From two blocks planed in 1976 and 1989. Crushed fruit, ambient ferment, with 16 days on skins; matured in French barriques (60% new) and foudre for 12 months. Merlot has had a tough trot in this country, but Californian winemaker Chris Carpenter is well schooled in the ways of the grape. This harnesses a more rounded fruit profile, but also with proper linear tannins and drive. It’s a relatively elegant expression, though with a depth of plum and mulberry, subtle florals, graphite, roasted hazelnut and a balanced gloss of classy oak.

Light to medium in color with a gorgeous nose. Pomegranate and cranberry with a touch of oak (very subtle). Rich, without being over-the-top, fruity, but far from a bomb, and fantastic balance. Whoa. Outstanding.

Hibiscus, orange peel, and sliced strawberry aromas. Medium-bodied with a firm and juicy finish. Structured and solid. Impressive length. Layered and serious. Needs time to soften and come together.

A refined and layered red with dried strawberry, cherry and orange peel aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied. Medium velvety tannins, fresh and bright. Fruity yet energetic. Vivid. Drink or hold.

This is a fun, easy-drinking wine that's chock full of yellow and green citrus fruits and golden and green kiwi flavours. The texture is that of rough green kiwi skin-- the kind that feels a bit prickly and tickles the tongue-- but it's not off-putting. It's light and lifted and a great addition to any cellar.

Its first vintage as a stand-alone wine, the 2021 Chardonnay Desiderium does not disappoint. A bright yellow/silver color, I love its nose, which has a really fresh lift to its aromas of lime leaf and lime zest, pristine green apples, delicate spices, and a pleasing, delicate reduction. Full-bodied, it has a silky and delicate, creamy texture, with a more broadly expanding, weightless feel and a long, long finish. It’s very nicely styled and is going to show its best over the coming 8-10 years.

A jeweled ruby hue, the 2021 Pinot Noir The Sum takes on fantastic crystalline and pure aromas of wild strawberries, raspberries, dark stones, menthol, and cedar spice, but it’s not very oaky. Medium-bodied, it has ripe tannins, with ripe acidity and a bit more modest acidity compared to the other wines from Zena Crown, but it’s long on the palate, with a more autumnal sensibility, and it’s going to show its best over the next 12-15 years.

A magenta/ruby-colored wine coming from sedimentary soils, the 2021 Pinot Noir Block 6 was aged for 18 months in 60% new French oak. On the nose, it reveals fantastic, layered, and ripe notes of macerated cherries, mixed berries, peppery spices, turned earth, violets, and piney herbs. Medium-bodied, it has ripe, sweet tannins, with lovely refreshing acidity that makes it cruise through the palate as well as a long-lasting, mouthwatering finish. A very nicely done red in a slightly riper style, enjoy it 2025-2038.

With a golden/yellow hue, the 2016 Chardonnay Dropstone shows how these wines take on a more reductive tendency, with a delicate note of incense and flint rising from the glass as well as notes of white peach, savory herbs, spice, and preserved citrus. Medium to full-bodied, it floats on the palate with a clean, mouthwatering feel and a lovely finish. It’s not creamy, but it has a great note of citrus oil texture.

Raised for 10 months in 50% new 228-liter barriques, the ruby/magenta-colored 2021 Pinot Noir Cascade is expressive and spicy on opening, offering notes of toasted cedar, sassafras, pine, and black cherries. Medium-bodied, silky, and polished, its decadent oak spice offers a lot of perfume on the nose and through the palate. It has a good deal of length and is going to drink well over the next 12-15 years.

A well-driven, composed, textured and focused gran selezione. The nose shows aromas of dark cherries, dark plums, grilled herbs, chestnuts and baking spices. It’s full-bodied with fine, firm tannins. Dense and vibrant at the center, thanks to a lift of spices and dried herbs kicking in. Focused and well defined, with a long, flavorful finish. Try after 2025.

An even split of upper and lower Yarra fruit. Whole-bunch pressed and wild fermented in 15% new French puncheons. Around 25% mlf. A very bright green gold. Attractive scents of ripe white pears and nectarines, lemon curd and just the right amount of flint. Packs a punch on the saline, gently textured, gently chewy palate. Great stuff and the perfect entrée to the year's superb lineup of single-vineyard chardonnays.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Kiana blossoms slowly on the nose like a flower unfolding. Wild berry aromas are laced with wafts of juniper, oolong tea leaves, blood orange and lavender. The medium-bodied palate is powerful, with layers of berry, earth and bitters. It's structured by silky tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity, and it has a pure, expressive finish. 400 cases were made.

The 2021 Pinot Noir Triple Black Slopes has an alluring broodiness to its aromas that calls you back to the glass again and again. Pomegranate, blueberry and blackberry are laced with details of tar, mossy bark, wild fennel and oolong tea leaves. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with kaleidoscopic layers of wild berries, bitters and citrus. It has a silky frame, fireworks of fresh acidity and a very long finish. It's a great candidate for the cellar. 400 cases were made.

Gold metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Gold metal in 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards

Tiaan Lordon presented this wine. The vineyard is on the edge of Petaluma Gap and was planted in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a very cool site that faces west, with 667 and Swan clones. This is a remarkable wine: it has real presence and density, but also freshness. There’s a sweet mid-palate with lush raspberry and cherry fruit, but there’s also good acidity and some nice structure. Has some savoury spiciness and a touch of salinity, but also lovely fruit. Bold and intense with amazing concentration and finesse. Finishes nicely sweet. 

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder includes 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% each Malbec and Petit Verdot. Cassis and blueberries are joined on the nose by hints of dried sage, bay leaf and cedary oak. Like the Cabernet Franc, it's full-bodied and silky, with drying tannins and mouthwatering ripeness on the long finish. Give it a couple of years in the cellar and drink it over the next couple of decades.

A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6.5% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec, 4% Merlot and 2.5% Petit Verdot, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain delivers scents of cedar, pine, black cherries, blueberries and cassis. According to winemaker Chris Carpenter, the blend was necessary to ameliorate the tannins for the restaurant trade, a major market for the wine. It's medium to full-bodied, fresh, smooth and silky on the mid-palate, then firmer and more structured, with dusty tannins on the lingering finish. While it should age well for 20 years or more, I suspect much of it will be consumed on the young side, with a thick, well-marbled steak.

The 2021 Chardonnay Upland is a new wine that comes from a single block of 16-year-old vines in the Gran Moraine Vineyard. Grapes were whole-cluster pressed directly to very old, 500-liter French oak puncheons and matured sur lie with bâtonnage for 19 months. Winemaker Shane Moore says, “We allow for a native ferment, which is painfully slow, probably because of a combination of our low cellar temps, low nutrient availability in the juice and high acidity. I’m talking about nine or more months of primary fermentation, then multiple months of malolactic fermentation afterward.” Very little sulfur is added throughout the winemaking process, and it was bottled under Diam 30 corks. The Upland Chardonnay pairs opulence with energy, and this first release is very impressive. It has generous yet detailed scents of peach, honeycomb, pie crust and almonds with wafts of graham cracker and crème brûlée. The medium-bodied palate offers a highly concentrated core of honeyed, nutty fruit and a luxuriously satiny texture. It has a foil of firm, vibrant acidity and a very long, mouth-coating finish. 144 cases were made.

The 2021 Chardonnay Broken Road is a youthful yellow/green hue and is lifted in the glass with aromas of saline crushed stones, citrus blossoms, baking spice, and fresh pear. Medium to full-bodied, it has the most tension throughout the palate, with a bright feel and ripe acidity. It never feels austere, and it has a long finish. A lovely wine, it’s going to have a lot of longevity over the coming 10 years. It might be my personal favorite of the whites.

Displaying a youthful yellow/silver color, the 2021 Chardonnay Gravel Bench comes from a more shaded vineyard, where it has a shorter exposure to the afternoon sun. Aged for 10 months in 36% new French oak, in the glass it boasts notes of toasted spiced, lemon balm, melon, and green pear. On the palate, it offers more intensity in this medium to full-bodied Chardonnay, with a lovely chalky texture and a good deal of richness. It’s going to improve if given the chance and will drink well over the coming 8-10 years. Drink 2025-2035.

Magenta/purple-colored, the 2022 Zinfandel Hartford Vineyard is ripe with notes of black
cherry liqueur, licorice, violets, and blue fruit coming through. Full-bodied and ripe, it
has good mouthwatering fresh acidity, fine tannin structure, and good energy. I like this
one a lot. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.

A deeper magenta/ruby color, the 2022 Pinot Noir Sealift Vineyard was raised for 14 months in 8% new French oak and is inviting with aromas of kirsch, violets, delicate notes of licorice, and mossy earth. Medium-bodied, it has a refined and luxuriously seamless texture, with a weightless feel all the way through as well as a long finish. It’s very appealing now but will hold up over the next 15 years.

Moving north to the Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills of Oregon, the 2022 Chardonnay Warrior Princess Block is a youthful golden yellow color and has a lifted flinty reduction on the nose, with notes of white pepper, lemon balm, bright green apples, and fresh yellow flowers. Chalky and medium-bodied, it has lovely focus and tension to it, with a long, mouthwatering finish. I love a lot of wines from this vineyard site, and this one is no exception. It’s going to have a good deal of longevity over the next 8-10 years