The wines of Christmas ’25 Part 2: sublime Barbaresco, Mornington Pinot + more

In part one of this post, I detailed some of the white and sparkling highlights of a Graham Christmas. Today, it’s all about red wines (and a few sweet things and fortifieds).

Usually, a Sydney festive season is all about beers, white wine, cricket and pool times. The weather in recent weeks has been crap and cold, which only amped up the volume of reds consumed in our house.

That said, jumper weather in mid-summer didn’t stop me enjoying a few well-timed cans of ale, with multiple Bentspoke Sprocket IPA cameos in the background of these wine photos (beer, the perfect wine aperitif).

I also really enjoyed a few tins of this Banks Kickback City IPA, with this very sunny, hoppy, not-heavy Cali IPA-style brew going down nicely during the brief spurts of sunshine.

For a wine warm-up, I really quite enjoyed this Aptitude Connubio Dolcetto Sangiovese 2024, which shouldn’t work but really does. It’s purple-fruited, just mid-weight, and, interestingly, feels more Sangio than Dolcetto (though some nice mulberry fruit that doesn’t fit that mode). It’s bunchy, spicy, mulchy edge for good measure. Savoury, interesting, and yet still fruit-forward enough to combat the mushroom and dark spices. I liked.

At the other end of the age spectrum, there was a Stonyridge Larose 2005 (not pictured), which was in fully mature form, with a little meaty earth (someone picked up a little brett) and still plenty of ripe, but contained, Bordeaux blend vibes that Waiheke Island does so well. I love Larose, even though it’s now a stupidly expensive wine, and the 2005 was still enjoyable, if in a sort of older-red mode (and a step behind the glorious 2007 I enjoyed last year). 17.7/20, 92/100.

As I mentioned last week, there was also a trip to the excellent Salopian Inn in the days leading up to Christmas. Rather than simply picking a wine off the list at the restaurant, you can wander down to the red wine cellar and pull something off the wall, which is endlessly entertaining. I emptied an older bottle of Cobaw Pinot only recently, so the Cobaw Ridge Original Block Pinot Noir 2022 was a pretty natural choice. There’s such a cool feel to this Macedon Ranges Pinot, with mint and cherry and mulch to mix into the finessed red fruit. It’s a little shy, a little angular, but also sturdily structured and entirely refreshing wine. Maybe not as instantly seductive, but quality and class. 18.5/20, 94/100.

By comparison, this Luke Lambert Nebbiolo 2023 was incredibly approachable, to the point where I was looking for more tannin that just wasn’t there. Pretty, red-fruited, and more Yarra Pinot than some Piedmont lookalike, it’s fine, raspberried and silken, with tannins that are late and chalky. I can’t shake that the whole thing feels a little less detailed this vintage (which is probably as much about the challenge of 2023 as anything else). Still super drinkable 18/20, 93/100.

I also snaffled a small taste of the Wirra Wirra Chook Block Shiraz 2022 while in the Vale, and it looked super. There are all these layers of truffle and bacon fat and anise in what is otherwise a pretty classic, ripe, full-bodied McLaren Vale Shiraz of smart balance and shape. Maybe a bit too large to empty a bottle at lunch today, but contextually, we’re in the upper echelons of Vale Shiraz. 18.7/20, 95/100 no problem.

Next, and a brand new wine that promises much. The Decades Pinot Noir 2023 comes from a project setup by Brad Rogers (Stone & Wood co-founder) and Steve Flamsteed where the duo has purchased a vineyard in the Coal River Valley in Tasmania. This wine, the inaugural release, is lithe and quite pretty – it’s a bright, red fruited, medium-bodied thing that feels rather Tasmanian. I see the oak as a slightly prominent force on what is otherwise a pure, black cherry Pinot, though it’s more a signal that this isn’t quite ready yet. Nice wine though, with an important plus sign. 18/20, 93/100+.

I didn’t quite warm to the Good Intentions Wine Co. Ash Cloud Pinot Noir 2024 quite as much as the 2022 Chardonnay, although that is also a reflection of bottle age. This is a too-young Mount Gambier Pinot that feels at once unforced and lo-fi with a mulchy raspberry and red fruit, but a little light and fleeting rather than immediately convincing. Probs worth another look. 17.7/20, 92/100+.

As I mentioned in part 1, I try to drink from the cellar at this time of year, but a few samples also make their way into the mix, and I’m very glad this Dexter Black Label Pinot Noir 2024 slipped in. Mornington Peninsula wine reviews always come with an asterisk for me as I’ve done some work for a Peninsula producer, but just try and shout me down that this top Dexter wine isn’t magnificent. There’s all the perfect glossy ripe raspberry and blackberry coulis fruit that the region nails, but with a muscular, reasonably tannic line to make you realise you’re playing in the Pinot deep end. I see spice here too, like a spiced cherry thing, that just emphasises the power and presence. Line me up more of this. 18.7/20, 95/100.

Intriguingly, I had this Dubreuil-Fontaine Clos Berthet Pernand-Vergelesses 2021 alongside it and was a bit underwhelmed. There’s a slightly dusty, old-school Burgundy vibe here that felt a bit diffuse and less pure, as if I’d picked up the basic village-level wine rather than this celebrated monopole release. The structure is there for it to keep growing, and in other company I might rate it higher than silver medal quality, but I wonder if it will ever be a star. 17.5/20, 91/100+.

I realise I’m an outlier here, but I wasn’t moved by the Produttori del Barbaresco 2021 either. I bought a six-pack as a pre-release because a) I love Barbaresco, b) Produttori makes classic wines, and c) why not? Based on this bottle, I will probably sell most of the case now. It’s not a bad wine, but there’s a broad-brushed openness here that feels less superstar. It’s a nice drink, a classic Nebbiolo (and at least five years off a real drinking window) and unforced in its tannic, tar-and-roses moderation. Classico, for sure. But it also feels like a regional starting point rather than a pinnacle drink. 17.7/20, 92/100.

It was almost a week later that I cracked open this Ceretto Benardot Barbaresco 2021, and the contrast couldn’t have been any more profound. This is a profound wine. I pulled it straight from the wine fridge and poured straight away, so it was probably no more than 15 °C when it hit my Zalto, but even in a chilled state, this felt like wine on another level. Moody, yet ripe and refreshing, it’s a ripe wine, yet again, a refreshing ripe wine. There’s this absolute perfection to the grainy, perfumed, dark fruit and light shades of coiled power to this wine that I see as peak Piedmont Nebbiolo. I have zero bottles left, and that situation won’t last long. 19/20, 96/100.

It’s a very different wine, but I also absolutely loved this Julien Cécillon Babylone Saint-Joseph 2022. I can’t remember who said it recently (I think it was Tim Smith), but someone said that ‘Shiraz (Syrah) is actually an aromatic grape’, and if you want evidence, dive into this Syrah. It’s a pretty, purple, meaty, violetty, cranberry, floral and glossy red that swishes through in its peppery style. The only question is whether to drink it now (like I did) and revel in the fragrance, or give it more time to fill out the palate a bit more. I’m buying more to drink now. 18.5/20, 94/100.

After that prettiness, I couldn’t quite warm to the rustic, earthen, old school Chianti vibes of this Fattoria Rodáno Vigna Viacosta Chianti Classic Riserva 2019 that was served alongside it. I can acknowledge the red earth-dipped, savoury, berry-ferrous charm, but I couldn’t quite resolve the lumpy, slightly volatile, long-oak-aged palate. Charming, sure, but a step behind the wines around it here. 17.5/20, 91/100.

I’d rather drink this wonderfully expressive Foradori Sgarzon Teroldego 2023. I see these wines as a bit of an acquired taste with their mint and cranberry, dried herbs, and spicy cherry vibes, but the lucid charisma of this wine is not hard to see. I cracked it open, and the Pinot lover on the table wouldn’t let it go. The complexity here is what hooks you in – beetroot, slow-cooked meat, lots of acidity, a red and black fruit brightness, all of it. It’s still a challenging wine, hence not a gold medal score, but I enjoyed it. 18/20, 93/100.

On the same table, this Domaine de La Noblaie Le Temps des Cerises Chinon 2022 was less fun. It’s probably been six months since I last had this wine, and I don’t remember it being this unfun. Hard, tannic, unwielding, none of the flavours here fitted together, with the structural ambition and herbs shading the Cab Franc prettiness. It’s quite powerful and long, but I struggled to see the joy and can only hope this was an average bottle. 16.8/20, 89/100.

Interestingly, this Ravensworth Shiraz Viognier 2022 was a harder drink than I expected. It’s shaped by tannins, with a line of earth and a dusty old-oak vibe to it that feels ultra-savoury, a bit pointy and fractionally ungenerous. It’s long and hardly poor quality, but not an easy wine either. 17.5/20, 91/100.

What is much easier to love was this year’s dive into Australia’s best red fizz, the Primo Joseph Sparkling Red. You can read what I’ve said about this wine on the Primo website, so probably no need to go further Needless to say, I don’t think I’ve had a year when we haven’t enjoyed at least one bottle of this wine for 15 odd years, and this Xmas I opened a 2025 disgorgement (in the round, much more manageable bottle, pictured) on Christmas Day and a 2023 disgorgement two days later (for balance, naturally). It was a joy to compare the two wines too: the ’25 release, so primary, so juicy, chocolatey, effusive and proudly McLaren Vale, versus the now more secondary, gently brick-dusty development in the ’23. I think the crowd preferred the ’25, but the older wine’s extra complexity was more satisfying for me. Both are gold medal quality FWIW.

Finally, there was a pair of sweet wines worth including in this lineup, too, kicking off with an Estate Argyros First Release Vin Santo 2016. I love the sublime Argyros Assyrtiko (Santorini’s best wines), so it’s only natural to dive into this proudly traditional Vin Santo. That said, I thought this was. a bit mono-dimensional, with this butterscotch sweetness that didn’t go much further. Curious. It’s plenty pleasurable and seriously mothfilling, but not quite the expected profundity (especially at the $146 asking price). 17.7/20, 92/100.

I feel like it only comes out at Christmas time, but another bottle of Raymond Lafon Sauternes 2017 landed on the table during the festive break and with some joy. The bottle variation of this wine is palpable, even though the storage since birth has been near perfect (a six-pack I bought en primeur and pull a bottle of the storage cellar on demand). It’s also bizarre to think so, but I should have decanted this wine for best drinking (and I should have remembered that last year the bottle looked better on day 2). Anyway, this bottle of ’17 is still young, still primary, with creme brulee and tart citrus jam with lots of citrus and yes, plenty of sweetness. I don’t know if it has yet hit the peak of complexity, but I enjoy drinking it, and unquestionably it’s a long, high-quality wine. 18.5/20, 94/100.