Buy Wine

Ace of Spades, Armand de Brignac, Brut

Alter Ego Palmer

Alzero, Quintarelli

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Riserva Mattonara, Zyme

Angelus

2009 Angelus

A candidate for perfection with a few more years of bottle age, this great vintage of Angelus has an almost impenetrable black/purple color and a gorgeous nose of incense, graphite, blackberry liqueur, truffles and spring flowers. The wine is full-bodied, with a voluptuous texture a magnificent concentration and purity of fruit, a stunning finish of close to a minute, and wonderfully sweet, velvety tannins that make for a prodigious Angelus that should turn out to be one of the all-time greats ever made at this estate.

2007 Apparita, Castello Di Ama

The 2007 L???Apparita (Merlot) is another outstanding wine, but it is the least interesting of the estate???s high-end 2007s. The warm growing season doesn???t appear to have been as kind to the Merlot as it was to the other grapes grown on the property. Super ripe dark fruit, sweet French oak and chocolate emerge from this supple, round Apparita, with just enough minerality on the finish to provide a measure of balance. The wine???s persistence and length are first rate but a slight overripe quality lingers. The Merlot grown in these high-altitude vineyards has a way of developing immense nobility with bottle age, so it will be fascinating to see what happens here.

2009 Apparita, Castello Di Ama

Stunning as usual, the 2009 L???Apparita (100% Merlot) starts off slow but builds steady momentum and intensity. This is a seamless and beautifully integrated expression that sees fine contrast between acidity, structure and fruity extract. The wine is still tight, so give it time to complete its bottle evolution.

2010 Astralis Shiraz, Clarendon Hills

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2010 Astralis is still quite primary eliciting aromas of black plums, blueberry compote and blackcurrant liqueur with a savoury and baking spice undercurrent plus a fragrant whiff of violets. Very structured, fine and complex in the medium to full-bodied mouth, this wine is revealing much more than when I first tasted it a year ago and is now showing layer upon layer of black fruit preserves, mocha, toast and spices before finishing with great length. Extraordinary wine.

2006 Astralis Shiraz, Clarendon Hills

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2006 Astralis has stunning nose redolent of warm blackberries, meat, toast and charcoal, infused with notes of smoked duck, anise and a slight bit of peat. Though still very youthful, this big, rich, and powerful full-bodied wine has firm yet velvety tannins, a vibrant acid line and is very long on the finish.