2024 Bekkers Release / Emmanuelle and Toby Bekkers have forged an impressive mark on the McLaren Vale landscape through their highly skilled vineyarding and winemaking. Rather than going down the alternative grape variety route, they have harnessed the region’s magnificent heritage to build a reputation for their Bekkers brand. Their attention to detail, especially during the maturation phase, brings an extra resonance to the wines. This masterful Stradivarius-like touch is what makes these wines so graceful and special.

Giaconda and Henschke 2024 Release  / 2019 Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz, Eden Valley – South Australia / Deep crimson. Beautiful cassis, blackberry pastille, roasted chestnut, espresso, herb garden, star anise aromas. Silky smooth and inky textured wine with ample blackcurrant, blackberry pastille fruits, fine loose knit graphite tannins, crunchy fresh acidity and beautifully balanced mocha, roasted chestnut, hazelnut nougat, dark chocolate notes. A lovely chalky bitter-sweet finish with a fine tannin plume. Saturated and buoyant with superb mineral length. Atypical for Hill of Grace but I suspect bottle age will haul it back into line. A fascinating vintage and a beautifully made wine. Drink now – 2038+ 14.5% alc 97+ points

Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay 2022 / 98p / Pale colour.  Lovely intense grapefruit, grilled nut, marzipan, vanilla aromas and flavours. Taught yet sinuous in structure with ample grapefruits and limes, underlying tonic water, grilled nut flavours, fine lacy textures, superb mid-palate volume and fresh high pitched indelible acidity. A thoroughbred of remarkable richness and torque. A beautifully focused and classic Margaret River Chardonnay showing off the fidelity of the Gin Gin Clone and precision vineyard sourcing. Drink now – 2032

The Penfolds 2023 Collection Release / “A great follow-on release highlighting the timeless quality and singularity of the Penfolds House Style.”

Hill of Grace – Celebrating 60 Years. Part I / The 60th anniversary release of Henschke Hill of Grace was marked with a wonderful tasting of vintages going back to the first 1958 vintage. These moments were a cause for reflection as the vineyard has become one of the foundations of Australia’s modern fine wine narrative.

Penfolds Californian wines are typically opulent styles and show the kindred spirit of Californian and Australian vine stock. 2019 Penfold Bin 149, described as a wine of the world is a Napa Valley South Australian blend and works impressively well. It’s worth remembering that the Australian component was vintaged six months before California and so the concept of maturation time is blurred. All the same the components all integrate seamlessly, and the wine should enjoy a long cellaring career. The same also applies to the 2019 Penfolds Bin 600 Cabernet Shiraz which has hallmarks of South Australian winemaking but fully amplifies the power and energy of Californian Cabernet. The Shiraz component does the job of filling the mid-palate and adding plushness, but the torque in the Cabernet drives the flavours across the palate with impressive velocity. The wine is strangely familiar yet distant perhaps reflecting the cross-Pacific nature of the wine. 

Vasse Felix Tom Cullity 2018 /Medium deep crimson. Fragrant cassis, dark plum, chinotto aromas with herb garden, aniseed notes. Voluminous blackcurrant, dark plum, blackberry fruits, lovely persistent fine chocolaty textures, superb mid-palate density, fresh juicy acidity and plentiful mocha, espresso oak notes. Finishes chocolaty with plentiful sweet dark fruits and attractive mineral length. Lovely concentration, definition and torque. Should last some distance and keep for a while to let the elements further integrate. An impressive landmark vintage. 78% cabernet sauvignon 17.5% malbec 4.5% petit verdot. Matured in new (59%) and seasoned French oak for 18 months. 98 points