Deep red colour with a good tint of purple. The bouquet shows both cabernet and shiraz with the former opening the batting. Masses of blackberry, cassis and violet aromas fill the bouquet, while the meatiness and spice of the shiraz are more apparent in the mouth at this stage. It's full-bodied but also elegant, with abundant tannin firming the middle and finish, the follow-through long and satisfying. (60/40 cabernet/shiraz, the highest cabernet content to date).

Wine of the Week AU This has to be one of the best value wines in Australia. Glorious, fragrant, dark fruit with an intricate, yet silky, tannin frame. The flavours are incredibly pure, poised and vibrant. It is a serious wine, yet incredibly drinkable in its youth. Outstanding value. Drink now or age for further complexity.

Greg Brewer's hallmark on these wines are a purity of fruit, which, in this case, arises as strawberry sorbet on the nose, with hints of thyme and tarragon. That red-fruit focus spreads into the palate, where hints of cherry tomatoes and pepper dust lead into complex herbs and spearmint toward the finish.

Buoyant aromas of Bing cherry and raspberry sorbet are layered with lavender and rose buds on the elegant, approachable nose of this single-vineyard bottling. The palate is crisp in an underripe cherry flavor, with a taut texture and accents of mace and star anise on the finish.

Oregon 2019: 451 Tasting Notes and Scores A very poised pinot with fresh, wild cherries and abundant fresh, forest leaves, wood and herbs, all deeply woven together. The palate delivers a succulent, juicy impression with an elegant, long and unwavering shape. Excellent pinot. Drink or hold.

This tremendously impressive red wine is blended with small amounts of Petit Verdot and Tannat and given 20 months in French oak, a good majority of it new. Reductive at first, it expands to show root beer, cedar and dried herb in a classically structured and hugely concentrated frame of big tannin and weight. Enjoy 2026–2031.

Tasting the Traumatic 2017 Vintage (And Others) in Northern California Wonderful aromas of ripe raspberries and blueberries with violets and orange blossom. Medium to full body. Very fine tannins, which are compressed and fresh. Stones and minerals underneath. Cool and bright at the finish. Delicious already. Drink or hold.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2017 Pinot Noir Seascape Vineyard gives up pronounced notes of warm cranberries, Bing cherries and raspberry coulis with hints of lilacs, underbrush and fungi. Medium-bodied, the palate is charged with red berries and earthy sparks, framed by silken-textured tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and mineral laced.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Jennifer’s comes charging out of the gate with bold raspberry coulis, kirsch and warm redcurrant scents plus nuances of wild sage, damp soil, fallen leaves and spice box. Full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with red berry preserves and earthy layers, framed by firm, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and perfumed.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Far Coast Vineyard is a little mute at first sniff, with the nose slowly unfurling to reveal beautifully perfumed notes of lilacs, Ceylon tea and bouquet garni over a core of Bing cherries, raspberry leaves and cranberries. Medium-bodied, the palate is fine-boned, refreshing and elegantly played with exquisitely ripe tannins and layers of red, black and blue fruits, finishing long and fragrant.

USA, California: More Napa & Sonoma New Releases Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Zinfandel Highwire Vineyard explodes with black cherry compote, blueberry pie, raspberry preserves and fruitcake notes with hints of tobacco, sandalwood and potpourri. Full-bodied, the palate is completely coated with blackberry preserves and spicy layers, framed by soft tannins and lovely freshness, finishing very long and layered.

Napa Valley's 2017s Lastly, the 2017 Cabernet Franc comes from three separate parcels and is 100% Cabernet Franc aged in 92% new French oak. It’s an awesome bottle of wine with classic Franc black tea and forest floor notes as well as perfumed black raspberry fruits, lots of floral and bay leaf hints, medium to full body, fine tannins, and a terrific sense of elegance. It’s a classy wine to enjoy any time over the coming 15-20 years.

Napa Valley's 2017s One of the flagship releases from this estate, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosche comes from a single vineyard (it's one of the earliest single vineyard releases from Napa) in Rutherford and is close to 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot aged in 67% new French oak for 28 months. Its opaque purple color is followed by a stunning bouquet of red and black currants, crushed violets, dark chocolate, graphite, truffle, and hot gravel-like minerality. Showing the elegance and purity that's the hallmark of the vintage, it’s medium to full-bodied, with beautiful tannins and a seamless, elegant texture.

Aromatic, detailed, generous and plush, featuring notes of cream soda and milk chocolate that add a touch of polish to the concentrated kirsch, spiced plum and blueberry flavors at the core. The details of cigar box, espresso and palo santo show appealing precision, exhibiting harmony on the long, expressive finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Drink now through 2035.

Even better than their entry level bottling, the 2016 Brewer-Clifton ‘Machado’ Pinot Noir is a spell-binding new wine from this storied state in the Santa Rita Hills. The ‘Machado Vineyard’ is a 15 acre site that is adjacent to Clos Pepe and immediately behind the Kessler-Haak Vineyard. Planted to Pommard, Merry Edwards, Mount Eden, and 459 clones, the Pinot Noir opens with peat moss and wild blackberry tones that connect with the seaweed and citrus rind aromatics that are all woven together brilliantly in the glass. The palate is lithe, elegant and marvelously textured. Red and dark fruit flavors collide with copious minerals and damp earth undertones, with a beam of salinity that sings through the mid-palate. A complete wine, the 2016 ‘Machado’ will provide an exceedingly long life in the cellar. Drink 2020-2040.

2017 & 2018 Napa Valley In Depth The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (Mt. Veeder) is another huge, tannic wine from Mt. Brave. Inky dark fruit, blackberry jam, bittersweet chocolate, spice and new leather are all kicked up a few notches in this dramatic, unctuous wine. Huge tannins wrap around all of the fruit in a big, potent Cabernet endowed with tremendous personality and class. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that the 2017 needs a number of years to be at its very best.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Retrospective Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard gives up evolving notes of Black Forest cake, baked blackcurrants, dried mulberries and fallen leaves with touches of leather, camphor, roasted nuts and dusty soil with a waft of pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully layered in the mouth, it has firm, very fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced. 360 cases were made.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Retrospective Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard explodes from the glass with wonderfully profound, expressive notions of baked plums, Black Forest cake, chargrill, molten rocks, tapenade and woodsmoke with nuances of dried flowers, bay leaves, truffles and unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied and firm, with fantastic freshness, the palate is laden with black fruit preserves and savory layers, finishing on a lingering savory note. 800 cases were made.

USA, California, Napa Valley: 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Retrospective Very deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Montana Vineyard gives up a gorgeous fragrance of dried roses, oolong tea, underbrush and spice cake over a core of minted cassis, blackberry compote, star anise and preserved plums. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a wonderful savory personality with a firm frame of chewy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a persistent mineral note. 1000 cases were made.

Wells Guthrie made this wine after selling Copain to Jackson Family in 2016. A blend of syrah from the High Rock, Yorkville Estate and Hawk’s Butte vineyards, all between 1,200 to 1,600 feet in altitude, this was fermented with ambient yeasts, then aged in neutral barriques for 18 months. It starts out with the scent of a field of lavender. Then, between the wine’s tactile gentleness and lasting coastal forest scents, it develops into a glorious Pacific Coast red. Underneath, there’s something dark and disruptive about the wine—some tasters found the acidity overpowering or the stemminess overt. As for me, I want it in my cellar.

This vintage sees the split at 59/40% merlot/cabernet sauvignon and that all important 1% petit verdot. Made with the same exacting attention to detail as all the wines in this range: hand-picked fruit, vinified separately, natural fermentation, aged in French barriques for 14 months. Don’t be fooled by its approachability. This is a classy, medium-bodied rendition that will unfurl and garner more complexity given more time. Today, it’s almost pretty, with its array of red and blue fruits, finely chiselled tannins and a smooth texture across the palate.

Fruit from the Coal River Valley in Tassie, but made in the Yarra via the gentle way that defines Giant Steps. Yet the density and power of the place, the fruit intensity, comes through strongly. Dark cherries abound, but so too savoury, umami flavours of soy sauce and dried porcini with meaty reduction and spicy oak adding another layer. Full bodied with shapely tannins and a persuasive finish. A neat counterpoint to the Yarra Valley single-vineyard wines.

This pitch-black colored Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a black cherry and cassis bouquet with hints of graphite and blueberry. On the palate, this wine is full bodied with medium plus acidity. The mouthfeel is round and savory. The flavor profile is black currant and blackberry blend with notes of integrated crushed stone minerality and black plum. We also detected hints of blueberry and dark chocolate. The finish is dry, and its dusty tannins build-up and last for a very long time. The Panel would decant this Cab and then serve it with a Wagyu steak or Jiko's wild boar tenderloin.

In this warmer vintage than the previous one, the inherent power of Ironheart has returned. But it hasn’t lost its elegance or flavor depth. Waves of heady aromas—first fresh blueberries and satsuma plums, then wildflowers, scrubby Aussie bush and roasting herb notes—fill the senses. The palate offers chiseled tannins that juxtapose crunchy fruit. Both polished and rustic, this wine is highly expressive of place and variety. Drink now with roast lamb or grilled vegetables, or cellar until 2040.