Brandon Boesch

9.3

I get more stone fruit and deeper flavors of caramelized peach, still a ton of flowers and tea notes, some citrus but less. Really lovely seems to be evolving nicely. — 2 months ago

Ali Copp

8.9

$10 TJ.
We both liked this one. Easy and smooth — 6 months ago

Peter van den Besselaar

8.9

NV | Irish whisky, triple distilled in copper stills, aged in oloroso sherry barrels | my night cap — 8 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.4

A wonderful Australian Chardonnay - see previous notes here. Applejack is usually my favourite Giant Steps Vineyard for Pinot Noir but with Chardonnay there are a couple of contenders - like Sexton Vineyard and this one. Great balance of stone fruit and absorbed toasty oak. Wine shows adroit winemaking skills - somewhat “worked “ and showing creamy Lees character. Have the last one in 2027 when 10 years old. Had my last bottle on 25th September 2025. Even better than before. 95 points. Vanillin oak notes to begin with before it blew off. Rich Stonefruit notes with a nice acid cut. — a year ago

Big Wave Dave

9.2

Beautiful pinot - all spice and pure strawberry fruit. Fresh. Not much in the way of structure, but really quaffable. Reminds me of Sexton Applejack in red fruit purity. Buy. — 5 years ago

Eric Grasser

9.2

Classic RRV huge cherry perfume on the nose. Also vanilla from barrel. Follows with black cherry, licorice root and good acid (which I like). Some moist earth and tobacco leaf. Amazingly easy to drink — 5 years ago

Lyn Farmer

9.0

Pale pink-orange, very dry with bright raspberry, lemon, yellow plum and nectarine aromas with subtle violet floral and mineral notes. Crisp acidity with a lightly herbal character. A joyous wine - delicious and a terrific match with food. — 6 years ago

Marcus Chacos

9.8

The best Pinot we have had, though at this price range, we should need to have a second choice 😳🫣🤣 — 3 months ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

10

Confirmed. Perfect to us. — 6 months ago

Matthew Cohen

9.0

Chardonnay

Nose: hint of tropical fruit. Delicate and floral.

Palate: tropical.

13.5%

$55 also a $22. — a year ago

Bob McDonald

9.2

Brief notes. Another excellent example of Pinot Noir from the Applejack vineyard. Red fruited with strawberry and cherry. Definitely more fruit driven than the Wombat Creek which has more whole bunch in the ferment. The differences are more in wine making technique than in terroir I feel. Sexton possibly a bit of each. Had my last bottle on 6th September 2024. Applejack is definitely my favourite Giant Steps cuvee for Pinot Noir. The perfect balance of fruit, Sous Bois, acid and tannin. The 2023 just awarded Halliday’s Pinot Noir of the year for 2024. — 2 years ago

Big Wave Dave

9.2

Very good p/q. Reminds me of Giant Steps Applejack/Sexton. Clean red fruit, lavender, with a deeper spice note. There is Gibbston/Otago deep spice, then you get pure red strawberry. No discernible tannin, and acid is subdued, but at this pricepoint this is a buy. — 5 years ago

Big Wave Dave

9.2

Darker and more brooding than Primavera. More structured. Plums, cherries, lilac and dried strawberries. Blood/iron notes. Classic — 6 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.0

N pretty pink roses. Cherry flowers.

P tart. Cherry. Sweet cherry fruit.

Mercer 23 22 btg — 3 months ago

Brandon Boesch

9.3

Very earth and mineral driven with some decent fruit and baking spice. Great with food. — 5 months ago

Marcus Chacos

9.0

A $40 a bottle, this Chardonnay, while exceptional, maybe a slight premium compared to some of the other amazing Chardonnays that we drink. It stands alone, it combines beautifully with food and while Giant Steps is one of our favourites, we still have to make a decision based on comparative taste to comparative spend. Without doing that comparative, it gets a 9, we just need to compare it for the price point to see if the nine rating stands up. — 8 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

See previous notes here in 2018 and 2019. An excellent Chardonnay but probably prefer the Applejack and Sexton Vineyards for Chardonnay. — 2 years ago

Tom Casagrande

9.3

This is upper level Beaujolais. Depth and texture in spades. Nose has perfectly ripe dark cherries and berries. Spice and crushed granite in the background, and a fresh-baked bread-like note. Deeply flavored (as one might expect from 50-yr old vines), with deep fruit, acids, and stony minerality all working together. Some very fine-grained tannin provides a little chalky feel in the finish. This will last and improve a few more years but is terrific now. — 3 years ago

Alex Leonardini

9.2

Spiced baked apple and a rich palate, but with enough freshness to balance. — 5 years ago

Uli Klumpp

9.2

Phenomenal, really nice expression of Sebastopol Hills and its higher elevation subtlety. Dark fruit, spices, good structure based on smooth tannins and solid acidity. — 6 years ago