External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.4 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 8 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Rote Kappelle on 4/15/2023 & rated 96 points: Presumably the medico who wrote 'ETOH dependant' on my chart a few years ago would feel vindicated when I write that the sensual pleasure of some wine can really help guide one through the darkest moments. Of course that also applies to rugby, cricket, a well written sentence, a dawn/sunset, the flight of a bird, the shape of a woman, the taste of home grown fruit just picked and beating dogs and children (the difference is not always readily apparent to me). Perhaps I am dependent on all of these things as well.
1990 and 1991 were two sensational vintages (1992 was no slouch either) throughout most of Oz. 1990 was more up front, 1991 perhaps a little more structured. It was no different in the Yarra Valley, where Yarra Yering do their thing. A friend opened his 1990 YY for me many years later and it remains a lasting memory.
I make no apologies for adoring YY. I love the site itself, the wines are very distinctive and every time I have been there, I have been treated well. As someone with a personality that might most kindly be described as 'difficult' I appreciate these things.
The cork (they have abandoned this stupid closure for the domestic market thank goodness) was terrifying. Removing the capsule there was a splendid growth of mold. Always a bit worrying. However, I was relieved that this was more the white variety and not the chilling dark, mildewy type. Feeling like the knight in the poem Jabberwok, I entered the dark forest clutching both my Vorpal Corkscrew and, as a sort of main-gauche a prongy thing (poetically known as an Ah-So). A wise precaution for the cork proceeded to behave like a bastard, breaking in two and also doing the core extraction thing that is fine if one is drilling for a sample, but which is a shit storm when opening a bottle of wine. The main-gauche saved the day, removing the last of the cork, thanks to some manipulations by me that caused me to speculate on whether I had done a lot of yoga or gymnastics in a past life.
The cork was well stained up the sides and I was not feeling optimistic about the state of the 30 year old wine within. Dialing up the coordinates for Portugal's cork forests, I was loading not Agent Orange (as I have previously posited), but the heaviest of thermonuclear strikes, to then be followed by Agent Orange. After that my legions would sow salt in the soil to ensure that the cork heresy was forever conquered.
Naturally, the fates being fickle, the wine within was in splendid condition. Being YY the colour is always fairly dense but there was preciosu little brick to be seen.
The wine was decanted into my Riedel Horse Penis shape decanter. From the first it was everything one wants in YY. People speak of Graves and I can see the link but to me YY Number 1 is Right Bank. The proportions of the grape varieties does favour the Graves comparison (Merlot plays a big part but Cabernet is dominant) but the mouthfeel and general flavour and aromatic profile speak to me more of Pomerol. I am of the view that the soil types are also closer to those of the Right Bank than of Graves or the Left Bank generally but on this I could be wrong.
YY wines always exhibit remarkable balance on release and in a way, nothing changes with age but the wines do seem to get even deeper, without losing their agility or seeming less lithe. I am put in mind of Norman Lindsay's drawings of young women; they have full figures but with poise and so much grace.
I smell plum, dark berry, a lovely clay smell (wet stone could be another descriptor and it draws me to Pomerol as well), some crumbly loam and just a touch of Balsamic to provide some tension. The palate is so long, like a lingering caress, intensity is of the velvet glove type. If this is ETOH dependency then bring it on. I get the same from music, so bring on aural dependency as well. In fact I am dependent on so many things but take them out and I am not seeing the point in having a pulse. Being alive is only alive if you are experiencing life deeply, drinking it in as you want. If you have balance, like good wine, like this wine, then you live. You are only one aortic dissection away from the black and only one great sunrise, run, book, song, sonata, wine from the same. (915 views) | | | Tasted by Rieslingfan on 4/7/2022: Served blind, and decanted prior to the tasting.
This wine had us all thinking France when first tried. One of the tasters guess "Graves" right off the bat, and that certainly seemed plausible. Elegance, minerality - it fit. There was still a notable level of dusty red fruit, and some cedary/cigar box type aromas. It felt like gracefully aged Bordeaux on a plateau of maturity - all the elements developing on the same path, so the flavors and the structure were in balance. We eventually worked our way to Australia, but only with a million hints. Beautiful bottle in a prime drinking window. (618 views) | | | Tasted by RN on 10/21/2016 & rated 94 points: Holding its age well. Fading slightly but still very elegant/restrained but at the same time intense. Sign of a good wine after 25 years of bottle age. (1251 views) | | | Tasted by brigcampbell on 4/11/2013: Wow, what a graceful wine. Tasted double blind. I guessed cabernet sauvignon and since it lacked the classic Napa flavor profile I went overseas and guessed super Tuscan. The black currant is very bright for such an aged wine with a nice rounded finish of gentle soft tannins. (2736 views) | | | Tasted by Tim Heaton on 4/10/2013: Aerated to decanter 5 hours, which proved just right. Enjoyed over the following 3 hours, this continued to open up right up to the last glass. On first opening, a dead ringer for 96 Ridge Monte Bello, but with each successive pour, it moved more into the 2nd growth left-bank realm. My WOTY so far. Elegance, polish, depth, purity. Simply brilliant stuff. Glad to have been able to share it with Hollowine and brigcampbell. 12,0% abv, drink thru 2018 (2980 views) | | | Tasted by Rupert on 6/10/2009 & rated 94 points: Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 1 - The Complete Vertical 1975 to 2006 (The Ledbury, London): Ripe, oaky focused, classic YY with its intense cassis, but smooth and luxuriously textured, brilliant (5819 views) | | | Tasted by mhurford on 1/30/2008 & rated 94 points: Elegantly scented rich fruit cassis & blackberry nose. Silky & harmonious - just gorgeous (3247 views) | | | Tasted by smenzies on 9/28/2007 & rated 94 points: Nose becomes magnificent after 45 mins of decanting...great fruit...somewhat idiosyncratic compared to other vintages...but universally loved by us (2682 views) |
| Yarra Yering Producer Website
Producer Twitter Feed
One of the first vineyards to be established in the modern Yarra Valley, Yarra Yering was founded in the early 1970s by Dr Bailey Carrodus. Dr. Carrodus served as winemaker until just prior to his death in September 2008 when he installed Paul Bridgeman.
Yarra Yering supplements the traditional Yarra Valley picks of cool climate pinot noir and chardonnay with an impressive array of red blends. Dr. Carrodus's first vintage (1973) brought forth his now iconic Dry Red #1 and Dry Red #2, a cabernet sauvignon and shiraz blend respectively. Since then, the range has expanded to include a number of red and white blends, as well as a some straight releases (pinot noir, shiraz, chardonnay and viognier).
The wines can vary considerably from vintage to vintage, but drinkers can bank on the releases being complex and very individual interpretations of the fruit and the terroir. Yarra Yering is not a "typical" approach to the Yarra Valley.
Dr. Carrodus's vineyard is second to none (perhaps an exaggeration...) in the Yarra Valley. It has expanded to 70+ acres of North and West facing slopes. It is adjacent to the ex-Halliday owned Coldstream Hills property, just outside of Gruyere.
Sarah Crowe joined Yarra Yering in 2013 after more than a decade in the Hunter Valley. She was lured to Victoria by the winery's impeccable reputation and the desire to produce cool-climate wines. In 2017 Sarah was named Halliday's Winemaker of the Year for the wines of 2014 – her very first vintage with Yarra Yering. Working harmoniously alongside her is Yarra Valley's homegrown vineyard manager Andrew George, who celebrates 10 years with the winery in 2022.
Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)Victoria Wines of Victoria (Victorian Wine Industry Association)Yarra Valley Wine Yarra Valley (Yarra Valley Wine Growers Association) |
|
