packed and youthfully taut, displaying outstanding energy to the deep, chewy dark fruit and mineral flavors. This very tightly coiled, sharply delineated Saint-Emilion blend has serious tannic clout that will require extended aging. Should evolve positively for 20 years or more.

Bright, full ruby. Complex, vibrant aromas of cassis, cherry pit, licorice and graphite, with a floral topnote building as the wine opens in the glass. Dense, pliant and suave, with a compellingly layered, fine-grained texture to the dark berry, licorice and mineral flavors. A wine of major dimension but today the firm, noble tannins clamp down on the fruit. I'd love to see this again in six or seven years--in a flight of top 2009 Medoc wines.

(67% cabernet sauvignon, 12% merlot, 12% cabernet franc, 7% petit verdot and 2% malbec) Good bright ruby. Black cherry, minerals, musky Cuban tobacco and leather on the nose and palate, lifted by a minty nuance. Lush on entry, then concentrated, sweet and penetrating, with superb focus and sap to the middle palate. Wonderfully expressive even if still youthfully unevolved. Finishes with full but ripe tannins and a compelling combination of sweetness and energy.

Good bright ruby. Black cherry, minerals, musky Cuban tobacco and leather on the nose and palate, lifted by a minty nuance. Lush on entry, then concentrated, sweet and penetrating, with superb focus and sap to the middle palate. Wonderfully expressive even if still youthfully unevolved. Finishes with full but ripe tannins and a compelling combination of sweetness and energy.

The 2024 Chardonnay 3D offers a yellow-toned wealth of sweet, ripe plum, golden apple,
orange oil and pear tones. Deep minerality emerges with a bit of time in the glass. The 2024
is motivated by bright, lifted freshness that sweeps the wine across the palate as a nip of
salinity perks up the finish. It’s a very complete wine in every sense.

The 2023 Pinot Noir Conifer is a saturated magenta/red and comes from the west side of
the vineyard near Walter Scott and Bethel Heights. It takes on pine, alpine herbs, wild
raspberries, tiny forest berries, fresh mint, hints of blue fruit, and a cooling character.
Medium-bodied, it has refined, even tannins, outstanding length, and wonderful freshness.
Drink 2026-2046.

This medium- to full-bodied wine vividly shows the savory, leafy, peppery side of the grape
variety, with green and black olive aromas and flavors alongside dark plums, light baking
spices, soft tannins and a velvety texture. A blend of 80% cabernet franc, 15% merlot and
5% malbec. Drink now.

Rich black-fruit flavors are beautifully balanced by acidity and medium tannins in this
enticing, attractive and fresh-tasting wine, showing cocoa powder, black plums, black
cherries, blueberries and nutmeg. Drink now or hold

Combining power and polish, this Cabernet offers rich blackberry, mocha espresso and cinnamon flavors that build tension and structure on the rich finish. Drink now through 2036.

I find Clarendon Grenache brings a little more muscle to the table, and this Yangarra Estate
Hickinbotham 2024 from 1962 planted bush vines is no exception.
From unirrigated organic and biodynamic vines, the fruit was destemmed, sorted and
crushed into stone amphorae, where it spent four months on skins before a further three
months of maturation. No pressings are used, allowing the fruit and vineyard to speak with
clarity.
There's a denser fruit profile here than the High Sands and Ovitelli expressions with dark
red berries, strawberries and pomegranate providing the core. Dried red petals add a neat
floral note, while exotic spices ripple through the palate. Firm and tense initially, this carries
the slightly bigger frame I often find in Clarendon Grenache, with ironstone-like minerality,
dusty tannins and a fine black tea grip adding structure. It's not as fragrant or pretty as its
siblings, but that's hardly a criticism when the High Sands and Ovitelli set an almost
unreachable bar. Viewed on its own terms, this is an excellent Grenache with plenty of
character. Be sure to give it some time to open up and settle into its stride

This Yangarra Estate Ovitelli Blanc is considered blending at its best. Thoughtful, complex and beautifully composed, above all, it's thrilling drinking. It's a wine that carries itself with remarkable grace. Sourced from Yangarra's certified organic and biodynamic vineyards, it brings together Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Roussanne in a beautifully considered blend (31/28/22/18). Almost half the final blend saw skin contact, while fermentation and maturation in ceramic egg for seven months have built remarkable texture without sacrificing freshness. Almond blossom rises from the glass, followed by yellow peach, golden apple and apricot kernel. There's a delicious creaminess too, with vanilla slice, Danish pastry, nougat and honey puffs adding richness, while cashews and almonds bring a fine nutty complexity. Despite all this detail and interest, it never feels heavy. The texture is the real triumph - yes! Fine and layered, yet silky, it glides across the palate with a weightless breadth that is seriously impressive. A faint flicker of white pepper and cinnamon spice adds another dimension late. An excellent blend, the considered precision of this Yangarra Estate Ovitelli Blanc has enough to stop you in your tracks. Go here

This superb, pan-Cape Chardonnay uses grapes from Stellenbosch, Robertson and the Overberg. Picked long before the rains in 2023, this is a seamless, self-confident cuvée from the well-travelled Graham Weerts, with wet stone and fennel aromas, stylish 33% new oak, good mid-palate weight and texture, flavours of citrus and tangerine and a lingering finish.

Unirrigated bush vines – three beautiful words – planted in 1962, taken here from block 301 of the Hickinbotham vineyard at Clarendon, all grown using organic and biodynamic farming principles. This was matured in the famed Drunk Turtle vessels – a type of (crushed) clay amphorae. The wine spent four months on skins in amphora, which is a long time. Maturation time (in amphora) total was seven months.

The tannin isn’t quite the long, fine sheet here, which made me question its length at first, though the longer I sat with it the more it stretched out. There’s some heft here in general, and some grunt to the tannin, though it remains modern, perfumed, complex and compelling, if perhaps drawn with ropes rather than with lace. Rust, mace, black cherry, anise, a crackle of old bush leaves, highlights of bell cherry and raspberry, a forest berry and embedded mint note. There’s a darkness to this release but yet ample light and length.

This offers up flattering flavors of boysenberry and blackberry compote that flow forth with a flourish, while sparkles of anise and black tea add range throughout. Chiseled tannins and taut acidity stay embedded to add form and structure as the not-shy fruit takes an encore on the finish. Best from 2029 through 2039.—J.M.

A brooding nose of mulch and dark chocolate mixes with dark red raspberries and licorice. With air, the wine slowly unfolds. Rose petals and chocolate-dipped raspberries are tempered by earth notes of kelp and fresh leather. The tannins are impressive; long, sinewy and fine. Make some room in your cellar for this beauty.

Deep-ish bright ruby with a good tint of purple; the bouquet has cherry, rosewater and earthy/terracotta-like notes while the palate has more of the same along with savouriness and drying aftertaste, the tannins fine and sandy, the finish lingering a long time, concluding with a satisfying firmness. Smart grenache that will reveal more when cellared. 15 Jul 2026

This chardonnay is gold for Australia. I mean, you drink it and just want to go shouting on about how good chardonnay is and, in particular, Australian chardonnay. One sip and it’s Put Down Your Glasses time. Peach, pear, hay and cedar: it’s complex but it’s not complicated. Intensity is excellent, as is the length. Honeysuckle notes sidle in like careless whispers. It’s like drinking a bright day.

This is Tarraford in fine form. It has an inherent and up-front generosity but it’s oh so stylish from the mid-palate onwards. This is not a flamboyant wine but it’s something of a masterclass. It tastes of grapefruit, nectarine, pears, cedar and salted almonds, and from start to finish it oozes class. The length of the finish is exquisite.

What a beautiful wine. The word immaculate springs to mind. Plums, spices, florals, red cherries and peppercorns. A general succulence. A velvety veneer. Impeccable freshness. Settled, and balanced, but bright. It’s all positives here, start to finish, but it’s more than that. It’s a top flight producer turning out top flight wine. Every sip oozes confidence, class, climate and site. This is all perfume, brightness and give, within a structure, elongated context.

The lines are long, the flavour is pure. This is all mineral and white peach, lemonade and pear, with grapefruit biting in the background and nougat tucked within. It’s immediately impressive, beautifully well sustained, complex in a hand-in-glove way. Cellar this; it needs a year or three. It will be great.

Dark plum and boysenberry fruit is ripe and expressive, while bay leaf, sage and ink notes lend a distinct edge. Loamy and grippy through the finish, with a lingering tug of cast iron. Just a touch rugged and old-school in feel, but if you don’t mind that and have some patience, this is really solid. Best from 2028 through 2043. —J.M.

This is given a high-gloss oak treatment, resulting in stylish flanks of alder and roasted vanilla that support a solid core of gently mulled blackberry and black currant fruit. Ganache, walnut husk and dark tobacco notes course underneath, keeping everything honest. Best from 2029 through 2043. —J.M.

This is Tarraford in fine form. It has an inherent and up-front generosity but it’s oh so stylish from the mid-palate onwards. This is not a flamboyant wine but it’s something of a masterclass. It tastes of grapefruit, nectarine, pears, cedar and salted almonds, and from start to finish it oozes class. The length of the finish is exquisite.

What a beautiful wine. The word immaculate springs to mind. Plums, spices, florals, red cherries and peppercorns. A general succulence. A velvety veneer. Impeccable freshness. Settled, and balanced, but bright. It’s all positives here, start to finish, but it’s more than that. It’s a top flight producer turning out top flight wine. Every sip oozes confidence, class, climate and site. This is all perfume, brightness and give, within a structure, elongated context.

The lines are long, the flavour is pure. This is all mineral and white peach, lemonade and pear, with grapefruit biting in the background and nougat tucked within. It’s immediately impressive, beautifully well sustained, complex in a hand-in-glove way. Cellar this; it needs a year or three. It will be great.