Some readers would know that one of my favourite grape varieties are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (aka Burgundy white and red wines).  So a few friends suggested that I should visit the Burgundy equivalent region in Australia, Victoria state.  Per their recommendatins, Victoria state has 2 famous Chardonnay and Pinot Noir producing regions, Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula.  So, with a good buddy, we hired a car and off we went.

The first stop was Yarra Valley which is less than an hour’s drive away from Melbourne.  So after getting a free car upgrade (to a BMW- although we were not informed that it was a 1 series), we headed straight into Yarra Valley.

The first stop was Yering Station, a famous cellar door in the heart of Yarra Valley with excellent views.

As an introduction to Yarra Valley, this is a great starting point as they have so many different varieties of wines to try.  The biggest difference in visiting Cellar Doors in Victoria (compared to Hunter Valley) is that there is generally a nominal fee (between A$5 to A$10) charged per person to taste the wines which is refunded when one makes a purchase.  I find this is actually better as it removes my ‘guilt’ factor of tasting wines for free and then feeling compelled to at least buy a bottle as a token of my appreciation.

The following are my notes of the wines tasted:

Yering Station Chardonnay Reserve 2010

Nose:  Lemons, mineral nose with a hint of oak.

Taste:  Good body and structure.  Medium full bodied with good acidity and length.

Finish: 15 sec fininsh.

A good decent wine. but is it worth A$90 a bottle???  The pricing is very very high!

 

Yering Station Shiraz Viognier 2010

Nose: Black fruits, blackurrants, cassis and blackberries.

Taste:  The fruits in the nose does follow on into the palate.  There pepper and a hint of Asian 5 spice.  Good tannic body.

Finish: 15-20 sec finish.

A decent bottle of wine but sadly the price is just wrong at A$90 a bottle!  or its just me being skint…

Yering Station Pinot Noir 2010

Nose:  red berries and red fruit. raspberries with a hint of violets, herbs and cassis.

Taste: Good body and structure.  The wine is fruity but has the tannic backbone to age.

Finish: 20 second finish.

A very good bottle of wine but I’ll leave it to each individual to decide of A$90 a bottle is a fair price to pay.  For me, I might be in the enviable position of having access to great burgs at a significantly cheaper price.

Yering Station Shiraz Viognier 2006

Nose: Red and black fruits with a strong cassis nose.  Hint of vanilla.

Taste:  This wine has good acidity and even though it is aged, it still retains some fruit freshness.  The aging process has definitely developed the wine to be smoother but there is still sufficient tannic structure to age.

Finish:  20+ second finish

A good bottle of wine.  Again at A$100 a bottle, my friend would happily drink his Barossa valley reds which are at least half the price.  but then again, this is Yarra Valley…

So after the first stop and thinking that I need to win the lottery to be able to enjoy Yarra Valley wines, we went off to our next stop Tarrawarra.

Immediately one could sense that the wines here are a lot more down to earth (thank goodness!)

Tarrawarra Chardonnay Reserve 2011

Nose: Slight lemon peel, hint of butter and white fruits

Taste: Light to medium bodied.  Low in acidity with white flowers.

Finish:  Short finish of c10 seconds.

Tarrawarra Estate Pinot Noir 2011.

Nose: Simple, light nose.  Rose petals and red berries.

Taste: Light bodied, fruit forward.  Acidic with tannins dominating at the moment.

Finish: 10 second finish

Tarrawarra H Block Pinot Noir 2011

Nose: More subdued, less fruity

Taste:  More acidic body, less fruity but compensated with additional structure.

Finish: 10 Second tannic dry finish

Tarrawarra Reserve Pinot noir 2012

Nose:  Red Berries

Taste: Has a bit of a syrah texture.

Finish: 15 second finish.

Good red wine.

The wines in Tarrawarra is very good and the prices are a lot more reasonable compared to Yering Station.

After Tarrawarra, the next stop was an interesting cellar door with 2 labels (Innocent Bystander and Giant Steps).  Their building looks really cool and it houses a fantastic restaurant on site as well.

Giant Steps is the premium wine so it makes sense to get straight to the good stuff :-P.

Giant Steps 2012 Sexton Chardonnay

Nose:  White flowers, hint of honey and lemon

Taste: Good balance, fruity, very smooth and slight acidity.

Finish: 15 second finish

Giant Steps 2012 Tarraford Vineyard

Nose: White fruits, honey suckle, hint of vanilla and lemon

Taste: Good acidity, lemon fruitiness, mineral and good structure

Finish: 15 second finish

Giant Steps Arthurs Creek Chardonnay 2012

Nose: White fruits

Taste:  A fuller and much bigger wine.

Finish: 20 seconds finish.  All in all a bigger wine.

Mea Culpa Chardonnay

Nose:  Butter, pear, white flower and hint of honey.

Taste: Medium bodied, fruity, good balance.

Finish: 25 second fruity finish.

Giant Steps Sexton Pinot Noir 2012

Nose: Red Fruit, dandelion and violet; raspberries and very herby nose

Taste: Medium bodied slight acidic structure

Finish: 10 sec finish

Giant Steps Gladydale Vineyard 2012

Nose:  Red berries with a hint of dark fruits and cassis

Taste: Smooth texture, a bit of heat.  The red fruits do come thorugh with a slight acidity.

Finish: 15 second finish

Giant Steps Applejack Vineyards 2012 Pinot Noir

Nose: Raspberry, good red fruits with a hint of minerality

Taste:  Good balance and structure with red fruits.

Finish:  15 seconds

Mea Culpa Shiraz 2012

Overall a medium bodied wine with good balance and a 15 sec finish.

We were very lucky to secure a cellar door visit to one of Yarra Valley’s most famous vineyards, Yeringberg, which was also the highlight of the trip.

The underground cellars at Yeringberg.

 

Yeringberg Viognier 2012

Nose:  Very fruity nose of white fruits and white flowers.

Taste:  Simple light medium bodied

Finish: 10 sec finish

Yeringberg Chardonnay 2012

Nose: Lemons, white fruits.

Taste:  Good balance with the fruitiness and acidity balancing well.

Finisg:  15 second finish

Yeringberg 2011 Pinot Noir

Nose: Raspberry and red fruits with a hint of crushed strawberries

Taste: Good fruit and low acidity (which is reflective of the vintage)

Finish:  20 second fruity finish

Yeringberg 2011 (the flagship wine)

Nose: Blackcurrant, cassis and a hint of acidity

Taste: Good fruit length, slight tannins with a smooth acidity.

Finish:  15 second finish

 

Yeringberg 2010

This is essentially similar to the 2010 but is much more rounded and has a longer 20 second finish.

Final stop for the day, Colstream Hills which used to be owned and managed by James Halliday.

Coldstream Hills Chardonnay 2012

Nose: Lemon acidity, butter, honeysuckle and white fruit

Taste:  Good balance and fruity with a hint of acidity

Finish:  10 second finish

A good wine for an aperitif.

Coldstream Hills Deer Fram Vineyard Chardonnay 2012

Nose:  Lemon zest, similar to the chardonnay but with a bigger concentration of fruit.

Taste:  Medium bodied with good acididty

Finish:  a smooth long 25 second finish

Coldstream Hills Rising Chardonnay 2012

Nose:  White fruits and lots of minerals!

Taste:  Significantly more acididc thhan the Deer Farm. less fruity with lots of minerality

Finish: 20 second finish

Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay

Nose:  Butter and popcorn, white fruits with a hint of lemon

Taste:  Good balance and fruit with a hint of lemon acidity

Finish:  15 secodn finish

We tried to visit the last cellar door (Yarra Yering) but sadly was 5 minutes too late.  Ah well, at least we managed to soak up the view prior to heading back to Melbourne.

My friend went all jumpy during dinner when he saw the wine menu and managed to persuade me to share a wine which was on his ‘to drink’ list.

I guess you can take a Barossa Valley wine lover to Victoria, but sadly you can’t keep him from wanting Barossa wines…

Rockford Basket Press Shiraz 2010

Nose:  very dense nose, blackcurrant, cassis, blackberries. Hint of flint, black cherries, hint of vanilla from oak

Taste: wow!  Powerful wine but well balanced and smooth.  All the fruit from the nose is transported to the wine.  A bit of heat.

Finish: 30 sec+ finish with a hint of mocha and lots of fruit!

A wine that must go with food, I recommend steak.

 

The next post will cover the Mornington Peninsula.  Watch this space… :-D!