It’s been a remarkable year for Yarra Yering. Widely recognised for their high-quality wines and strong attention to detail, Yarra Yering made history at this year’s 2022 Halliday Wine Companion Awards as the first producer to walk away with two major awards. Their 2019 Dry Red Wine No.1 was named Wine of the Year while they also took out the much-coveted Winery of the Year.
Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 1 2019
A blend of cabernet sauvignon (67%), merlot (15%), malbec (12%) and petit verdot (6%). All hand harvested and sorted, only the very best berries go into this wine. Fermented in half-tonne fermenters and hand plunged twice daily, components are kept separate in French oak (40% new) for 15 months before being blended just before bottling.
Tasting notes: Bask in the fragrance of this truly mesmerising wine. Floral and spicy with a hint of aniseed and fresh herbs on the nose, the palate is treated to rich fruit flavours of blackberry, mulberry, and blueberry, coated in spicy oak. Pulsing acidity and beautiful tannin structure provide shape and promise of more to come.
Delicious pairings: Think hearty winter meals and long, slow braises. Osso bucco on a creamy mash, portobello mushrooms whether stuffed or taken straight from the grill, and a selection of hard cheeses like aged cheddar, gorgonzola, or gouda.
Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 2 2019
A well-balanced blend of shiraz, mataro and viognier. Grapes are hand-picked, sorted and destemmed directly into half-tone open-fermenters with a preference for whole-berry ferment. Frozen viognier skins are added to the base of several fermenters, offering up a delectable fragrance and distinct silkiness detected on the palate. Aged 15 months in French oak, 30% new, the resulting wine is layered and complex.
Tasting notes: From its bright colour to its exhilarating fragrance of violets, Middle Eastern spices, fresh currants, and blue fruits. The oak is seamlessly integrated, with a medium-bodied palate that builds with grace. This wine has lightness of touch, and an undisputed elegance, layered with superfine, silky tannins.
Delicious pairings: Pull this wine out at your next barbecue, from sticky spareribs to beef burgers and pork, its well-balanced fruit profile will stand up to a wide range of meats nicely charred from the grill.
Yarra Yering Carrodus Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Fruit from the original 1969 Block 1 cabernet, grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed into open fermenters. They’re then hand plunged twice daily, with some extended time on skins, before gravity-filled to two French oak Bordeuaux-shaped barrels, one new and one two-years-old, for a period of 18 months.
Tasting notes: Blackberries and currants, bay leaves and lead pencil, with deep-etched cedary oak. This wine has a juiciness thanks to the acidity, and while it is fuller-bodied in nature, it exhibits beautiful tannins that are insistent yet super fine on the palate.
Delicious pairings: Charcuterie platter of olives, smoked or spicy cured meats and a perfectly aged hard cheese.
Yarra Yering Carrodus Shiraz 2019
From the small block of shiraz planted in 1969 comes a wine of great complexity and distinction. The cool climate acidity brings an energy and brightness to the palate, even in a warm year like 2019, which will carry it through many years of cellaring.
Tasting notes: Fragrant violet perfume, black plums, and cured meat. The nose will detect wafts of pepper, woody spice, and iodine, with floral and pure fruit flavours. Ribbons of fine tannin grace the palate, with liquorice and minerality offering beautiful density and length. The elegant flavour profile seems to linger for an age.
Delicious pairings: Rare roast beef with a peppery sauce, or an ox-cheek stew with a touch of smoky spice. This wine will take you from a hearty main through to an after-dinner cheese board, centred around a mellow blue or rich crumbly cheddar.
When travel is open, you can sample these top scoring wines by visiting Yarra Yering, book your tasting experience now.
This article was produced in partnership with Yarra Yering.
And while ongoing investment in equipment has helped refine the winemaking process, winemaker Sarah Crowe continues to honour the philosophy of founder Dr Bailey Carrodus by investing just as much attention to detail in the vineyard as she does in the winery. From growing exceptional fruit to small-batch, hands-on winemaking techniques, every single wine is treated with great care and thought.
Four Yarra Yering wines scored 98 points in this year’s Halliday Wine Companion, and they’re all equally worthy of your time. Learn more about them below.Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 1 2019
A blend of cabernet sauvignon (67%), merlot (15%), malbec (12%) and petit verdot (6%). All hand harvested and sorted, only the very best berries go into this wine. Fermented in half-tonne fermenters and hand plunged twice daily, components are kept separate in French oak (40% new) for 15 months before being blended just before bottling.
Tasting notes: Bask in the fragrance of this truly mesmerising wine. Floral and spicy with a hint of aniseed and fresh herbs on the nose, the palate is treated to rich fruit flavours of blackberry, mulberry, and blueberry, coated in spicy oak. Pulsing acidity and beautiful tannin structure provide shape and promise of more to come.
Delicious pairings: Think hearty winter meals and long, slow braises. Osso bucco on a creamy mash, portobello mushrooms whether stuffed or taken straight from the grill, and a selection of hard cheeses like aged cheddar, gorgonzola, or gouda.
Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 2 2019
A well-balanced blend of shiraz, mataro and viognier. Grapes are hand-picked, sorted and destemmed directly into half-tone open-fermenters with a preference for whole-berry ferment. Frozen viognier skins are added to the base of several fermenters, offering up a delectable fragrance and distinct silkiness detected on the palate. Aged 15 months in French oak, 30% new, the resulting wine is layered and complex.
Tasting notes: From its bright colour to its exhilarating fragrance of violets, Middle Eastern spices, fresh currants, and blue fruits. The oak is seamlessly integrated, with a medium-bodied palate that builds with grace. This wine has lightness of touch, and an undisputed elegance, layered with superfine, silky tannins.
Delicious pairings: Pull this wine out at your next barbecue, from sticky spareribs to beef burgers and pork, its well-balanced fruit profile will stand up to a wide range of meats nicely charred from the grill.
Yarra Yering Carrodus Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
Fruit from the original 1969 Block 1 cabernet, grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and crushed into open fermenters. They’re then hand plunged twice daily, with some extended time on skins, before gravity-filled to two French oak Bordeuaux-shaped barrels, one new and one two-years-old, for a period of 18 months.
Tasting notes: Blackberries and currants, bay leaves and lead pencil, with deep-etched cedary oak. This wine has a juiciness thanks to the acidity, and while it is fuller-bodied in nature, it exhibits beautiful tannins that are insistent yet super fine on the palate.
Delicious pairings: Charcuterie platter of olives, smoked or spicy cured meats and a perfectly aged hard cheese.
Yarra Yering Carrodus Shiraz 2019
From the small block of shiraz planted in 1969 comes a wine of great complexity and distinction. The cool climate acidity brings an energy and brightness to the palate, even in a warm year like 2019, which will carry it through many years of cellaring.
Tasting notes: Fragrant violet perfume, black plums, and cured meat. The nose will detect wafts of pepper, woody spice, and iodine, with floral and pure fruit flavours. Ribbons of fine tannin grace the palate, with liquorice and minerality offering beautiful density and length. The elegant flavour profile seems to linger for an age.
Delicious pairings: Rare roast beef with a peppery sauce, or an ox-cheek stew with a touch of smoky spice. This wine will take you from a hearty main through to an after-dinner cheese board, centred around a mellow blue or rich crumbly cheddar.
When travel is open, you can sample these top scoring wines by visiting Yarra Yering, book your tasting experience now.
This article was produced in partnership with Yarra Yering.
