The Classic and the Declassified at Yarra Yering

 

A sunny Spring day saw me in the Yarra Valley, wandering with vigneron/scientist Dr Bailey Carrodus* through the chilly maturation cellar at Yarra Yering. Bailey, pipette and stainless steel spit bucket in hand, chatted amiably (he is a man of few but well-chosen words) as we sampled the wines of his 2001 vintage straight from the barriques.

 

His opening statement, casually offered, was a blockbuster. "I've declassified the entire 2000 vintage, so I can't show you any of that. There will be no release in 2002. We had four days of hot northerly winds in February [2000] which shrivelled the grapes. It happened about a fortnight before we were due to start picking the pinot. The grapes lost fruit freshness, the flavours were nice…but they were not Yarra Yering." End of story, which could only have come from a perfectionist.

 

He told me he had planted his first vines in 1969 and that the vineyard had since expanded from 30 acres to 90, including Underhill, an adjoining vineyard of 20 acres purchased in 1988. "There are about 25 acres each of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon and the rest is planted to various varieties, including a two acre plot dominated by [Portuguese port varieties] Touriga and Tinta Cao."

 

I asked him about sales. "Two thirds of the wine is exported and one third goes to the domestic market."

 

A selection from my brief tasting notes. Sangiovese, light and fresh, with sweet fruit in the middle and integrated tannins. "Lean without being mean." according to Bailey. Next was the pinot noir, "[during fermentation] the skins were thick on the cap like cabernet sauvignon." Deep crimson, a warm ("13.5 to 14% alcohol") and rewarding wine. A lovely drop but hardly delicate - I would have had difficulty picking it as a pinot from a masked bottle.

 

We then tried the Underhill Shiraz, "I keep it as a separate label, the shiraz vines are of a different clone." Nose of ripe berries, the ripeness continuing through to the palate. Then on to the shiraz-based Dry Red No. 2 - dark crimson, generously aromatic, spicy blackberries, tannin-textured in the mouth.

 

Dry Red No.1 is a mainly cabernet sauvignon blend, aged in new French oak. Bright ruby, purple-edged. Perfumed nose - you could almost dab a drop or two behind the ears. An intensely rich wine, juicy blackcurrants supported by tannic grip. Oak flavours are subordinated to extravagant fruit. All of these wines clearly demonstrate considerable cellaring potential.

 

Last tasted was the vintage port style Portsorts 2000 - the only wine salvaged from the lost vintage. Asked about his port winemaking technique Bailey said, "I work closely to the Portuguese system." A huge wine - ripe plums, anise, chocolate, and a firming finish. Not as spirity as some Portuguese but closer in quality than most of the Oz VPs I've tasted.

 

As I thanked him and hopped in the car Bailey described what must be one of the most unusual cellar door operations in the world. "Our cellar door is only open on the first Saturday and Sunday in May. Most of the wine sells out in the first hour."

 

"So what's your next project? I asked.

 

"A barbera is in the offing."

 

*Carrodus initially gained an M.Sc. in New Zealand, he studied and then taught oenology at South Australia's Roseworthy Agricultural College in the 1950s. He later completed a Ph.D. in Botany at Oxford University.

 

Details: Yarra Yering. Briarty Road, Coldstream, Victoria 3770. AUSTRALIA. Phone (03) 5964 9267. Fax: (03) 5964 9239.

 

Feedback

 

"Hi Martin, As to Australian ice wine, Andrew Hood of Wellington wines has been making an ice Riesling for 4 years now. He takes a portion of his Riesling juice and puts it into a milk vat. The remainder of the juice is fermented normally to produce his Wellington Riesling but the juice in the milk vat is frozen to remove the water and the remaining juice is fermented into a sweet rich dessert Riesling style. It is lifted, aromatic and fresh. Fascinating to put the 2 wines side by side and see the difference considering they are both made from the same juice. Hope this helps. Colin Corney - Tasmanian Wine Education"

 

"Martin, As a sharp-eyed Yarra Valley vigneron who can pick early budburst in a flash, I have also spotted and tasted a very nice Aussie ice wine made by Peter Florance of Long Gully Estate*, Healesville. Cheers, Dick Gutch." [*Google.com translation from the German!]

 

"Martin, Greetings from Tassie, home of a fabulous Australian Ice Wine....Wellington Iced Riesling...You can get it through wholesaler 'Red and White'. Andrew Hood freeze-concentrates beautiful Tasmanian Riesling juice in the winery...we aren't really cold enough down here to do a true iced wine (as much as some mainlanders would lead you to believe!) James Halliday has voted it as one of his top 10 dessert wines in Aus.....Hope this tidbit of info helps! Cheers, hope to see you in Tassie again soon! Kim Seagram, Vineyards Assoc of Tasmania."

 

"Hi Martin, The words claret and burgundy, as far as I know, were invented in England to differentiate between wines from Bordeaux and Bourgogne. So the origins of 'burgundy' are obvious. But where on earth does 'claret' come from? I have researched off and on for years. There is a grape called clairette, but that is not a Bordeaux grape. There is a town called Clairette, but that is not in Bordeaux. I would be most grateful (or perhaps grapeful) for your incisive answer. Cheers, Peter"

 

Peter - the word claret derives from the Latin 'vinum claretum' - 'clear wine' - not from the grape type 'clairette'. Over the years its common British usage has been to describe the (clear) red wines of Bordeaux. Most countries accept this connection and Australian winemakers are now legally prohibited from using the term to describe their reds.

 

"[Martin], I've always had it that 'interesting' is the diplomatic way to refer to a bad wine in most circumstances. A bad wine is 'VERY interesting' only if the winemaker is present. Regards, Adrian Read."

 

"Dear Martin, [I was] in Bali last week and tried a couple of local offerings. Hatten makes a rosé which I had with red Snapper at Jimbaran Bay (Uluwatu Cafe) very good, and interesting and complex! when served at a quite cold temp. It went alright. Also tried 'Wine of the Gods' offering at 'Casa Luna' in Ubud (run by an Aussie chick with her Balinese husband - beautiful restaurant). The grapes were grown in Margaret River and shipped to Bali for winemaking- not bad at 145,000 Rupiah [$AU30.97], or half the price of anything else. As I looked around the room I noticed that as usual we were the only ones enjoying a bottle of wine - Vive la Bintang! Cheers! Ben Green."

 

Hi Ben - Half your luck - yes I've tried the Hatten but not Wine of the Gods. Wine supply has improved in Bali, tho' wine's still too expensive for Australian tastes. We usually take a couple of white casks in the luggage as a back up. (Out of the cardboard but in a plastic bag. - A friend tried this trick once with red - it burst and stained all his clothes - laugh!) . Last trip we enjoyed meals at Aromas and Made's Warung II.

 

"Dear Martin, I am curious about 1994 Chateau Pavie. Do you have some info on how it is drinking & how it was rated? Regards & thanks, John Vale."

 

Haven't tried that wine John but check out Pavie details at Wine-searcher.com.

 

NB All Feedback links have been gratuitously inserted by MF - minor corrections may have been made to improve the sense of some offerings.