Victoria
Australia’s third most important viticultural state, it is responsible for 23 percent of the vines. Notable fine wine regions include the Yarra Valley (a prime spot for Pinot Noir), Sunbury (Chardonnay, Shiraz), Heathcote (Shiraz), Macedon Ranges (Pinot Noir) and Rutherglen (Liqueur Muscats). Victoria is the source of exemplary sparkling wines and sweet, fortified styles such as liqueur Muscat.
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Crittenden Estate,
Ready, but will keep,
Rollo Crittenden introduced Italian varieties t this pioneering Mornington estate. Following in their father’s footsteps, today siblings (“hermanos” in Spanish) Rollo and Zoe are experimenting with Spanish varietals. For their Tempranillo, they aim to make a youthful easy-drinking style, where the primary fruit characters are dominant. The wine spends only five months in old oak to give extra complexity, without eclipsing its generous bouquet of plums, cherries and sweet spice. Extremely enjoyable now, this will drink well to 2021.
Stefania Masin - Wine Buyer
Stefania Masin - Wine Buyer
Circe Wines,
Ready, but will improve,
Circe’s Hillcrest Road now leads Pinot Noir production in the area – which is no mean feat, given the level of competition. It is sourced from a 1.2-hectare cool northeast-facing site planted in 1993, about 2.5 miles from the coast. With only 20 hl/ha making it to fermentation, low yield is the main weapon in the quality arsenal. For the 2016 vintage, fermentation was 100 percent whole bunch with six days foot-stomping. This considered winemaking delivers a wine of standout sophistication – offering delicate wood smoke and spice on the nose and black cherry on the palate. This is a deep and complex wine meant to be savoured slowly or reserved to evolve in the cellar for years to come.
Katherine Dart MW, Wine Buyer
Katherine Dart MW, Wine Buyer
Yarra Yering Vineyards,
Ready, but will keep,
Yarra Yering was the creation of Dr Bailey Carrodus, a legendary, pioneering figure in Australian viticulture who sadly died in 2008. He planted an eclectic range of European grape varieties but was particularly successful with Bordeaux grapes and Syrah. Usually he would blend Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot but in 2006 made a wine exclusively from Merlot, not a grape which is widely or successfully planted in Australia. The aim is to produce something akin to a top Pomerol; the nose has an abundance of rich, plumy fruit with chocolate notes; on the palate the tannins are wonderfully ripe with a silky texture and the chocolate theme continues with hints of mocha too. Very long on the finish, impressively concentrated and well worthy of comparison to some of the great Right Bank Bordeaux wines.
Yarra Yering Vineyards,
Ready, but will keep,
The classic No 1. blend of predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, with additions of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Another long, hot and dry growing season resulted in a big brooding beast that will require even more cellaring than usual. The nose of currants, mint and leafy aromas give way to a huge core of concentrated fruit, offering up notes of liquorice, cassis and blueberry. Huge, but very fine tannins with balanced oak, there is a sense of precision and freshness despite the magnitude of this wine.
Yarra Yering Vineyards,
Ready, but will keep,
"Always a talking point at a Yarra Yering tasting. Made using indigenous Portugese varieties and fortified very much in a vintage Port style. Think of a vintage port with slightly sweeter fruit and more appealing in its infancy. The Potsorts has come a long way in recent years, and as the vines age, the structure and depth increase and we now see a perfect balance with the alcohol. This should really be left for a decade, and will provide a great alternative to standard vintage Port. Robert Parker is a huge fan!"
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Yarra Yering Vineyards,
Ready, but will keep,
"The Underhill vineyard was bought in the late eighties, with the intention of the fruit going into the No 2. However the rich clay content in the soil produced fruit that had an identity all of its own, so the Underhill was born. The Underhill Shiraz is a much broader, muscular style of Shiraz than the Dry Red No 2, not dissimilar to Hermitage, with a huge core of black fruit, leather and black pepper notes. With age, the Underhill is perhaps the most individual wine I have tasted with savoury meat and stewed fruit aromas coming to the fore. This has been a favourite with Berrys' customers for many years now."
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Yarra Yering Vineyards,
Ready, but will keep,
Shiraz from Aus. is often hot ,fat and huge, where a sniff or sip gives very short term interest and enjoyment. This is completely the opposite! Explosive nose of ripe, cool spicy black/red fruits with a shot of pepper and mustard. Exhilarating!. Beautifully constructed with precise and expressive fruit. Soft and integrated tannins give it a sexy mouthfill and a fabulous minute long finish. A total delight! Drink now but give it 2- 10 years and it will just keep giving.
Yarra Yering Vineyards,
Ready, but will keep,
The 2004 Dry Red Wine No. 2 (95% Shiraz and 5% Marsanne and Viognier), while also amazing, is more closed, tannic, and harder to fully penetrate than the Shiraz. With aeration, the bouquet reveals notions of exotic Asian spices intermixed with flowers, blackberries, and cassis. In the mouth, the wine struts its stuff with a full-bodied, layered, broad, flavorful, concentrated style and moderately high tannin in the finish. This fabulous bambino needs to be cellared for 2-4 years and drunk over the following two decades.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Dec-2006
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - Dec-2006
Yarra Yering Vineyards,
Ready, but will keep,
A much broader, denser wine than the No. 2, the Underhill Shiraz is from separate parcel of vines adjacent to the winery. The original plan was for the fruit to go into No 2. blend, however the stronger clay content in the soils has produced a wine with an identity all of its own, with remarkable texture and meaty, smoky bacon notes that offers the juiciest of tannins. With the soaring heat of the last few vintages the Underhill has upped a gear in concentration and extraction; however the harmony remains with the balanced acid guiding all of this fruit.
Drink now,
The Roussanne Marsanne is based on the style of the great Hermitage Blancs of the Northern Rhone Valley. The aim is for richness, minerality and hedonism in this, the most premium white wine. The style is typically lower in acid and high in phenolic content, which provides richness on the palate and requisite phenolics to age. While floral, bright in fruit and pretty in youth this wine should age to become savoury, complex and decadent in years to come.
A blend of 60% Marsanne and 40% Roussanne, the 2016 Marsanne Roussanne offers pretty scents of warm peach, beeswax, honey and allspice with a hint of baking bread. Medium-bodied with plenty of savory and stone fruit flavor layers, it has a satiny texture and great persistence. 160 cases were made. Drink 2017–2023.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate 229, 28th February 2017
A blend of 60% Marsanne and 40% Roussanne, the 2016 Marsanne Roussanne offers pretty scents of warm peach, beeswax, honey and allspice with a hint of baking bread. Medium-bodied with plenty of savory and stone fruit flavor layers, it has a satiny texture and great persistence. 160 cases were made. Drink 2017–2023.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown - The Wine Advocate 229, 28th February 2017
Showing 1-28 out of 28 items
Katherine Dart MW, Wine Buyer