There may be nothing fancy about the labels on many of Yarra Yering’s offerings, but that’s because the impressive part is inside the bottle.
The first time I saw a Yarra Yering label I thought it was a temporary mock-up waiting for the real ones to arrive.
Words such as ‘modest’, ‘understated’ and ‘plain’ could be considered hyperbolic in describing the simple designs that give little indication of what’s inside the bottle.
The reason Yarra Yering founder, the enigmatic Bailey Carrodus, chose such an unflashy design was to let the wines speak for themselves: no back label and no wordy prose.
It means the wines have to be pretty damn good. And as history shows, they are. Yarra Yering is one of the oldest and most beautiful vineyards in Victoria’s Yarra Valley.
It was established in 1969 and quickly gained an international reputation for quality and individuality, paving the way for other Yarra Valley wineries.
The extremely private Dr Carrodus, who died in 2008, was one of the great individuals of the Australian wine industry.
He earned bachelor and masters degrees in science, taught oenology at South Australia’s Roseworthy Agricultural College, and then embarked on new research at Oxford University attaining a PhD in botany specialising in plant physiology.
Eventually, he found a site for his vineyard in the Yarra, releasing his first vintage in 1973 (the first commercial release in the region since 1921).
Other varieties were added, including pinot noir and merlot, which when released in the early 1990s was one of the first Australian wines to break through the $100 barrier.
Yarra Yering wines are some of the most distinctive and individual of any Australian wines.
The styles Dr Carrodus created are consistently balanced, poised and precise with a feel and structure that appear effortless, yet are inherently balanced, precise and seamless.
In many ways they are somewhat atypically Australian in style.
Dr Carrodus was an early innovator in using Rhone white varieties such as marsanne, roussanne and viognier with his Dry Red Wine No. 2 shiraz.
The 2019 vintage of Dry Red Wine No. 2 is an exquisite blend, epitomising fragrance, spice and texture.
The shiraz is co-fermented with marsanne, for texture, and viognier, for fragrance and silkiness.
A little mataro delivers spice, resulting in a wine that is multi-faceted and captivating.
This will be one of the highlights of the Cherubino International Shiraz Challenge being held in Margaret River on Saturday May 18.
The current winemaker is Sarah Crowe, who arrived after stints with Brokenwood and several high-profile French vineyards.
Ms Crowe joined the Yarra Yering team in 2013 as winemaker and continues to develop and highlight the focus on a single-vineyard sites, giving the individual blocks and varieties the time and attention they deserve.
She is continuing to produce single varietal wines that express the unique sites and established blends of the cabernet dominant Dry Red Wine No.1 and the shiraz No.2, along with the small production Carrodus range.
The current line-up from the 2022 vintage are some of the best I have tasted from Yarra Yering.
These are not big-volume wines, so check out the specialist stores or go online.
Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No.1 2022 ($150)
A classic Bordeaux blend of cabernet with merlot, malbec and petit verdot. It is one of Australia’s most distinctive and best expressions of cabernetdominant wine. It’s a Bordeaux blend but also presents very much in the Bordeaux style. Black fruits with a slightly rustic ironstone on the nose. The palate has a blackcurrant and slightly savoury and dried herb bay leaf nuance. A little of that oyster shell minerality holds the line through to a very long finish. Super stuff.
Score 98/100
Cellar: 25 years
Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No.2 2022 ($130)
This is a shiraz co-fermented with marsanne mataro and viognier. The colour is bright with a brilliant luminosity. Sweet fruit notes on the nose and palate engage with subtle savoury chalky characters: a complex addition to the medium weight but intense fruit. A little spice brings further life. The chalky fine tannins provide the structural support for a lingering finish.
Score 96/100
Cellar: 18 years
Yarra Yering Carrodus chardonnay 2022 ($175)
A distinctive style of chardonnay that captures much of the vineyard and the pure expression of the fruit. Whole bunch pressed into barrel with oxidative handling and no additions apart from yeast inoculation. Matured for 10 months in a mix of 50 per cent new French oak and older oaks. There is steely minerally purity here with a racy, fine acidity sustaining precise and very long palate. Wonderful depth of fruit is driven to a sustained finish.
Score 97/100
Cellar: 10 years
- Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected wine journalists, contributing to newspapers and magazines over more than 40 years. In 2017 he co-authored The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region
