Description
The Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia produced wine from the mid-1800s to the 1920s.
In 1969, Dr Bailey Carrodus re-established winemaking in the area.
He completed degrees in horticulture and winemaking and studied in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
Dr Carrodus found a vineyard site in the Yarra Valley and produced wine in the style he loved.
After his passing, the vineyard was sold to two businessmen who continue to operate it with the same philosophy.
The current winemaker, Sarah Crowe, was named James Halliday’s 2017 Winemaker of the Year and focuses on producing high-quality wine.
At Yarra Yering, all fruit is hand-picked in the cool of the morning into 10kg picking buckets and delivered directly to the winery.
The fruit is then sorted and either destemmed or crushed into traditional tea chest 0.5-tonne open-fermenters.
Depending on the variety, stalks may be added back during the fermentation stage in baskets for easy removal when there is just enough stalk tannin present.
The 70 acres of vines at Yarra Yering are grown without irrigation on a northerly slope at the foot of the Warramate hills.
The vines benefit from good drainage, all-day exposure to the sun, and enough elevation from the valley floor to avoid spring frosts.
This produces wines that are inherently balanced, precise, and elegant.
The low yield of 1-2 tons per acre results in fruit with great intensity and concentration of flavour, as well as an abundance of natural acidity.
Yarra Yering’s Block No.
1 was the site of the first plantings, which included Cabernet vines and Malbec in 1969.
Merlot vines were also interplanted with the Cabernet, and subsequent plantings of Petit Verdot were made in 1990 on newly acquired neighbouring land.
All fruit is hand-harvested and sorted, with only the best berries used in the wine.
The Cabernet fruit is individually berry sorted before being crushed to build structure through fermentation.
Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot are whole berry ferments for fragrance and palate flesh.
All are fermented in half-tonne fermenters and hand plunged twice daily, with one third of the Cabernet spending extended time on skins for complexity and to build the savoury edge.
The components are kept separate in French oak barrels, 40% new, until being blended just before bottling after 15 months of barrel maturation.
Upon bottling, the wine is shy and requires bottle maturation to unfurl.
With suitable cellaring conditions, it will evolve for 20+ years.
Yarra Yering’s Dry Red Wine No.
1 2020 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (20%), Malbec (15%), and Petit Verdot (5%).
The cool 2020 season produced summer berry fruits with a hint of bay leaf for an herbal lift.
The wine has a balanced mix of mixed spice and oak, with beautiful fruit, bright acidity, and tannins that provide a solid foundation for a long future.
It is complex yet approachable, always exciting to watch evolve over time.
The Finer Details Style – Red Wine Varietal – 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot Country – Australia Region – Yarra Valley, Victoria Vintage – 2020 Bottle Size – 750ml ABV – 13.5%
