Day Two

The 2020 Château Figeac is one of the wines of the vintage. Incredibly refined and almost haunting in its aromatics, this is so mineral, focussed, and utterly beguiling. The finish lasts an age: this is one of the longest, purest, most complex wines we've tried this year. You have to have it.

The altitude here means it is picked late: one part at the end of October, and the other parts on November 10th and 11th. The resulting wine is so complex and intense, with an explosive palate of apricots, sea spray, and so much freshness. This is incredibly ripe, but is impeccably balanced with intense acidity. It’s a spectacularly pure, long, wine: one of the best we’ve tried this year.

72 year old vines. Lovely freshness here, dark fruit, tension, power, salinity and nervous energy. This is intense and powerful, with loads of salinity: so mineral, but also lots of burnt orange peel, and some almond kernal. It’s so complex and very well balanced: an astonishing Barolo from a real magician.

Always one of our favourite from the Penfolds stable, Bin 128 is known for its silky, elegant and restrained style, being from the cooler climate of Coonawarra. Bramble-like fruit mixes with savoury, gamey, leathery complexity, and some herbal notes add to this wine’s fresh style. There's more structure here than you might expect and it rewards cellaring.

Tasted April 2023. Incredible and ethereal in style, with subtle floral, bramble notes on the nose, cedar and spice on the palate. Light graphite around pure black fruit. There's a velvety texture and very fine, ripe tannins. Richer chocolate texture towards the long, refined finish. 13.65% alcohol.

Tasted April 2022. The best wine we've tasted from Berliquet, the 2021 is full of dark, brooding fruit. There's a powerful earthiness to the complexity in this wine, and plenty of chalky, cool freshness on the finish. Really well balanced, pure and concentrated.

This is one of the finest sites of the Côte Blonde, and it produces a wine of huge elegance and subtlety, although you’ll want to tuck it away for a few years before pulling the cork.

Thibaud Chevré is a seriously exciting young talent in the Loire. His father spent a magnificent career working with Thierry Germain, and this wonderful vineyard - Clos de l'Ecotard - was the first parcel the father-and-son team bought. It's found right on the edge of the Saumur’s border with Anjou, and its highly active limestone and clay soil produces taut and nervous wines that reverberate with tension and energy, even in warmer years. They only use horses to plough it, but the extra hard work is worth it. The 2021 sees them realising the toil of the past decade, bringing to fruition a truly magnificent Chenin Blanc. It is so expressive, bursting with chalky, saline drive, and a flash of green pineapple freshness. A brilliant Chenin Blanc from a formidably good year for Loire whites. Exclusive to Lay & Wheeler in the UK.

The nose is already inviting, showing power and deep cherry fruit. There’s amazing drive and energy on the palate, with black fruits, spice and fine tannins. The power is undeniable, but it’s so elegant and finessed.

The Durantou stable of wines are, once again, not to be missed, and this is the perfect example. So much going on here, with lots of bright fruit, crunchy tannins, and a long, stony finish. For the medium term this will surprise and delight. Stock up.

Lovely intensity and power. There's so much depth and concentration here, spanning floral notes to deep dark fruits, bound up with lovely tension and elegance. This is beautiful. The finish is nicely balanced with a cool, saline finish and more spice and flowers. Quite brilliant.

From one of the most famous sites in Neive, this shows the classic character of the commune. Very delicate and fragrant, this shows the classic tar and roses that we love in so much great Nebbiolo. Very pretty, and alpine tinged.

Tasted April 2023. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. 15% abv. 100% new barrels. Tightly-wound at this early stage with bright red fruit as well as concentrated blackcurrant. St-Estephe's characteristically austere tannins are there, creating a rich, serious feel on the palate.

Tasted from a barrel sample sent to the UK, the 2019 Tertre de la Mouleyre has a beautifully floral, elegant nose. There's a purity here, and depth to the dark fruit. Notes of violets, silky tannins and plenty of crushed rocks on the finish. Beautifully structured and poised, this is classic claret at its zenith. Wonderful.

From extremely rocky terraces, this is mineral style of Pinot Noir that opens with a lift of wild herbs, violets, and warm earth. Linear on the palate the cherry fruit is accented with notes of pepper and cocoa. Very focused on the finish, this is a very detailed and precise wine.

Floral notes of honeysuckle and white flowers mingle with ripe yellow fruits. A rounded feel across the palate there is still a fine bead of acidity running through the wine which it is complimented but hints of tropical fruit on the finish.

A tightly coiled wine at this stage, is shimmers in the glass with notes of peach, fresh apricot and white grapefruit pith. Very saline and linear through the palate this is wine with a long life ahead.

A really joyful wine, brimming with crushed herbs, citrus and ripe red apple fruit, and wet rocks. A lift of lemon blossom and white flowers, with a line of acidity that dances across the palate.

Clos des Goisses is Philipponnat's single vineyard Champagne from an impossibly steep site, with remarkable ageing potential. Taut, reserved, and refined in its youth, it will evolved and unfurl with manificent grace. The 2014 is a blend of 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay, striking the perfect balance.

Tasted April 2023. 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. 14.6% ABV. 50% new oak. Picked from 1st September. Aromatic and floral on the nose with bright black berry fruit and some fresh cherries. Opulent style of fruit compared to Le Chenade this year, with plenty of ripe tannin and a seam of stony freshness. Layered with stony and dried petals.

Tasted April 2023. 2022 feels like the culmination of what the new team at Troplong, led by Aymeric de Gironde, have been working towards. The inate power of the vintage has been tamed by their methods throughout the growing season, and the result is a spectacular representation of Troplong Mondot. Juicy fruit, but not extreme or overly ripe. Rich, but impeccably balanced. There are fresh herbal flavours, lifted violet notes and salinity on the finish. There is plenty of tannin but the texture is silky, and slightly powdery. Brilliant.

A brilliant vintage for Haut Bailly, made in their beautiful state of the art cellar. There’s so much aromatic complexity with tons of floral notes and fragrant berry fruit. The blackberry, currant and raspberry carries onto the palate with incense, violet, pepper, woody herbs and mineral tones. Smooth as silk on the palate with just a little minerally grip on the finish. Powerful and concentrated but in a lithe, vibrant, refreshing frame.

Château Palmer created this blend as a homage to the days when Bordeaux proprietors would often blend in Syrah to add heft to their Cabernet. Syrah lends the wine a smooth, broad texture, precise tannins, velvety mouthfeel and notes of black truffle. This 10th vintage is characterized by an unprecedented high proportion of Petit Verdot (44%) in the blend and no Merlot.

Promontory is a secluded vineyards in the mountains, acquired by the Harlan family after a chance encounter. The wild, isolated land is reflected in the wine, which has pure, black fruit and lots of dried wild herbs. That's layered with mineral, stony aromas and textures, and fine, almost chalky tannins. The 2019 has beautiful lifted aromatics, and there's a seriousness to the structure compared to the more exuberant 2018.

From the heart of Serralunga d'Alba, this is a brilliant example of why the commune is so highly prized. This is fine boned and mineral, with lots of berry fruit, and also a rose petal character. This will require a little patience. Very good indeed.

This iconic wine of Alvaro Palacios fails to disappoint in 2022, a vintage he is extremely proud of, for very good reason. Expect to see sweet and savoury spice notes combine with crushed raspberries and sour cherry, with blood orange on the finish. The tannins are so fine grained and show the pure classiness of this wine.

This mineral white is made up of 60% Macabeo and 40% Garnacha Blanca, old vines planted on limestone and slate soils. The wine has a great texture and chalkiness that is supported rather wonderfully by citrus, white peach and white blossom notes.

One of Loosen and the Mosel’s greatest vineyard sites on rich blue slate soil. (The Sundial of Wehlen) is a precipitously steep and rocky vineyard that yields wines with a lively mineral character and a delicate, zingy acidity that perfectly complements the expression of white peach and lemon fruits on the palate. The 24 months ageing gives the wine amazing complexity and length.

The Ürziger Würzgarten vineyard forms a massive amphitheatre of red, volcanic sandstone and red slate that is unlike any other site in the Mosel region. It’s compact, energetic and concentrated with a core of tantalising exotic fruits and spicy aromas.

The prestige cuvée from one of the Southern Rhône's greatest estates.

The 2019 Madrona Ranch is big and bold, typical of this cuvee, but has an extra level of refinement in the great 2019 vintage. Red, fresh fruit, blood orange and floral notes join bramble and cassis.

From the Ornato vineyard in the commune of Serralunga d'Alba the 2020 vintage is beautifully open and expressive with wild flowers and herbs at the forefront. Expect the structure that this vineyard gives, along with the vibrant acidity and freshness that the 2020 vintage provides.

Originating from the Rioja Oriental in the Sierra de Yerga, this single vineyard is rather special as it benefits from altitude and therefore has a real freshness and vibrancy to its core. There is a ripeness to the red and black berry fruit that hints to the vintage, but the freshness of acidity and the chalky, firm tannins bring focus to the wine.

Tasted April 2023. Complex and energetic with lots of aromatic and floral character. Dark berry fruit and blueberry, with lavendar, dried herbs and some more lifted fresh mint towards the finish with salty notes. Dark chocolate richness but vibrant and fresh on the finish.

Tasted April 2023. Le Prieuré seems to get better and better each vintage. Aromatic, floral nose, lots of mature bramble fruit but also some crunchier red fruit. Chalky texture, with ripe tannin, and a long mineral finish.

Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) property Château d'Ausone is a tiny estate: just seven hectares, planted almost equally to Merlot and Cabernet Franc. There's something almost mythical about this property, which produces long-lived wines that can thrill with their intensity, density, and length.

Winner of the Best Australian Red at the International Wine Challenge 2024. 70% whole bunch is used to make the Balhannah which gives a lifted, herbal quality, alongside lots of savoury-tinged, blue fruit. There's mouthwatering saline acidity lathered with tapenade. This is a brilliant Syrah and has a long life ahead of it. A lofty example of cool-climate Adelaide Hills Shiraz.

The newest single vineyard in the range, this is fine-boned and very impressive. Notes of dark cherry and wild herbs swirl from the glass, while the finish is pure, mineral, and very long. It's open knit, with so much to love.

This wine is sourced from six small plots planted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These are some of the oldest vineyards owned by Rafael Palacios, located in Santa Cruz do Bolo on the north side of the Bibei Valley. It is a wine that speaks so clearly of the rocky landscape on which it was grown. The nose has deftly integrated oak spice, wild herbs, ocean spray, with a muscularity and texture on the palate that demonstrates the potential longevity. So fluid and crystalline, the finish is vibrant and beckons you in for another sip.

Tasted April 2023. 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Complex and energetic with lots of layered aromatic blue fruit and raspberry. Red cherry, black cherry and plum make a juicy, concentrated mid-palate and there are cooler, saline notes towards the finish.

Tasted April 2023. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14.5% ABV. Long and robust, there's more peppery Cabernet Sauvignon character in the 2022 Clinet than one might expect from Pomerol. This is a powerhouse shaping up to be a long lived wine, but there's also an elegance to go with the structure here. With hints of mint leaf, liquorice, and fennel, the herbal lift makes this an intriguing prospect.

Tasted April 2022. Concentrated and powerful, but still showing the characteristic freshness of the vintage. There's a mixture of ripe black fruit and crunchier red fruits, with a juiciness on the palate which broadens out into a long finish. The structural elements of the wine are tightly wound, but this has the potential to be fantastic with time in bottle. Tannins are ripe and bold at present. There's some lighter, herbal character and aromatics from 30% Cabernet Franc in the blend. 14%.

The 2018 Taylor's is spectacular. Floral and creamy, lovely vibrancy and pure tannins. So saline and intense, with silky fruit. Very impressive complexity, showing baked fruits, cloves, exotic spices, and plenty of energy, too. Remarkable.

The superb 2022 vintage was another relatively cool year for Seña, like 2021, and the influence from proximity to the ocean can certainly be felt in the pure line of acidity and elegant fruit. Winemaker Francisco Baettig talks about 'fine tuning the style' of Seña in recent years, using old oak foudres and reducing the time spent ageing in barrel to avoid having the wine in wood over a second summer. The result is gorgeous and justifies Seña's position as one of the great red wines of the world, with a rich spiced fruit character and beautifully silky tannins. This has all the structure to age for a very long time, and will reward patience.

The superb 2022 vintage was another relatively cool year for Seña, like 2021, and the influence from proximity to the ocean can certainly be felt in the pure line of acidity and elegant fruit. Winemaker Francisco Baettig talks about 'fine tuning the style' of Seña in recent years, using old oak foudres and reducing the time spent ageing in barrel to avoid having the wine in wood over a second summer. The result is gorgeous and justifies Seña's position as one of the great red wines of the world, with a rich spiced fruit character and beautifully silky tannins. This has all the structure to age for a very long time, and will reward patience.

Cheval des Andes is an exceptional blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon from Las Compuertas and Paraje Altamira in Mendoza. There's lots of violet, blackberry and plum here, with lifted minty, floral limestone character. There's a boldness to the fruit in this warmer year and a round feel to the tannins, before leaving a fresh, energetic finish.

Nicolas Catena is the celebrated pioneer of winemaking in Argentina, and this celebrated flagship wine has all the hallmarks of a great Argentinian red. This year it is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 21% Malbec. It's the first time ever that Franc is greater than Malbec, to compensate the warm and dry conditions. With pure blue and black fruit, layers of spice, lifted floral notes and subtle earthy notes, it's bright and aromatic, showing a deft balance of cool, chalky influence and vibrant fruit.

One of the most exciting estates we've found from South America, Otronia are based right in the south of Argentina in Patagonia, an incredibly pure, cool and natural place. Here there's limited rainfall and incredible windy conditions, leaving the wines breathtaking and brilliant. Their Chardonnay has electric, mouthwatering acidity, and fresh, delicate peach and apple fruit, along with delicate white floral elements and crushed sea shell minerality.

This is a brilliant Chenin-based blend but including varieties such as Verdelho, Clairette Blanche, and Colombard it is a racy, and focused wine with notes of white flowers, lemongrass and white tea. The palate is saline and zippy with notes of white grapefruit, lemon essence, and hints of stone fruits.

12 different varieties in the blend but Verdelho and Clairette Blanc based. This offers floral notes of white flowers, jasmine and white tea. Very delicate and finessed, the palate delivers fresh stone fruit, white peach, and little white grapefruit. Very pure and saline on the finish.

At the moment the most reserved of the range, it also holds the most promise. Planted in 1981 on the Paardebosch farm the soils are primarily decomposed granite. Leading with notes of pear, white peach, and white flowers, there is also hints of ginger, lemongrass and chalk dust. Very crystalline and tense right now, this will age gracefully.

The 2023 Steen is a brilliant old vine Chenin produced from a 0.6ha block planted in 1984, at 800m elevation. Tightly coiled, this races out of the glass with energy and vibrancy. This will age beautifully – not one to miss this year.

A lifted, aromatic style of Cabernet which flows across the palate. Aromas of black tea, violets and black cherry with Margaux like elegance and fine grained, supple tannins giving the backbone to the wine.

Planted 1978 by Bernhard’s grandfather this plot is very close to the ocean. It opens with suggestions of ocean spray and hints of stone fruit, but this also has a delicious savory edge too. White grapefruit, ginger, hints of golden fruit ending very focused and intense.

Named in honour of Franco's daughter, Lua, this is a delicate, perfumed, almost Pinot-like Grenache from the Piekenierskloof. Tiny quantities are made, and its rightly soughtafter. Notes of pomegranate and wild strawberries, and also lots of spice on the finish. Just so pretty, long, and refined.

Lower vigour than the Seadragon, here the family benefitted from being able to wait for harvest in 2022. They let it hang for an extra week, and the resulting wine has 40% stems included. It’s dark and opulent, but also very saline and savoury. Impressive.

Using 50% whole bunch fruit, this is a spicy, finessed style of Syrah from the shale slopes of Samantha O’Keefe’s Greyton vineyards. Linear on the palate, there are flavours of hedgerow fruit, wild cherry and wild thyme. The tannins are fine grained, with a powdery texture and the finish is brilliantly pure with a peppery lift.

Mainly Grenache with 9% of Pinotage, this is a spicy, supple red with notes of violets, black cherry and black team. Poised and finessed, this is a medium-bodied red which focuses on charming aromatics and red berry fruit.

A blend of three different blocks on the Klein Constantia hillside, the 2020 Clara is drop-dead gorgeous. Delicate and floral on the nose, with notes of oyster shell, lime blossom, and sea spray, and plenty of fresh ginger too, this is complex and delicious already. There’s the structure here to age beautifully too. Everyone should secure a case of this, if they can.

38% Grenache Noir, 36% Syrah, 10% Pinotage, 9% Carignan and 7% Cinsaut. Minty, floral, and incredibly expressive on the nose, it’s the texture that’s particularly good here. Long, savoury, and very moreish, this is excellent.

The first vintage of this, completing the Grenache trilogy. It’s from the Voor Paardeberg, and it’s a lovely expression of a grape that can too often be flabby and uninteresting. This is anything but. Lime zest and pear flesh, and just a hint of fresh vanilla pod, this is complex, savoury, and delicious.

This is a simply stunning Chenin Blanc from the charming Ginny Povall. From Skurfberg fruit it's textured, with crunchy apples, white flowers, butterscotch and sea spray. Long, precise and ageworthy, it's a simply remarkable Chenin Blanc: a Grand Cru of South Africa.

Spottswoode is an historic Napa property, that is steadfast in its approach stylistically. Here the team craft consistently fine, elegant, savoury Cabernet from its unique spot in St Helena year after year. At the same time, they are bang up to date with their practices in the vineyard, looking holistically at their sustainability measures, planting cover crops, encouraging native flora and fauna, and farming biodynamically. In 2020 they've created a full-bodied, ripe and rich wine with their trademark finesse and supple velvet tannins. One of the true winners of the 2020 vintage in Napa.

The 2019 from the much-loved Spottswoode estate is gorgeous, with fragrant bramble and black cherry with sweet spice, earthy notes and cedar. It's marries the generosity and warmth that comes naturally to Napa Cabernet with Spottswoode's textbook grace and charm. It's a medium-weight, elegant Napa Cabernet, harking back decades. These age beautifully, but the supple tannins, balance and refreshing style you'd be forgiven for failing to resist now.

Lingua Franca is the project started by Master Sommelier Larry Stone, with the help of winemakers Thomas Savre and Dominique Lafon. The 2019s might be the finest set of wines they've produced yet. This is one of their top Pinots, perfumed and ripe with red and black berry fruit, incense and exotic spice. It perfectly treads the line between richness and finesse. They used a very small 8% whole bunches and 26% new French oak.

Bullnose is often overshadowed by the more famous Coleraine bottling from Te Mata, but this Syrah is completely delicious, with more than a passing resemblance to the Northern Rhone. There's black cherry, rose, pepper, and smoky truffle development. This ages gracefully and is well worth discovering.

From the Florita vineyard, considered one of the finest spots for Riesling in Australia. It's floral, as you'd expect, layered with jasmine, elderflower and honeysuckle. In the mouth, it's textural and mineral with explosive citrus on the palate. Exceptionally concentrated, with vividly bright acidity shining through the endless finish. Excellent.

From the Sexton vineyard in Gruyere; 10% whole bunches and matured nine months in French barriques (25% new). Aromas of kirsch, damson, liquorice and spices; this heady, concentrated wine has bags of power and structure - with ripe, persistent tannins boding well for the future.

‘GC’ stands for Gary Charles, aka ‘Gazza’ and this wine pays tribute to Gary Farr’s knowledge and achievements over the past 40 years. The Chardonnay is sourced from the Côte Vineyard, which according to the Farrs, will make up the ‘backbone’ of the By Farr wines for the decades to come. This site consists of diversity of aspects (North/North-East/East) as well as soil types, including loam, limestone and black volcanic soils. The grapes are whole bunch pressed and fermented in French oak barrels, of which 50% is new, with some light lees stirring to help to start the malolactic fermentation. This Chardonnay was bottled 11 months after picking. The 2023 ’GC’ Chardonnay is long on the palate brimming with wonderful notes of lemon curd, with textured, precise fruit and its typical mineral and tightly-coiled freshness.

This is the top Pinot Noir at Murdoch Hill, made in tiny quantites each year. Use of whole bunches in the fermentation is a signature, and in 2022 winemaker Michael Downer uses 20% whole bunches to build complexity and texture. There's 40% oak lending baking spice notes. This year the fruit all comes from the Lenswood area of the Picadilly Valley and it shows a characteristic balance of intense freshness and pure red fruit.

The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 is a blend from the varied solis of Coonawarra, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Padthaway and is matured for 16 months in new American oak hogsheads. Coonawarra is becoming more and more of the signature here, giving lots of fresh cassis and refreshing herbal character. It's built to age, with a firm, muscular structure but a lot of complex flavour to match, and it should soften into a brilliant 707 with time in bottle.

The Gladysdale sub-region sits at the south of the Yarra Valley and is unique in receiving more of the warm air that travels down the valley compared with other Yarra sub-regions. There's lots of character and complexity here as a result, with earthy notes and dry spice adding a savoury heft around the dark cherry fruit. It remains lithe and elegant, with juicy fruit towards the finish, testament to Mac's considered, delicate style with Pinot Noir.

Four vineyards provide the fruit for The Factor, including some very old vines of 120 years plus. It's a classic Barossa Shiraz, made just with French oak. Very expressive with lifted black fruits such as plum, blackberry, compote, vanilla bean, dark cocoa and maraschino liqueur. Complex, luxuriously dense and alluring. The mineral components highlight Barossa Ironstone, dried earth and eucalyptus. The wine’s voluptuous texture envelops the mouth with soft yet dense tannins and mouth filling viscosity. The flavours linger and the cleansing acidity polishes the palates gorgeous length and depth. Oak maturation is harmonious and well integrated adding to complexity on release.

Agricola is the brainchild of Callum Powell, the son of Torbreck founder Dave Powell, who worked in the Northern Rhône with Jean-Louis Chave before striking out on his own. There's a clear nod to the Northern Rhône here. Its 'low hi', hands off winemaking, and all that, combined with some excellent vineyard sources, makes Callum's wines some of the most exciting we've found in South Australia. The Flaxman Shiraz is from the Eden Valley and is sourced from two vineyards; the 100+ year old Powell family vineyard, and a neighbouring steep slope. This is a medium-weight, elegant Shiraz. It's fresh and saline, with black olive and black pepper in amongst fresh red and black fruit. Callum uses very little new oak, and coming in at below 12% alcohol it's a truly unique, and incredibly impressive, example of Eden Valley Shiraz.

This is the 50th vintage of the original Margaret River Cabernet. Plush black cherry, with lifted peppermint and eucalyptus aromatics. Finishes with suggestions of sea salt and fine powdery tannins.