Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 89/100

Drinking beautifully now, Shotfire Quartage 2013 is a full-bodied and fruit driven Barossa Valley Shiraz rich and smooth with ripe dark fruits on the palate. Nicely layered with dark plum compote, cassis, savoury herbs, a touch of tobacco leaf spice with a hint of mint on a smooth and lingering finish. So ready to drink now, enjoy it with venison sausages or bison burgers from the grill. Tasted November 2024.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 92/100

Love this 100% Riesling from Bartier Bros. Vineyard and Winery! Built to age, it is youthful and perfumed with petrol aromas and orange blossom notes following close behind the petrol. Bartier Bros 2022 Riesling is off-dry, medium-bodied and mouth-wateringly great with apple, citrus blossom, petrol and minerally flavours intense, elegant and silky on the palate with eye-winking acidity for food and a very loooong finish. Beautifully crafted, it is just beginning its journey in the bottle. Buy this one by the case and watch it evolve over the next 20 years. From Michael Bartier: "Our Riesling 2022 is off-dry, but seemingly dry with balance from a galvanizing acidity. This wine is incredibly fruity, minerally, and intense, with a very long finish and will age gracefully for decades." The Riesling grapes for this vintage were sourced from a vineyard in the Thompson River Valley with sandy, silty soils atop limestone bedrock. Grapes were whole cluster fermented in stainless-steel tank with spontaneous fermentation at 16-20 Celsius. The wine was then aged on its lees for three months in stainless-steel tank. Enjoy it chilled with smoked salmon Bennies or a rich, Swiss-style cheese fondue. Tasted November 2024.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 92/100

This is a pretty terrific Riserva Chianti Classico from Castello di Gabbiano! Cavaliere d'Oro Riserva 2018 is dry, full-bodied Sangiovese-driven Chianti with 5% Merlot added to the mix. Fresh, fruity with a mouthful of tart cherry, red berry, strawberry, dried herbs and soft spicy flavours layered, silky-smooth and lingering on the palate, it is a very elegant Tuscan red ready to drink now to the end of the decade. The wine was aged 12 months in traditional French oak casks and barriques (10% new oak) with an additional 12 months in bottle prior to its release. Tasted November 2024.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 90/100

No Havoc but a lot of Harmony on this 2023 Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough. Love the fact that it comes in at 11% abv because I definitely want more than one glass of this super fresh SB! Produced from grapes sourced from younger vines in the Wairau region, this SB is vibrant and gentle with ripe gooseberry, fine herbs, tropical fruit notes, nettle and a bit of dill herb with a lingering lime leaf finish. Excellent length on this crisp and silky SB from Wairau River Wines. Tasted November 2024. Wairau is Maori for "Many Waters" and Wairau River Wines is named after the river that runs through the heart of the Marlborough wine region. In the 1970s, the Rose Family planted vines and sold their grapes to wineries like Cloudy Bay. In the early 1990s, they launched their own label, and the company continues to be family owned and operated to this day. Wairau River Wines is one of the largest independent wine estates in Marlborough.

Deborah Podurgiel scored this wine: 91/100

From Bartier Bros Winery, Chardonnay 2023 is youthful and super fresh Chard with nectarine, peach, lemon and lime leaf notes zeesssty on the palate. Dry, medium-bodied, crisp and clean with minerally notes and a lingering lime leaf finish, it is excellent now but will be killer in summer 2025 chilled up on the patio with a summer greens salad topped with Edam or Fontina cheese or your favourite seafood dish. Tasted October 2024. Produced entirely from Chardonnay grapes harvested from two different blocks in the Cerqueira Vineyard on the Black Sage Terrace, Oliver, British Columbia. Drink or hold to 2028.