Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No. 2 2021

Maker: In 1969, Dr Bailey Carrodus re-established winemaking in Yarra Valley in Victoria, picking up from where it left in mid-1800s to the 1920s. He completed degrees in horticulture and winemaking and studied in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Dr Carrodus found a vineyard site in the Yarra Valley and produced wine in the style he loved. After his passing, the vineyard was sold to two businessmen who carried on his legacy and pathed the way to becoming one of the region’s oldest and most respected wineries. From 2013 the coveted role of winemaker and general manager went to Sarah Crowe who was named James Halliday’s 2017 Winemaker of the Year. Sarah makes elegant, acclaimed wines, but humbly credits the vineyard as the true hero. Vineyard: At Yarra Yering, all fruit is hand-picked in the cool of the morning into 10kg picking buckets and delivered directly to the winery. The fruit is then sorted and either destemmed or crushed into traditional tea chest 0.5-tonne open-fermenters. Depending on the variety, stalks may be added back during the fermentation stage in baskets for easy removal when there is just enough stalk tannin present. The 70 acres of vines at Yarra Yering are grown without irrigation on a northerly slope at the foot of the Warramate hills. The vines benefit from good drainage, all-day exposure to the sun, and enough elevation from the valley floor to avoid spring frosts. This produces wines that are inherently balanced, precise, and elegant. The low yield of 1-2 tons per acre results in fruit with great intensity and concentration of flavour, as well as an abundance of natural acidity. Winestyle/Cuvee: Yarra Yering’s Dry Red Wine No. 2 2021 is a blend of 96% Shiraz, 2% Viognier, 1% Marsanne, 1% Mataro. The Shiraz vines were originally planted in 1969, with additional plantings in the 1990s, while the Mataro and Viognier were drawn from vines planted between 1984 and 1995. The fruit is hand-picked, sorted, and destemmed directly into Yarra Yering’s half-tonne open-fermenters, with as much whole berry as possible retained to encourage perfume. Some fermenters had frozen Viognier skins added to the bottom. The wine is aged for 15 months in French oak barriques, 30% new, before blending and bottling. A complex and layered wine; sweet and savoury all at once. The fragrance is a melting pot of violets, plums, savoury spices and a whiff of bramble and five spice. Moderate in weight; the summer pudding fruits come in all colours dialling up the flavour interest. There is cigar box and cardamom spice lending intrigue. Firm yet fine tannins ably support the fruit and texture drive the palate. This one is hard to put in a box, there is so much to love. Tasting: Nose – Plums, Savoury Spices, Bramble Palate – Pudding Fruits, Cigar Box, Cardamom Firm yet fine tannins ably support the fruit and texture drive the palate. Finish – Drive, Drying Grip, Cedar Fine tannins chiming in with drying grip and sapidity as it drives long on the finish The wine is medium-full bodied and it has intensity and drive without excessive weight, the tannins chiming in with drying grip and sapidity as it drives long on the finish and resonates through its authoritative aftertaste. Superb. – Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 98 Points. An interesting contrast between this, the Underhill Shiraz and the Carrodus Shiraz, the No. 2 red may end up being the most long-lived of this terrific trio in 2021. – Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion, 96 Points. The Finer Details Style – Red Wine Varietal – 96% Shiraz, 2% Viognier, 1% Marsanne, 1% Mataro Country – Australia Region – Yarra Valley, Victoria Vintage – 2021 Bottle Size – 750ml ABV – 14%