£65.00
Although wine was an important industry in the Yarra Valley throughout
the 1800s, by the 1920s it had largely halted as farmers favoured the
greater returns available from sheep farming. It took the vision of a now
legendary plant physiologist and Roseworthy winemaking graduate,
Dr Bailey Carrodus, to help re-establish the Yarra Valley as one of
Australia’s preeminent wine regions. It was during his years studying at
Queen’s College, Oxford that Dr Carrodus’ wine philosophy was formed.
Here he encountered the renowned wines of the Old World that were
staples of the college cellars and these inspired him to visit the leading
wineries of France, Spain, Italy and Portugal to study their production.
He carried this knowledge with him and after taking up a position
at Melbourne University, he set his mind on finding the ideal site to
produce his own wines in a similar style to those he had grown to love.
After several years of careful research, he settled on the Yarra Valley as
the ideal site and in 1969 he purchased land at the foot of the
Warramate Hills. Here, the gentle slope with its northerly aspect and
deep grey silty loam shot through with bands of gravel fulfilled all of
his requirements: good drainage, all-day exposure to the warm sun,
and enough elevation from the valley floor to avoid the spring frosts.
He named his vineyard Yarra Yering and in 1973 produced the first
vintages of his now iconic Dry Red Wine No. 1 and Dry Red Wine No. 2.
Dr Carrodus continued to make the wines until his death in 2008, when
the winery was purchased by businessmen Ed Peter and Reid Bosward.
As long-term fans of Yarra Yering, they continue to honour the founder’s
quest for elegance and sophistication, ably supported by winemaker
Sarah Crowe, who in 2017 was named Winemaker of the Year by James
Halliday.
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 8% Malbec,
4% Petit Verdot
All hand harvested and processed across a sorting table,
only the very best berries go into this wine. The Cabernet
fruit is crushed to build structure through fermentation.
Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot are whole berry ferments
for fragrance and palate flesh. All fermented in half-tonne
fermenters and hand-plunged twice daily, some of the
Cabernet spending extended time on skins for complexity.
Components kept separate in French oak barrels, only
40% of them new, until being blended just before bottling
after 15 months’ barrel maturation.
Fruit power is the first impression, dark berry fruits and
some sage adding a background herbal lift. Oak spice is
evident but all in balance with the fruit.
The palate shows power and restraint at the same time,
the iron fist in a velvet glove. Beautiful fruit, a bright
acid drive and tannins that form a solid foundation for
the long future. Brooding but not intimidating, this will
be exciting to watch evolve.