World Wine –

Wine Spectator – Steely, with lemon pith, gooseberry and fleur de sel notes streaking over a flinty spine. An echo of lemon curd in the background adds nice contrast.

The Wine Front – Biodynamic farming, lees maturation, attention to detail, great vineyard sites. Rudi Bauer of Quartz Reef has many positives in the manifestation of his life work. Beyond that, and so often it’s hard to separate the person who makes the wine from the wine itself, he’s an outstanding human. And hilarious. That being said, it means little when wines are in brown paper bags being tasted. This wine leapt from the pack. Incredible intensity, inward concentration, a knife edge of acidity in finely wrapped layers of toastiness, marzipan, brioche with a sleek, lean profile of green apple and citrus. Fine, fine bubbles add dimension and freshness. Aside its precision, it’s gorgeous to drink, refreshing the palate with each sip, leaving lingering detail of the presence of the wine. Insanely good drinking. It’s fine wine personified. Kudos here.

Wine Spectator –

James Suckling – A very cool wine. Made from almost all garnacha, it has a depth and intensity with a minerality and saltiness. Plenty of strawberries and flowers. Medium body. Vivid and focused. Lovely finish already. Made from organic grapes.

The Wine Front – Biodynamic farmed from a single vineyard on the Paxton estate. Grows up in French and American oak barrels. Paxton have been a leading light in showing biodynamic (certified) viticulture can be done to scale, well. Inky, deep, throaty red of hearty, dark fruit character, all inky cassis and choc-berry, liquid spice, fat tannins. A juicy, fleshy, plush flow of espresso tinged plummy fruit, gritty, savouriness to close. This is a big, bold red of warming character and density. Touch of warmth in the mix. It’s done pretty well for its style.

James Halliday – Biodynamic-grown fruit, open-fermented, matured in French and American barriques for 18 months. A celebrated McLaren Vale single vineyard wine, effortlessly providing a deep well of black fruits and fine-grained tannins, the oak a positive contributor, not a rabble rouser.

World Wine – Chocolate, dried plum and anise notes are juicy and bursting with blackberry accents. Balanced and smooth, especially on the finish. Drink now through 2026.