To all intents and purposes, between 1966 and 1988 I had two lives running parallel to each other, one as a partner of a rapidly growing law firm, the other as a jack-of-all-trades wine professional. 1983 was the year I moved from Sydney, the Hunter Valley and Brokenwood Wines to Melbourne, the Yarra Valley and Pinot Noir.
I had written Wines and Wineries of Victoria in 1982, and had tasted and seen enough to know the Yarra Valley was the El Dorado for pinot noir. But where? I spent days driving back and forth until I felt the Warramate Hills was the area of most promise.
There was a striking house high on the hillside at the end of Maddens Lane, and I asked Dr Bailey Carrodus of Yarra Yering, who I had come to know very well, to keep an eye out for properties in the area that might come up for sale. Well, a year later (1985) that hillside house was (and is) mine, becoming the nucleus of Coldstream Hills, its northern boundary the southern boundary of Yarra Yering.
The years passed as Coldstream Hills grew, as did Brokenwood. In 2001 Sarah Crowe was recruited by Brokenwood, spending the next 10 years there. Dr Carrodus died in 2008 and Crowe joined the Yarra Yering team in September 2013.
The other day she staged vertical tastings of 33 vintages of Underhill Shiraz (1989-2021) and 15 vintages of Chardonnay (2008-2022). The Chardonnays fell into two groups: those with cork 2008-2012, all madeirised, 2013 onwards with screwcaps, the ’15, ’17 and ’21 exceptional. The stand out shirazs ’91, ’94, ’99, ’01, ’02, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’09, ’13, ’14, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’19 and, arguably the best of all, the ’21. But that’s not all. Yarra Yering has an Aladdin’s Cave of bottlings of magnums and double magnums, and have back vintages of some of these (and standard 750ml bottles). The surprise finale was a once-only magnum of 2019 Underhill Foudre Shiraz.
2019 Yarra Yering Underhill Foudre Shiraz
This was fermented and matured in a new 3500l French oak foudre (or cask), with the use of whole bunch and whole berry must a win-win outcome of seasoning the oak and making a hypnotically delicious perfume and pure silk mouthfeel to its kaleidoscope of red and black cherries and cedary oak. Magnum only.
97 points, drink to 2038, 13.5% alc, screwcap, $310
2021 Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz
Its glorious colour is no false dawn. Texture, structure, length and elegance are the architecture of a wine effortlessly filling the senses with the purity and diamond-cut detail of its complex array of plum, blackberry, licorice and spice flavours.
98 points, drink to 2043, 13.5% alc, screwcap, $130
2021 Yarra Yering Chardonnay
1988 and 1992 are the only vintages to stand alongside 2021 with chardonnay, pinot noir and shiraz of such sublime quality. The drive, intensity and length of this wine are world class, white peach providing the flesh, grapefruit the acidity of a palate that simply won’t let go.
97 points, drink to 2030, 13% alc, screwcap, $130
