The Yarra Valley has long been one of Australia’s great Pinot Noir strongholds, but what’s really driving excitement now is the deeper understanding of its sub-regions and villages. From the valley floor through to the Upper Yarra, these subtle shifts in site, altitude, aspect, and soil are producing markedly different expressions. It’s not about hierarchy, but nuance, and that’s exactly what makes the Yarra such a fascinating place to drink from right now.

This line-up leans into that idea with a mix of pioneers, benchmarks, and rising stars. Mac Forbes Coldstream Pinot Noir 2023 speaks to the valley floor, supple, detailed, and part of one of the most thoughtful explorations of site in the region. Warramate Pinot Noir 2024, under the stewardship of Sarah Crowe and the Yarra Yering team, brings polish and quiet power from a historic site. Seville Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 is a standout from a long-established family vineyard, with the vintage delivering real depth and composure. 

Hoddles Creek Estate 1er Pinot Noir 2024 continues the D’Anna family’s run of form and consistently one of the best value wines in the valley. TarraWarra Swallowfield Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024 signals a new chapter, with renewed energy and focus under Sarah Fagan, showing impressive detail and site clarity. Finally, Gembrook Hill Village Pinot Noir 2025 takes us to the cooler Upper Yarra, where altitude and exposure bring finesse, lift, and a beautifully fine-boned structure under the hand of Andrew Marks.

Together, these wines chart a journey across the Yarra Valley—one defined not just by quality, but by an ever-clearer sense of place.

COLDSTREAM

From two vineyards on the valley floor. Made with 10–20% whole bunches, three to four weeks on skins before being pressed to seasoned barriques for 11 months. A very bright crimson. An excellent Coldstream with its scents of red and black fruits, menthol, rosebush and spice. It's very even on the palate, with good concentration and fine-grained tannins rounding out a wine to enjoy now and over the next decade. (96) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion 

This is a beautiful Coldstream pinot noir. It’s bright, it’s detailed, it’s fresh and it has flavour. Black and red cherries, purple flowers, inlays of spice and a gently reductive, smoky, meaty element. This feels both composed and complete. Integrity of tannin and persistence through the finish are highlights here. You get a bit of undergrowth but you also get brightness and lift. (95) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front 

Mac Forbes has carved out a unique place in the Yarra Valley through an almost obsessive focus on site. Rather than working broadly across the region, his approach has been to break the valley down into its individual villages and sub-regions mapping differences in elevation, aspect and soil with Burgundian-like precision. This has led to a suite of wines that aim to express these micro-terroirs clearly, each bottling acting as a snapshot of a specific place within the wider Yarra.

Through his “Village” and “Single Vineyard” releases, Forbes has helped reframe how the Yarra Valley is understood, pushing the conversation beyond producer and variety towards site and detail. 

GRUYERE

SPECIAL VALUE - Made with 20% whole bunches, 10% new oak. A light, bright crimson. Pretty and perfumed. Aromas of redcurrants, strawberry and blood oranges together with a little rose petal. Light to medium bodied with delicate and finely tuned tannins on the elegant finish. (94) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion

Warramate is a small, highly regarded estate in the Upper Yarra Valley, purchased by and adjoining the famous yarra Yering. The property itself sits in one of the cooler pockets of the valley, where altitude and aspect contribute to wines defined by perfume, line and natural acidity rather than weight or richness. Farming has always been central to the philosophy, with an emphasis on restraint in the vineyard and allowing site to speak clearly in the finished wines.

As winemaker at Yarra Yering,  Sarah Crowe, one of Australia’s most respected cool- whose background includes key roles at Coldstream Hills and a long-standing influence in shaping modern Yarra Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Her approach at Warramate is precise and site-driven, focusing on balance, detail and subtle complexity rather than overt winemaking.

SEVILLE

From the George vineyard in Seville planted in 2002 with 114, 115 and 777; 20% whole bunches, all natural ferment and matured in French hogsheads and puncheons (10% new) for 10 months. A very light but very bright crimson. A lovely, pure-fruited pinot nose with strawberry, raspberry fruit and just a little spice. Ripe, poised, balanced and long. Good now, this will only improve over the next 5-8 years. (95) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion 

HODDLES CREEK

There’s presence to the palate here and yet in flavour profile terms it feels and tastes very Upper Yarra. It’s alive with twig, spice and herb notes but then it’s also riven with pure, satiny, red and black cherry flavours, and it also has that undergrowth-forest-wood aspect that is both beguiling and so characteristic of good pinot. Cedarwood oak plays noticeable role too, as a positive, and the tannin is a masterclass; not too much, not too little, threaded intricately, gently smoky. As a young wine this release is already putting on a show but, even so, it feels built to last, and to improve. However you take it, this is a truly beautiful wine. (95+) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front

From 28 rows of pinot planted on a block that is west facing and sloping to the south. 15% whole bunches. A light, bright cherry red. Fragrant with brambly fruits, blood orange, rose petals and a little spice. It's fragrant in the mouth, too, with fine-grained and gently chewy tannins giving the wine its shape and structure. A discreet and classy wine that should age effortlessly over the next few years. (97) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion

Hoddles Creek Estate, led by Franco d'Anna, has quietly become one of the Yarra Valley’s most reliable sources of high-quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, particularly when it comes to value. Drawing on estate vineyards in the cooler Upper Yarra, the focus is firmly on meticulous farming and a restrained, detail-driven approach in the winery, allowing site and season to shine through. The wines are consistently pure, balanced and expressive, often outperforming far more expensive counterparts—making them something of an insider’s secret in the region.

GEMBROOK

Sarah Fagan and her team have crafted two terrific 2024s from the 30-plus-year-old Swallowfield vineyard in Gembrook, which, significantly, TarraWarra have taken out a long-term lease on. 100% destemmed and fermented on skins for two and a half weeks. Deeply scented with aromas of black cherry intermingled with subtle potpourri and spices such as cardamom and clove. The palate is ripe, with excellent depth of fruit and slippery, persistent tannins rounding out a delicious wine to drink now and over the next four to six years. (96) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion

This is a complete change of pace in terms of TarraWarra and Pinot Noir.

This is a pretty exciting wine. It’s very Upper Yarra in that it’s herbal, autumnal and juicy, with lightness as part of its armoury. But then it’s also reductive, strong of tannin and of push, complex, smoky, captivating, and quite beautifully persistent. If this is the new way of TarraWarra then I am on-board. The linger of bright fruit, twiggy herbs and general spice characters here is quite something. (95+) CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front

Tarrawarra Estate has entered an exciting new phase with the appointment of Sarah Fagan, whose experience across both Australia and the US has brought a renewed focus on site and detail. Since coming on board, Fagan has sharpened the estate’s lens on vineyard expression, leading to a greater emphasis on single-site bottlings that explore the nuances of Tarrawarra’s varied slopes and aspects. Wines like Southern Slope and Swallows Field reflect this shift—more precise, site-driven expressions that highlight subtle differences in exposure, soil and microclimate, while maintaining the estate’s hallmark balance and polish.

GEMBROOK- YELLINGBO

From a vineyard in Yellingbo, 6km from Gembrook. A light, bright crimson ruby. A pure-fruited bouquet of red fruits, delicate spice and a light dusting of rose petal. It's a little richer and more structured than the '24, and while it's been made to drink now, this will still be looking good three to four years from now. (93) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion

Gembrook Hill is one of the quiet benchmarks of the Upper Yarra, with a long-standing reputation for producing finely detailed, cool-climate wines from one of the region’s highest and coolest sites. Under the guidance of Andrew Marks, the estate has remained steadfast in its focus on site expression, drawing from elevated, close-planted vineyards that naturally deliver tension, perfume and structure. Marks’ approach is thoughtful and restrained, allowing the vineyard to lead while shaping wines that are precise, age-worthy and unmistakably reflective of this cooler pocket of the valley.

The Gembrook “Village” Pinot Noir offers a more accessible window into the house style, sourcing fruit from across the Upper Yarra to build a broader picture of the sub-region.