The harvest is in full swing when I arrive Mount Marya small, single-vineyard estate in Victoria’s prestigious Yarra Valley, a historic wine-making region in southeastern Australia. Third-generation winemaker Sam Middleton peels off his team, who are busy guiding vats full of grapes to the crushing vat, and takes me to the bridge overlooking the vines to discuss terroir. Rolling hills stretch out into what seems like all green shade, separated by areas of sunlight and shade, and the neat lines of planting are interrupted by the surrounding countryside.
The scenery here is as beautiful as the vineyards in Tuscany, Bordeaux or Napa, although the dreaded 16-hour flight (up to 21 hours from the East Coast) has proven to deter some North American visitors. But with the quality of wine produced in Victoria increasingly being hailed as one of the best in the world, this region cannot be ignored—especially for wine lovers. With a climate that Middleton remembers his grandfather described in the 1970s as “a little warmer than Burgundy and not as hot as Bordeaux,” there is an ongoing debate about which grape varieties should define the region. The resulting effect makes the trip even more rewarding for visitors.
Although this temperate Australian climate region has a history of grape cultivation dating back to before the 1870s, the recession of the next half century completely wiped it off the winemaking map. The once vigorous vineyards were cleared in the 1920s, and the land was used for sheep and dairy farming. At the time, the characteristics of Victoria’s illustrious neighbor, the Barossa Valley in South Australia, clouded the international understanding of what Australian wine was—or more importantly, what it could be.
Sarah Crowe, winemaker and general manager at Yarra Yeringone of the region’s oldest, most acclaimed producers, finds that strong opinions about bold, delicious wines from South Australia still hold sway. “The Yarra Valley in Victoria is a cool place, but when someone in North America thinks of Australian wine, they probably think of ripe, soft acid, juicy wines,” Crowe said. “Here, there’s more Europe. We’ve got bright acidity, and these are aromatic, medium-weight, full-bodied wines. When people try Yarra Yering, they say, ‘Oh, this is really good—it’s not what I expected!'”
But working under pressure is a common condition for winemakers in developing regions throughout the New World. After all, it was necessary a European judgment like the judgment of Paris to really put Napa on the map back in the ’70s. I The Willamette Valley quietly prospered for years before any critics took Oregon seriously. While there is no single period of universal recognition for Victorian wine yet, many smaller periods keep adding up—and many of them relate to Crowe’s winemaking.
He took over as winemaker at Yarra Yering back in 2013, after spending some time in the Hunter Valley, a wine-growing region in New South Wales, north of Sydney. By the time he arrived at this icon of the Yarra Valley, we already had a good reputation for replanting done by founder Dr. Bailey Carrodus in 1969; under Crowe’s leadership, it has reached the international stage with award-winning compositions and numerous awards for the highest scores.
In person, he is very humble, and—as most great winemakers will tell you—he considers caring for the vines and the fruit to be the most important thing, above any personal approach.
“I’m still very involved in the viticulture side, because the more work we do there, the easier and more beautiful the wines are,” he commented, noting that the wines also “represent the site.” After winning the prestigious James Halliday winemaker of the year in 2017, it quickly became clear that the match between Crowe and the site was a winning combination. As Yarra Yering’s star continues to rise, so does the entire valley.
Over at Mount Mary, Middleton’s grandfather, Dr. John Middleton, began planting vines in the valley in the early 1970s, at the same time as Yarra Yering was founded. Dr. Middleton fell in love with the wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux during his lifetime, 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 re-identified as a place to make age-friendly, subtle, unruly, food-friendly styles of wine,” Middleton told the Observer. “And, we hoped, they would go hand in hand with the best wines in the world.”
Luckily Middleton, his grandfather plwell researched antings. Part of the second wave of growers who have sparked a renaissance in the valley, this small, family-owned and operated producer continues to gain national recognition for its wines. Both Yarra Yering and Mount Mary vary between blends based on the Bordeaux style, with cabernet sauvignon blends weighing small percentages of varieties such as merlot and petite verdot, and vintages of pinot noir and chardonnay, grapes favored in cooler growing regions.
In my estimation, Middleton’s pinot noir it was one of the best things I’ve ever had anywhere in the world, but his heart will be forever Quinteta blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, cabernet franc, petite verdot and malbec that softens the edges. Like Yarra Yering’s Dry Red No. 1 again Dry Red No. 3synonymous with the high quality of the product, the Quintet was an almost perfect mix. And as the second wave continues to build, it is important to note that these producers are standing on the shoulders of giants.
The oldest vineyard in the village. Yering Stationthe impact of early settlers on the Yarra Valley is in focus. The brand’s chief winemaker, Brendan Hawker, and chief viticulturist, Rod Harrison, were busy bringing in grapes during my visit, but they still took time out of the rainy, warm afternoon to step away from the deep process and show me around Victoria’s most outstanding winery. As the first and oldest vineyard in the state, Yering Station has its own tasting room (often referred to as a “mobile door” in Australia) in one of the area’s oldest buildings. They have also added significantly to the facilities, with a modern restaurant offering stunning landscape views, and state-of-the-art winemaking equipment.
Now owned by Rathbone Wine Groupa family-run organization with a wine portfolio that includes several iconic regions around Australia, the winery complements its locally grown fruit by sourcing grapes from across the valley, including vineyards spread across the Yarra Glen and Coldstream sub-regions. The history of their site, which has grown in size over the past few years, is part of the draw for visiting the site today.
“The first vineyard planted here in 1838 came from two Scottish ranchers, the Ryrie brothers, who staked their claim on the vast 40,000-hectare estate,” explains Hawker. “They ran a vineyard, made a little wine, and when the then governor of the state of Victoria came by, he saw what was possible.” He had some experience in Switzerland, and he encouraged the people there to come and start a winery here.”
Swiss settlers came to the valley and were key in establishing the first wave of which Yering Station was a part. That first winery did so well that production at the winery was over 50,000 cases a year, and the label was actually the only wine from the southern hemisphere to win the grand prize at the Paris Exhibition in the 1860s. But even this pioneer producer suffered the same fate as other producers in the region, and all the historic vines were removed during the economic depression that began in the last decades of the 19th century.
Part of the original vineyards were replanted in the late 1980s. Reimagined vineyards in the valley brought new life to the area, and in 1996, the Rathbone family purchased the historic estate, helping shepherd it into a renowned producer of cool-climate pinot noir and chardonnay. At the same time, cabernet and shiraz remain an important part of the portfolio.
“One of the unique things about Yarra is that we make delicious chardonnay and pinot noir, but we also have our own incredibly delicious cabernet,” Hawker said. “Being able to do both ends of that spectrum in terms of variety is great—and we have shiraz in between, too.” As Australia’s leading wine grape, shiraz, often called syrah in North America and Europe, can be very strong in some wines. To balance the wine and add a touch of restraint and silkiness, the Yering Station team blends it with other Rhône grapes.
“We’ve always done a northern Rhône co-ferment with viognier,” says Hawker. “Shiraz in a cooler climate like the Yarra is almost like a different variety. Rather than being ripe and jammy with a fruit profile, we see a lot of spice. In cooler climates, it can lean on white pepper, and our shiraz has a warmth to it and more sweet complexity.” That complexity was on full display in the final 2013 vintage poured at lunchtime to pair with a hearty lamb dish. The age of the wine softened the bottle somewhat, but there was still plenty of heft to stand up to the meat. The co-ferment gave this bottle a great personality, and it was one of the most memorable wines I drank during the tour.
Now 30 years old, the site represents the diversity, quality and scale that is possible in Victoria. Yering Station’s extensive portfolio reinforces how suitable this area is for planting, with attractive pinot noir and chardonnay, their own version of shiraz, and a separate line, Yarrabank, which showcases a range of traditional sparkling wine styles. Interestingly, sparkling wine is another style that thrives in the Yarra Valley, so much so. Chandonpart of LVMH, opened a location in the Yarra Valley back in 1986. Their signing and investment here confirms the power of the valley as the ultimate competitor of the old world regions.
Before one of their latest releases, i Chandon Étoile No. 3multi-vintage of sparkling wine taken over the past thirty years, the brand reinforces its commitment that Australian wine can stand up to the best in the world. “[This wine] includes the relentless pursuit of excellence, the collaboration of a global community of winemakers united by curiosity, creativity, and the belief that Australia can stand proudly among the world’s most sparkling wine regions,” reads the label.
With enough diversity to support a variety of Burgundy, Bordeaux blends, juicy Australian shiraz, and sparkling wine, the Yarra Valley is a strong player in the future of wine in Oceania. Whether it has the potential to become one of the world’s leading wine regions remains to be seen, but for travelers interested in where the wine industry is headed, the answer may lie in this lush valley outside Melbourne.
