The harvest was in full swing when I arrived Mount Maryama small vineyard in Victoria’s prestigious Yarra Valley, a historic winemaking region in south-eastern Australia. Third-generation winemaker Sam Middleton turns away from his crew, busy maneuvering vats filled with grapes toward the crusher, and directs me to a slope overlooking the vines for a chat about the terroir. Gently rolling hills stretch out in what seems like every shade of green, divided by zones of sunlight and shade, and neat rows of farms are isolated by much of the surrounding countryside.
The landscape here is every bit as beautiful as the vineyards of Tuscany, Bordeaux, or Napa, although the whopping 16-hour flight (which rises to over 21 hours if you’re coming from the East Coast) has proven a bit prohibitive for some North American visitors. But with the quality of wine produced in Victoria increasingly praised as some of the best in the world, the region has become impossible to ignore – especially for wine lovers. With a climate that Middleton remembers his grandfather describing in the 1970s as “a little warmer than Burgundy and not quite as warm as Bordeaux,” there is still an ongoing debate over exactly which grape varieties should define the region. The resulting encounter makes the trip more rewarding for visitors.
Although this relatively cool-climate region of Australia had a grape-growing history dating back to before the 1870s, the economic downturn of the next half-century effectively erased it from the broader winemaking map. The once-powerful vineyards were uprooted in the 1920s, and the land was used instead for sheep farming and dairy production. Meanwhile, the characteristics of Victoria’s more famous neighbour, South Australia’s Barossa Valley, have clouded the typically international understanding of what Australian wine is – or, more importantly, what it can be.
Sarah Crow, winemaker and general manager at Yara Yeringone of the region’s oldest and best-known producers, finds that stereotypes about bold, hearty South Australian wines still prevail. “Victoria’s Yarra Valley is a cool climate region, but when someone in North America thinks of Australian wines, they probably think of very ripe, smooth, juicy acids,” says Crowe. “Here, it’s a little more European. We have brighter acidity, and this is an aromatic, medium-bodied, elegant wine. When people try Yarra Yering, they say: ‘Oh, that’s really nice – and that’s not what I expected!’
But working in unfavorable conditions is a familiar situation for winemakers in developing regions throughout the New World. After all, it took European rule like Paris to really put Napa on the map Back in the 70’s. the The Willamette Valley has quietly flourished for years Before any critic takes Oregon seriously. Although there has not been a singular moment of international acclaim for Victorian wine yet, many small moments are constantly growing – and many of them have to do with Cru winemaking.
She took over as winemaker at Yarra Yering in 2013, after spending time in the Hunter Valley, a wine-growing region in New South Wales, just north of Sydney. By the time it came to the Yarra Valley icon, it already had a solid reputation due to the replanting operations undertaken by founder Dr Billy Carrodus in 1969; Under Crow’s leadership, the product has catapulted onto the international scene with award-winning blends and numerous highly rated syrups.
On a personal level, she is very humble and, as most great winemakers will tell you, believes that attention to the vines and the fruit is paramount, which transcends any personal style.
“I’m still quite involved in the viticulture side, because the more work we do there, the easier and more beautiful the wines become,” she says, noting that the wines have also become more “representative of the site.” Having won critic James Halliday’s award for Winemaker of the Year in 2017, it quickly became clear that the match between Cru and location was a winning combination. As Yarra Yering’s star continues to rise, so does the rest of the valley.
At Mount Mary, Middleton’s grandfather, Dr. John Middleton, began planting vines in the valley in the early 1970s, around the time Yarra Yering was founded. Dr. Middleton fell in love with the wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux midway through his life, and hoped to recreate what he had experienced in France in his native Australia. “It wasn’t until the mid-1960s and early 1970s that the valley was again identified as a place to make age-worthy, subtle, restrained and elegant styles of wine that went well with food,” Middleton tells the Observer. “We hoped this would match the best wines in the world.”
Fortunately for Middleton, his grandfather plAnts are well researched. Part of the second wave of growers sparking a revival in the valley, this small, family-owned and operated producer consistently receives national accolades for its wines. Both Yarra Yering and Mount Mary range between blends that lean towards the Bordeaux style, with Cabernet Sauvignon blends that balance small proportions of varietals such as Merlot and Petit Verdot, as well as straight grapes of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, beloved grapes from cooler growing regions.
In my estimation, Middleton Pinot noir He was one of the best I had anywhere in the world, but his heart will forever be with me Quintetblends Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, petite Verdot and Malbec to soften the edges. Like Yara Yering Dry red No. 1 and Dry red no. 3which is synonymous with the brand’s high quality, Quintet was a near-perfect combination. As the second wave continues to take shape, it’s worth noting that these producers are standing on the shoulders of giants.
In the oldest vineyard in the valley, Yering stationEmphasis is placed on the impact of early settlers in the Yarra Valley. The brand’s head winemaker, Brendan Hooker, and head of viticulture, Rod Harrison, were equally busy bringing in grapes during my visit, but still took time during a warm, rainy afternoon to step away from the intense process and show me around Victoria’s most famous wine estate. As the state’s first and oldest vineyard, Yering Station houses its tasting room (more commonly called a ‘cellar door’ in Australia) in one of the site’s old original buildings. They have also added significantly to the facilities, with a contemporary restaurant offering fantastic views of the landscape, and modern and spacious wine-making equipment.
Now owned by Rathbone Wine CollectionA family-run guild with a wine portfolio that extends across many iconic estates across Australia, the winery complements estate-grown fruit by sourcing grapes from across the valley, including vineyards spread around the Yarra Glen and Coldstream sub-regions. The history of their particular site, which has grown significantly in size over the past few years, is part of the appeal of visiting the property today.
“The first vineyard planted here in 1838 was from Scottish farmers, the Ryrie brothers, who claimed a massive 40,000-acre plot of land,” Hooker explains. “They ran the vineyard, made a bit of wine, and when the then governor of Victoria came, he saw the potential. He had some experience in Switzerland, and he encouraged people from there to come and start a wine region here.”
Swiss settlers came to the valley and were instrumental in establishing the early wave of which Yering Station was a part. The initial winemaking performed so well that production at the winery was in excess of 50,000 cases per year, and the brand was in fact the only wine from the Southern Hemisphere to win the Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition of the 1860s. But even this pioneering producer suffered the same fate as other producers in the region, and all of the historic vines were uprooted amid the economic depression that began in the last decades of the 19th century.
Part of the original vineyards were replanted in the late 1980s. The valley’s redesigned vineyards brought new life to the area, and in 1996, the Rathbun family purchased the historic site, helping to transform it into a renowned producer of cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. Meanwhile, Cabernet and Shiraz remain a core part of the portfolio.
“One of the unique things about the Yarra is that we make amazing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but we also have incredibly delicious Cabernet,” Hooker says. “To be able to do both ends of that spectrum in terms of varietals is great — and then we have a Shiraz in the middle of it as well.” As the premier grape in Australian wine, Shiraz, often called Syrah in North America and Europe, can be a bit too overbearing for some palates. To balance the wine and add a touch of restraint and softness, the team at Yering blends it with other Rhône grapes.
“We’ve always brewed the Northern Rhône with Viognier,” Hooker says. “Shiraz in a cooler climate like Yarra is almost like a different variety. Instead of being ripe and jammy with a fruit profile, we see a lot of spice. In cooler regions, it can lean toward white pepper, and our Shiraz has more warmth and flavorful complexity.” This complexity was on full display in a 2013 reserve vintage poured during lunch to pair with a hearty lamb dish. The age of the wine has matured the bottle somewhat, but there is still plenty of heft to stand up to the meat. The combined yeast gave this bottle a lovely individuality, and it was one of the most memorable wines I drank during the visit.
Now 30 years later, the site represents the diversity, quality and scale of what is possible in Victoria. Yering Station’s extensive portfolio reinforces the region’s suitability for growing, with outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, their version of Shiraz, and a separate line, Yarrabank, showcasing a series of traditional-style sparkling wines. Interestingly enough, sparkling wine is another style that thrives in the Yarra Valley, quite often ShandonLVMH, part of LVMH, opened a property in the Yarra Valley in 1986. Their joint signing and investment here reaffirms the Valley’s potential as a definitive contender for Old World hotspots.
In the lead-up to one of their latest releases, Chandon Etoile No. 3a multi-vintage sparkling wine drawn from the past three decades, the brand reinforces its commitment that Australian wine can stand alongside the best in the world. “[This wine] “It embodies a relentless pursuit of excellence, the collaboration of a global community of winemakers united by curiosity, craftsmanship and the belief that Australia can stand proudly among the world’s finest sparkling wine regions,” the label reads.
With enough diversity to support Burgundy varietals, Bordeaux blends, juicy Australian Shiraz, and even sparkling wines, the Yarra Valley is a strong player in the future of wine in Oceania. It remains to be seen whether it has the staying power to become one of the world’s best wine regions, but for travelers interested in where the wine industry is headed, the answer may lie in this verdant valley just outside Melbourne.
