After two short harvests, the vines set a full crop. Each parcel was picked and crushed to separate fermentors. Natural yeast fermentations were slow but steady; we limited pump-overs to once daily to manage tannin extraction. After malolactic we chose six of the seven blocks for their depth of fruit, color and structure.

The harvests are completely de-stemmed and a traditional method of vinification is employed. The maceration is long, (three to four weeks) resulting in the softening of the tannins. 80% of the Chardonnay come from Pays d’Oc for the the roundness and the exotic fruits; and 20% from the Loire valley for the minerality and floral notes of the Chardonnay. No oak to keep it fresh.

Far from an easygoing wine, the 2013 Merlot hits the palate with serious intensity and tannic heft. Dark and virile to the core, the 2013 is flat-out delicious. Even with all of its intensity, the 2013 retains the classic Ridge sense of mid-weight structure. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2013 for at least a few years. This is impressive stuff.

The Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir grow in Strathbogie, elevation here gets up to 2000 feet, we see more gravel and patches of quartz. The wines are darlings of the Australian Wine Show system and leading publications such as Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Spirits have been throwing some big points.

It is fruit-driven yet dry, bright and engaging. Red fruits - strawberries, rapsberries and pomegranates - abound on the nose and palate. The fruit is undercut by a minerally edge (thank you, terroir!) and the merest hint of savory herbs - a total winner whether you drink it by itself or enjoy it with burgers, salads, seafood or chicken.

A very herbacious grassy nose that is not quite at catpee with a hint of an oxidative nature, much less aggressive on the palate than in the nose. It exhibits grapefruit rind and a hint of tangerine peel in the finish.

Anselmo Mendes is one of the top winemakers in the region, born and bred there and making wine under his own label since the late 1990s. He likes to experiment with winemaking processes not usually associated with zesty, youthful white wines such as skin contact, barrel maturation and lees contact.

Maison Louis Jadot produces a Pouilly Fuissé with emerald gold tones which reflect a wine of finesse and distinction; the tasting is harmonious, fresh, full of flavors with hazelnuts, toasted almonds, grapefruit and lemon aromas. It must be served rather cool and goes very well with shellfish, fish, white meat in cream sauce and poultry. Pouilly Fuissé is pleasant to drink young, but can be aged in cellar a long time (5-8 years) to develop a superb complex bouquet

The nose is pure Bea: a faint whisper of volatility leads the charge, met shortly thereafter by a rushing battalion of dark red and black fruits hurling all manner of Spice Route spoils at the stunned taster. The remarkably fresh palate underscores the vintage’s immense and deeply satisfying tension, and at 13.9% alcohol it feels nearly nimble.

Aged a total of 46 months before commercial release with a minimum of 30 months of the aging process occurring in barrel. This, the most grand wine of the estate, is a selection of Nebbiolo from Clerico’s finest vineyard sites, including the oldest vines of the estate. The elegance and refinement of Clerico’s Lessona is manifest, a unique rendition of the Nebbiolo grape.

Toasted hazelnuts, cream, cold butter, Porcini mushrooms, dried white flowers, dried yellow apple, Bosc pear, and wilted lemon blossoms slowly rise from the glass. The wine’s palate offers similarly impressive typicity; it’s a dense layer cake of baked stone fruits, toasted nuts and lime blossom, sitting atop a sturdy foundation of crushed limestone, oyster shells, and luscious cream.

A hint of sulfur does not materially detract from the ripe and fresh nose that is comprised by notes of apple, acacia blossom and pear scents. There is a lovely underlying tension to the well-detailed and delicious medium-bodied flavors that deliver fine length on the clean, dry and balanced finale.