California.

In its second vintage, this Assyrtiko is already delicious. It’s the only planting of the variety I’m aware of in Sonoma County, high up on Stonestreet’s vineyard in the hills of Pocket Peak. The site’s marginal climate, with ample sun and wind exposure, accentuates the Assyrtiko’s wild, herbal character. Stonestreet had a Greek-born assistant winemaker who helped guide the project from day one, and the result is a wine that’s more aromatically expressive than many traditional bottlings from Greece. The 2024 has 80% of the varietal, resulting in a nose that leads with tart apples and layered citrus, featuring notes of orange oil, lemon pith, and mandarin peel, lifted by a herbal note of bay laurel and early spring chamomile. The palate is stunning, with real structure, vibrant acidity, and a textured, slightly viscous mid-palate. Assyrtiko’s natural phenolics, accentuated by the constant wind on the vineyard, bring subtle grip and shape. A blend of stainless steel and neutral oak preserves freshness and a highly aromatic profile. It’s exciting to see this variety pushed into new territory with such confidence.