Product Line
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
-
Yeringberg Shiraz 2021Vines planted in 1999. About 6% whole bunch. 30% new oak.
Plum and cherry, cracked pepper, hazelnut, Turkish apricot and musk stick, with a little cedar oak. It’s plum and plummy, a grainy grip to tannin, balanced acidity, nutty with something of a toffee flavour, with a clip of oak on a finish of good length. Still a little elemental, but good. Needs a couple more years of cellaring. GARY WALSH, The Wine Front
2021shirazAustralia506$110.00 As low as $99.00 -
Luke Lambert Syrah 202380% whole bunch, and in 2023, picked a month later than the 2022.
Dark cherry and blue fruits, plenty of spice, black olive and grilled meat. It’s medium-bodied, spicy and perfumed, meaty too, with a surprisingly intense burst of ‘minerally’ acidity through its core. Tannin is all crushed rock and sooty goodness, and the finish is long and savoury and stalky. Very good. (95) GARY WALSH, The Wine Front
Beautifully poised, cool expression of shiraz with concentrated but elegant dark cherry fruit and a subtle overlay of spice. A very good follow-up to the excellent 2022, which is drinking beautifully now. MAX ALLEN, The Financial Review
This year, 80% whole bunches were included. In the crucial early days of vinification, Rosalind foot stomps the ferments three times a day to ensure each berry is quickly but gently popped, maximising the juice’s exposure to skins and stalks. Ferments are fast, and the wine is promptly pressed, settled and racked to 5000-litre foudre for maturation. This is such a composed, vivid young Syrah. Expect bright perfume, spice and dark berries woven through delicious earthy, stony elements. It’s slick, expressive and super long; world-class Syrah at an attainable price!2022shirazAustralia506$54.00 As low as $48.60 -
Yeringberg Shiraz 2014 Museum ReleaseShiraz from one of Australia’s greatest estates.
You name it, it’s here. This is the antithesis of a simple red. Every time you sip you find something different. It runs with redcurrant but from there come breakouts of meat, violets, black pepper, jellied liquorice, stems and mint. Tannin is grunty, almost grainy, with cloves and peppers studded through. The texture generally is quite silken but the wine as a whole does not go quietly, as indeed it shouldn’t. Beyond a certain price point we want more than mere fruit; the brief is met here. Excellent wine. For the dinner table, we sail. 93+ points. CAMPBELL MATTINSON, The Wine Front
2013shirazAustralia506$140.00 As low as $126.00 -
Yeringberg Shiraz 2022Fruit from vines planted in ’99. A medium crimson purple. A gentle wine in ’22, you’ll find aromas of red and blue fruits together with loads of white pepper, spice and fresh flowers. There’s a little meatiness too, which follows onto the medium-bodied, elegant yet persistent palate. A touch closed at present; this will open up and become more perfumed and silkier over the next three to five years and beyond.(95) PHILIP RICH, www.winecompanion.com2022shirazAustralia506$120.00 As low as $108.00 -
Seville Dr McMahon Shiraz 2020From the same single site as the Reserve (planted in 1971) but a vine-by-vine selection; 100% whole bunches, 100% barrel ferment and 100% new oak. A bright, medium crimson. Aromas of small red fruits, licorice root, graphite and pink peppercorns, while the new oak is beginning to integrate with the wine. There's an old vine intensity on the palate with the silkiest of tannins. Like all the Dr McMahon wines, it will take time for the hand of the winemaker to submerge into the wine, and for those with the patience and the pockets, it will be fascinating to follow its evolution. 50 dozen made. (97) JAMES HALLIDAY'S WINE COMPANION
I LOVE THIS! The fruit is so glossy and succulent. Aromas of baking spice and blood red plums waft from the glass with a little swirl of baking spices. Incense and something a little foresty, derived, I assume, from the interplay between the classy wood and those whole clusters, add complexity but also serve to quieten the wine down to a degree. It is a reserved and stately number that just misses out on being sombre because of the fresh and cool fruited profile of the palate. You can see all the pieces are in place and every element is doing it's job beautifully, but this is not a wine for the near term. I think it would be a shame to open one within five years from now and, honestly, probably a decade before it starts to really show its hand. Excellent and well worth having in your cellar. ROSCOE
2020shirazAustralia506$190.00 As low as $171.00 -
Seville Estate Old Vine Reserve Shiraz 2020From a single site at Seville Estate planted in 1972; 20% whole bunches and matured in seasoned French puncheons. From a cool year, this was picked on the 1st week of April meaning the fruit had plenty of hang time. Just 120 dozen made. A brilliant crimson magenta. Beautifully perfumed and pure. Redolent of raspberry coulis, peony, Asian spices and potpourri. Supremely elegant and structured, there's a gentle meatiness to go with the pure red fruits. The tannins are silky and persistent. Finishes very long and too good to spit! (97) JAMES HALLIDAY'S WINE COMPANION
In some ways this is similar to the Dr McMahon, which makes sense since the fruit source is the same, but it's more lively and unleashes more perfume and fruit. I would go so far as to say it has an almost airy feel to it, aromatically it's quite enticing, plenty of inviting little details that pluck at your senses. The palate eases in to things with ample weight, beautiful texture and pitch perfect tannins. It's long and edges towards vibrant with those cool edged fruit notes, but its dense enough to tell you there is a lot more to come here. What a glorious wine. In a sensational line up of booze this may be my pick of the bunch. ROSCOE
2020shirazAustralia506$110.00 As low as $99.00