Heroes Anti-Hero Yeowarra Pinot Noir 2024

SPECIAL VALUE - From the 1.6ha Yeowarra Hill vineyard, planted in the Otways Hinterland in 1999 and managed by Heroes. 10% whole bunches. A bright, medium-deep cherry red. This instantly invites you in with its aromas of red and black fruits, bramble, spices and herbs such as thyme and nutmeg. Medium bodied, with firm yet svelte tannins. This very well-made and extremely well-priced wine will provide plenty of enjoyment over the next at least six to eight years. (95+) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion

Wafts of baking spices, sarsaparilla and cherry compote alert you to its greatness. With air, rosemary tones add to the alluring nose. On the palate, a finely styled array of flavours unfurl; spiced cherries, cured meats and mulch. It's bouyant, gliding across the palate with a lightness of touch, though not forsaking flavour. The tannins are silty and fine. Great value for money. (93) GABRIELLE POY, The Real Review

The Heroes Project from Western Victoria is a cool-climate wine venture based in the Otway Hinterland, built around both estate-grown wines and a broader, more exploratory range known as the “Anti-Hero” series. The estate “Heroes” wines are focused on single-site expression from their own vineyard, while the Anti-Hero range looks outward, sourcing fruit from a small group of similarly marginal, maritime-influenced sites across Western Victoria and beyond. The idea is not to dilute quality, but to interpret a wider expression of place—still within the same cool, windswept coastal context that defines the project’s identity.

The Yeowarra Pinot Noir sits within this Anti-Hero range and is one of its most expressive wines. Sourced from the Yeowarra Hill vineyard in the Otway Hinterland, it comes from a site defined by sandy clay loams over fractured rock and a long, cool ripening season. Winemaking is intentionally restrained, with wild fermentation, a portion of whole bunch, and careful oak use to keep the focus on perfume and texture rather than weight.