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Yarra valley
Part of the Port Philip zone which surrounds Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is located an hour outside Melbourne and is one of the most important fine wine growing regions in Australia. The Yarra Valley’s viticultural history extends back to 1838 when the Ryrie Brothers planted the first vineyards at what is now Yering Station, with the first vintage produced in 1845 by the legendary James Dardel. In 1863 Hubert de Castella established St Huberts Vineyards and Guillaume de Pury established Yeringberg, bringing the total area under vine to 430 acres. This trend continued with the establishment of Yeringa with David Mitchell planting vineyards at Stringybark Creek increasing the area under vine to 1000 acres. This period of growth was followed by a series of poor vintages and tough economic conditions which saw vineyard production completely cease by 1937.
The Yarra Valley’s modern renaissance began when Reg Egan planted Wantirna Estate in 1963 and was followed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Mount Mary, Yeringberg, Yarra Yering, St Huberts, Seville Estate, Yarra Burn, Chateaux Yeringa (now de Bortoli) and others, From the this period through to the late 1990’s investment and expansion continued, with the majority of wineries small, quality conscious, boutique producers of top quality wine which fetched appropriate prices. The latter period of the 1990’s saw large scale corporate investment, with Moet & Chandon establishing Domaine Chandon alongside acquisitions by Mildara Blass, McWilliams, Hardys and others.
The Yarra Valley is a diverse and cool climate region with a lower average growing temperature than both Bordeaux and Burgundy, the principle white variety is Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, while the red varieties that the region is renowned for are Cabernet Sauvignon (with associated Bordeaux varieties of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) which helped put the Yarra Valley on the map followed by Pinot Noir which arrived en masse in the 1980s and followed more recently by Shiraz (which is sometimes blended with Viognier). Both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are also cultivated as sparkling base. Interestingly, vineyards planted in the cool, upper Yarra Valley for the production of sparkling wine are now being used for table wines. Whether it’s global warming or just that recent vintages have been warmer, there is little doubt that the Upper Yarra including places such as Hoddles Creek and other sub-districts such as Woori Yallock have really come into their own over the last 5-10 years.
Chardonnay styles vary across winemakers and site, with a distinctive aromatic profile of melon and fig in warmer sites and white peach and grapefruit from cooler vineyards. Both styles are characterised by good acidity. Outstanding producers include Oakridge, Toolangi, Coldstream Hills, de Bortoli, Giant Steps, Mac Forbes and Hoddles Creek. The Yarra Valley is one of the first Australian regions to establish Pinot Noir of high regard, with notes of plum, cherry and strawberry and a characteristic underlying sappy acidity and fine soft tannins. Outstanding producers include de Bortoli, Coldstream Hills, Giant Steps and Mount Mary and Wedgetail. Yarra Valley Cabernet is almost always blended with traditional Bordeaux varieties and is characterised as a medium bodied wine, elegant, with notes of cassis, hay, tobacco leaf, fine silky tannins and remarkable longevity. Outstanding producers include Mount Mary, Yarra Yarra, Yeringberg, Wantirna Estate. Shiraz is less prevalent in the Yarra Valley and highly dependent on vineyard location favouring warmer growing conditions. Increasingly producers are following the Northern Rhone Cote Rotie blend by adding small quantities of Viognier for added colour and aromatic lift. Classic Yarra Valley Shiraz is almost always of a cool climate style with notes of pepper, black cherry and spice with fine silky tannins. Outstanding producers include Yering Station, de Bortoli, Jamsheed, Yarra Yarra and recently Serrat.
Sources:
The Oxford Companion to Wine, (ed) Jancis Robinson
James Hallidays Wine Atlas of Australian, James Halliday
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Halliday's Top Aussie Chardonnay 6 PackMore product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
$415.00 Regular Price $510.00 -
Giant Steps Tarraford Chardonnay 2022The warmest site among Giant Steps' four single-vineyard chardonnays, though planted on a cool, south-facing slope in Tarrawarra. Whole-bunch pressed and barrel fermented in French puncheons (25% new) with 10% mlf. An engaging and lovely wine. Opens with subtle scents of pink grapefruit, orange blossom and coriander seeds. Builds nicely on the gently textured, saline and structured palate before finishing zesty and long. The sort of wine that begs you to take another sip. (97) PHILIP RICH, Wine Companion2022chardonnayAustralia506$82.00 As low as $73.80 -
Kenzie Waiohinganga Chardonnay 2022Grown on deep alluvial river sands and stone left behind by the Esk River, vines experience a maritime influence where warm, dry days are followed by a cool sea breeze.
Handpicked fruit was wholebunch pressed direct to 500L puncheons with full solids. 10% of which was new French oak. After a few days, wild fermentation spontaneously started and progressed for 20 days with a maximum temperature of 24 deg C.
Post fermentation the wine was stirred a few times and left to mature at cool and allowed to go through full Malolactic Fermentation. Stirring every 3- 4 weeks. Minimal sulphur was added after 5 months. After a total of 9 months of barrel maturation the wine was racked to tank for bottling. No fining or filtration.
2022chardonnayAustralia506$60.00 As low as $54.00 -
Stonier Gainsborough Park Chardonnay 2019More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2019chardonnayAustralia506$64.00 As low as $57.60 -
De Bortoli Lusatia Chardonnay 2019From the Lusatia A Block, Woori Yallock, Yarra Valley. Whole bunched pressed, racked to older French oak casks, natural fermentation. Lees are stirred toward the end of fermentation and then left to rest until late November. The wine was gravity racked to vat for a further 6 months on fine lees before bottling.2018chardonnayAustralia506$82.00 As low as $73.80 -
Oakridge Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2023'If you ever want to pass some wine wisdom on to someone, just say these three words: Oakridge And Chardonnay. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front
Words to live by and the 2023 looks to be a tremendous follow up to the 2022. We are always shocked at how these wines overdeliver in every possible way, year in, year out.
2023chardonnayAustralia506$37.00 As low as $33.30 -
De Bortoli PHI Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2021From the Lusatia Park vineyard at Woori Yallock, purchased by De Bortoli family in 2016. Whole-bunch pressed, barrel fermented and matured for 9 months in both new and used French oak casks. Bright green gold. Restrained with good fruit purity. Yellow pear, white nectarines and a hint of jasmine, the palate is a happy mix of being both textured and refreshing. A very even wine that finished long with some green apple crunch. PHILIP RICH, wine companion2021chardonnayAustralia506$34.00 As low as $30.60 -
Salo Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2023From the Full Moon Vineyard in Gladysdale. Wild ferment and 100% mlf. There's only one wine from winemakers and friends Steve Flamsteed and Dave Mackintosh, and it's always a good 'un. A bright green gold. There's aromas of ripe stone fruits together with some savoury and complex briny notes. On the palate, this has lots of flavour and punch, finishing long with a refreshing touch of grip. Delicious now and over the next 4–6 years. (95) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion
One forgets the longevity of something that seems to have great energy behind it, but this is the eleventh year that Salo has worked with this fruit from the Full Moon Vineyard of the Southern Hills of the Yarra. Wild ferment, old oak, unfined, unfiltered, minimal sulphur. A cool and wet start to the season, low and slow growing reflected in the wine somewhat.A quiet and gentle chardonnay of suppleness, creamy flow, soft citrus fruit characters, red apple sweet-sourness and a lick of almond, nougat and vanilla in the mix. An undertow of barely there but refreshing saline acidity does a nice trick too. This feels very even, subtle in its general sense and yet persists beautifully and with freshness with each sip. Classy, understated and delicious. MIKE BENNIE, The Wine Fron
2023chardonnayAustralia506$58.00 As low as $52.20 -
Giant Steps Sexton Chardonnay 2023Right now, this is the most salivating and seductive of Giant Step's superb array of single-vineyard chardonnays from '23. Perfectly ripened white peach, pear and some marine scents lead onto the palate, which is gently textured, saline and structured. The finish is energetic, nutty and long. (97) PHILIP RICH, Wine Companion2023chardonnayAustralia506$91.00 As low as $81.90 -
Applecross Chardonnay 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022chardonnayAustralia506$67.00 As low as $60.30 -
Giant Steps Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2023An even split of upper and lower Yarra fruit. Whole-bunch pressed and wild fermented in 15% new French puncheons. Around 25% mlf. A very bright green gold. Attractive scents of ripe white pears and nectarines, lemon curd and just the right amount of flint. Packs a punch on the saline, gently textured, gently chewy palate. Great stuff and the perfect entrée to the year's superb lineup of single-vineyard chardonnays. (95) PHILIP RICH, wine companion
Honeycrisp apple skin, lemon zest and green plum. Winter melon and starfruit. Plumes of talc powder, pomice and honeysuckle. Plenty of white delicate florals and a blush of nectarine. Intoxicating acidity and a kefir creaminess on the finish. A spray of saline and oak appears in its round shapes rather than toasty notes. Alive with energy and creeping unsuspecting power. Drinking well now and will cellar 3-5 years, a great wine for the bite of calamari or richness of abalone. (95) SHANTEH WALE, wine pilot
2023chardonnayAustralia506$48.00 As low as $43.20 -
Mac Forbes Little Yarra 'Gladysdale' Chardonnay 2021From a vineyard planted in Gladysdale in '09. Matured in seasoned barriques. My pick of the '21 single-vineyard chardonnays, this has a complex bouquet of just-picked nectarines, white flowers and oyster shells. The palate is nicely balanced, with good weight and concentration. It's also chalky textured, saline and long. And, like Mac Forbes' single-vineyard wines, in particular, it's been built to last. (96) PHILIP RICH, Halliday Wine Companion
Petite Yarra. AOC? Clay with mudstone and dry-farmed vines.It glides. With a silky texture, lightly yoghurty core and a chalky, citrusy finish. Quite light on its feet with blanched almonds, crisp green apple, just a hint of crunchy white nectarine as it’s mostly citrus driven. All fresh, smooth and minerally. She’s pretty. KASIA SOBIESIAK, The Wine Front
2021chardonnayAustralia506$105.00 As low as $94.50 -
Pacha Mama Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2023From a single vineyard in Gruyere. Whole-bunch pressed and barrel fermented in 15% new puncheons. Callie Jemmeson has a good feel for making chardonnay, and it shows on the complex bouquet of white peach, lemon zest, grilled hazelnuts and a soupçon of sea spray. It's mouth-filling and balanced, finishing with a touch of grip on the nicely structured and long finale. 96 PHILIP RICH, wine companion2023chardonnayAustralia506$35.00 As low as $31.50 -
Yeringberg Chardonnay 2022More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2022chardonnayAustralia506$81.00 As low as $72.90 -
Yeringberg Babyberg Marsanne Roussanne 2023Our first Babyberg is a playful and modern take on a Marsanne Roussanne blend, with which
we have a long and proud history. The result is golden yellow/orange in colour with herbal, honeysuckle and orange blossom aromas. The lively, floral palate has a lovely apricot-laden, spicy, roasted nut richness balanced by distinct pithy, chewy phenolics that are reminiscent of fine black tea. SANDRA DE PURY
Golden colour. Honey nut cornflakes, mint, apricot, nashi pear, a bag of white mushrooms. It’s a rich and juicy wine, but also quite nutty and savoury, all the peanuts and smoked ham, quince, quite waxy, but also has this woody grainy grip to it, though I quite like the texture here, and it finishes saline and unami with solid length, and something of an orange and Islay whisky character in the mix. GARY WALSH, the wine front2023chardonnayAustralia506$40.00 As low as $36.00 -
Wickhams Road Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2024
More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2024chardonnayAustralia506Special Price $26.00 Regular Price $30.00 -
Hoddles Creek Road Block Chardonnay 2021
More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!
2021chardonnayAustralia506Special Price $80.00 Regular Price $93.00 -
Giant Steps Wombat Creek Chardonnay 2022From the marginal Wombat Creek vineyard planted at around 400m elevation in the early 1980s. Whole-bunch pressed to French puncheons (25% new), one-third mlf. Aromas of yellow grapefruit, gently poached apples, white peach and a little yuzu. With its mouth-watering acidity, this the most tightly wound of the four Giant Steps chardonnays in 2022. Finishes chalky and long, but it needs another six to 12 months to fill out a little. (94) PHILIP RICH, Wine Companion2022chardonnayAustralia506$82.00 As low as $73.80