Last week the highly anticipated Halliday Annual wine awards for 2025 were revealed and in another ‘I told you so’ moment, I was happy to see Shiraz of the Year and Red Wine of the Year go to one particular Yarra Valley shiraz, Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 2, that I’ve been banging on about for years.
Let me tell you about this terrific producer. Yarra Yering was established by the extraordinarily talented Dr Bailey Carrodus, a pioneer of the modern Yarra Valley wine industry. Carrodus obtained his bachelor’s degree and subsequent master of science from Victoria University College in Wellington, NZ in 1952. He followed this with degrees in viticulture and oenology, ie. grape growing and winemaking, at Roseworthy College (now part of Adelaide University). In 1962 he headed to Oxford, obtaining his Doctor of Philosophy for research into plant physiology at The Queen’s College. That’s a lot of post nominals and a lot of wine knowledge!
In the late 60s, Carrodus moved to Melbourne where he initially worked at Melbourne Uni before moving to the CSIRO. In 1969, while still working at the CSIRO, he purchased land and planted grapes on the north facing slopes of the Warramate ranges, in a sub-region of the Yarra Valley known as Gruyere. The site is next door to Warramate winery, which is next door to Coldstream Hills - the winery established by James Halliday.
Yarra Yering’s first vintage in 1973 was the first commercial vintage in the Yarra since 1922 and while several wines are made these days, back then only two were produced, Dry Red No.1, a claret (Bordeaux) inspired blend and Dry Red No.2, a northern Rhône inspired blend.
Winemaker Sarah Crowe in the Yarra Yering winery.
By the 1980s, Yarra Yering had gained an international reputation for the outstanding quality of their wines:
“One of Australia’s vinous treasures,” Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak (UK).
“Best known for producing some of Australia's greatest wines,” Decanter Magazine.
“An Australian icon that delivers very special wines,” Berry Bros. & Rudd (Top UK wine merchant).
“Have always produced wines of extraordinary depth and intensity,” James Halliday, 5 stars.
Carrodus himself gained a reputation as a bit of a genius, in his own determined and eccentric way.
“Bailey was one the most intelligent, determined, self-assured, stubborn and obstinate people I have ever met. He was eccentric, quirky, razor-sharp, persuasive and rather affected. He was however impossible to dislike.” Jeremy Oliver.
“I met Carrodus a few times before he died, and he often lived up to his reputation as a private man who found fools insufferable - seeming to view wine journalism as a special kind of foolishness.” Max Allen.
“Charming and highly idiosyncratic.” James Halliday.
Despite the accolades, don’t forget just how different the wines of Yarra Yering were to the prevailing powerhouse styles of the 80s and 90s. The fruit came from Victorian, cool climate, low yielding vineyards, with no irrigation, all of which were unknown back then. And while the wines had concentrated fruit, they were a relatively lighter style with firm acidity, as well as a certain savoury element. They also showed exceptional longevity. This leaner, more European style is all the rage now, but back then it was a world away from benchmark top quality Australian reds. But Carrodus stuck to his vision and it’s only now that we truly appreciate just how ahead of his time he was.
Bailey Carrodus died in September 2008, aged 78, a loss mourned internationally. Several hefty international publications including Decanter Magazine (UK), The Times (UK), Jancis Robinson (UK) and Wine Spectator (US) published articles acknowledging his immense contribution. And one of the residential colleges at The Queen’s College, Oxford, carries the name “Carrodus Quad” in his honour.
In 2009 Yarra Yering was sold to a small partnership headed by investment banker and wine industry heavyweight Edouard (Ed) Peter. As James Halliday noted: “It was Bailey Carrodus's clear wish and expectation that any purchaser would continue to manage the vineyard and winery, and hence the wine style, in much the same way as he had done for the previous 40 years. Its acquisition in June '09 by a small group of investment bankers has fulfilled that wish.”
Sarah Crowe was appointed winemaker in 2013, and despite the pressure such a legacy creates, has proved more than up to the task.
Huon Hooke describes Sarah as “a star among winemakers” and awarded Yarra Yering Winery of The Year 2024, in his highly anticipated annual Real Review’s Top Wineries of Australia, earlier this year. It’s the second time the winery has achieved this feat under Sarah’s stewardship.
This follows on from Sarah and Yarra Yering being awarded:
Surely this is one of the best records for any winery in the country.
I was fortunate enough to be invited to a tasting with Sarah earlier this year. I’ve met her a few times and my admiration grows each time I taste with her. She really is an extraordinary winemaker. Her depth and pursuit of knowledge, attention to detail and experience is impressive.
I had a chat with Sarah and told her that despite the No.1 (a cabernet blend) getting all the attention, it’s the Yarra Yering shirazes that I love and reckon are deserving of more praise. To my pleasant surprise she wholeheartedly agreed and proceeded to focus the ensuing tasting very much on her own love of shiraz and specifically how underrated Yarra shiraz is!
Having previously worked at Brokenwood in the Hunter, as well as legendary shiraz producer, Jaboulet in the Rhône, Sarah confessed shiraz was “the reason I moved from the Hunter to the Yarra”. No wonder Yarra Yering shiraz is so good. She also noted that in her role as a judge at many of the country’s top wine shows, just how well Yara Valley shiraz is represented in the upper echelons of the shiraz classes.
Like Sarah, I love the lean, fragrant, delicate, yet intense, pure and powerful style that typifies top level Yarra shiraz. As Huon Hooke noted in Aug 2020, with specific reference to Yarra Yering shiraz: “They are tremendously elegant, refined and yet powerful wines that don’t rely on alcohol or extreme ripeness.”
The wine awarded Halliday’s Shiraz and Red Wine of the Year was the Yarra Yering Dry Rd No.2 2022, which will not be released to the trade until May next year. Yes - sooo frustrating.
In the meantime, I have several highly awarded back vintages of the Dry Red No. 2 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) as well as some of Yarra Yering’s other wonderful shirazes, the Underhill (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and Carrodus (2018, 2019, 2021), all acquired at time of release and impeccably stored.
I can’t stress enough what great value Yarra Yering shiraz offer. Their continuity of scores, awards and accolades are extraordinary.
Underhill Shiraz
This is made from fruit sourced from a single block of shiraz planted in 1973. Traditionally Dr Carrodus used his own ‘stalk return’ system, but in 2017, faced with very green stalks, Sarah pulled back the amount of stalks used. The results were almost immediate with the 2018 and subsequent vintages wining a slew of awards.
Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 2018
At the 2019 National Wine Show of Australia, it was awarded:
- Trophy for Champion Wine of Show
- Trophy for Best Shiraz of Show
- Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Red of Show
- Trophy for Best Red Wine of Show
“A wine with long fingers and arms. It eats elegance for breakfast, berried fruit for lunch, herb and wood spice notes for afters. Plum, char, smoked herbs, fresh red cherries, a slip of creamy/smoky oak. The balance of this wine is an experience in itself. Best of all: it pushes out gloriously through the finish.” 96 points, Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine Companion.
“Supple, long, savoury and bright, game meat and just ripe red berries in a cavalcade of flavour and delicious texture, rolls long, wonderful, with authority and a general sense of quality. Lithe and tissue-pappery tannins a treat, the feel just righteous. It’s a wine that hits the glass with a slosh of ‘yes!’, with the first whiff on the first nostril off an arm’s length. The first sip a ‘yep!’, and you’re on your way. It feels fancy and good, complex and interesting, easy on the palate and showing us all what shiraz can do when great. Drink by 2035.” 95 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.
I can offer it for $119 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 2019
“There’s so much restraint and purity of fruit across the YY range this vintage, Underhill is no different. Perfumed, savoury, delicate yet complex, pure and long. Lacy tannins and fine acidity work across a lithe palate.” 96 points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion.
I can offer it for $119 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 2020
“A very bright, medium crimson purple. A riotous amalgam of aromas including blueberries, potpourri, licorice root, Szechuan pepper and caraway seeds. Medium bodied and elegant, this has terrific viscosity and the tannins are oh, so powdery and fine. Gorgeous now and over the next 10 years or longer. Date: Jan 2022; Alcohol: 13.5%; Drink by: 2035.” 97 Points & Special Value Rating. Philip Rich, James Halliday Wine Companion.
“Deep, bright red-purple colour; intense and lifted pepper/spice aromas, very attractive and aromatic. Ferrous/mineral/dried blood overtones. Full-bodied, deep and quite powerful shiraz, the palate concentrated and intensely focused, with profound spice and dark-cherry flavours that linger on and on through a very persistent finish. Seamless. An outstanding shiraz.” 97 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review. (A great score from him).
I can offer it for $125 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 2021
“A medium-deep and very bright crimson. Lifted and immediately appealing with its aromas of black raspberries and violets alongside a cornucopia of spices including cracked black pepper, anise and fennel seeds. A gorgeous medium-weighted, intensely flavoured and long Yarra Valley shiraz with enough tannin to suggest patience will be rewarded. Great stuff.” 98 points, Philip Rich, Halliday’s, Wine Companion.
“Deep, strong and bright purple-red colour; high-toned white pepper aromas, a whiff of reduction; char, spice and meaty smallgoods aromas. A full-bodied, powerful, soft and fleshy textured wine with ample powdery tannins and a lasting array of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and pepper characters. Amazing length. A ripping shiraz. Released in 2023, the Underhill vineyard's 50th year.” 97 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review (a great score from him).
At the 2023 National Wine Show of Australia, it was awarded:
- Trophy for Champion Wine of Show
- Trophy for Best Red Wine of Show
At the 2022 Yarra Valley Wine Show, it was awarded:
- Trophy for Best Shiraz of Show
I can offer it for $130 a bottle.
Carrodus Shiraz
This wine is 100% shiraz and only made in great years, in tiny quantities from a tiny area of the 1969 planted vines. Denser than the Underhill. I found it beautifully plush and attractive with blue and black fruits and graphite notes. It’s seductive and bright with such concentration and, a word Sarah kept coming back to - detail. Which I take to mean precise and complex.
Yarra Yering Carrodus Shiraz 2018
“Deep red colour with a good tint of purple, and a totally serious bouquet of black fruits, mixed spices and graphite, the flavour multi-faceted and powerful, filling the entire mouth with mind-numbingly delicious flavours which persist very long on a hyper-extended aftertaste. Gorgeous balance. It's hard to imagine better. This is a great shiraz!” 99 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review. (As good a review as you can get from him!)
I can offer it for $275 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Carrodus Shiraz 2019
“From the small block of shiraz planted in 1969 comes a wine of distinction, thanks to the constant fine tuning orchestrated by winemaker Sarah Crowe. Wafts of pepper, woodsy spices, iodine and florals end up mingling with the pure fruit flavours within. Ribbons of fine tannin grace the palate, as does gossamer-like acidity, holding everything perfectly in place and just allowing the finish to linger and impress even more.” 98 points, Jane Faulkner, James Halliday's Wine Companion.
I can offer it for $275 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Carrodus Shiraz 2021
“Deep, rich colour and a commensurately deep, rich bouquet of meaty charcuterie and assorted spices, the palate full-bodied and fleshy with richness and extract, the flavour rising to a crescendo at the finish that lingers long and impressively. The core of the wine is deliciously rich and fruit-sweet and surrounded by enveloping tannins that are supple and decadently lavish, in perfect harmony with the powerful and concentrated flavour. An outstanding shiraz.”97 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review.
I can offer it for $275 a bottle.
And finally, Dry Red No.2
A northern Rhône (think Côte Rôtie) inspired shiraz blend. Usually sits around 95% shiraz, with the balance involving mataro, viognier and marsanne. I’ve always seen this as an unsung hero of a wine. For some reason the No.2 has never gained the same following as the No.1. My theory on this is that people associate the numbers as some sort of quality hierarchy. But the No.2 was simply the second blend that Dr Carrodus put together, and I’m told there was no particular reason it was done in this order. Langton’s 7th Classification saw it promoted to ‘excellent’… finally.
Yarra Yering Dry Red No.2 2017
“Follows Bailey Carrodus’ method of co-fermenting small amounts of viognier, marsanne adding floral notes, and mataro adding spice. It’s another exquisite wine from ’17, capturing all the senses immediately you assess the bouquet and palate. It’s only just into medium-bodied territory, but it’s mouthwatering in its intensity, red fruits flying high like a gaudy scarlet kite. Drink by 2042.” 99 points & Special Value Rating, James Halliday Wine Companion.
I can offer it for $140 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Dry Red No.2 2018
“Impeccable form. There’s a sweetness to the fruit and a savouriness to the finish, redcurrant and twists of herbs, with floral overtones and oak as garnish. It’s smooth-skinned but not syrupy; it’s a wine in complete control. Not a question mark in sight.” 95 points, Campbell Mattinson, Halliday Wine.
“Deep red colour with a good purple tinge, and a very attractive range of aromas, with less spice and more oak than the Underhill, black fruits, tar and graphite, black olive/tapenade and a trace of black pepper. It’s full-bodied, intensely-focused and piercing, with elegance as well as drive. A smart wine, highly nuanced as usual and really excellent.” 96 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review.
I can offer it for $120 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Dry Red No.2 2019
“Very youthful purple colour with crimson at the core, the bouquet similarly youthful and bright, with spicy, meaty-charcuterie, confit cherry and gentle oak-char aromas of great character. Some floral grace notes emerge with time in the glass. The wine is full-bodied yet very elegant, with an effortlessness to its drive and intensity, without heaviness or excessive grip. Long, long carry. A lovely, graceful wine that drinks well already but will surely last a couple of decades.”97 point, Huon Hooke The Real Review.
“Hand picked, sorted and then destemmed directly to the Yarra Yering half-tonne open-fermenters. As much whole-berry ferment as possible to encourage perfume. A portion of fermenters had frozen viognier skins added to the bottom. Aged 15 months in French oak barriques, 30% new before blending. It’s easy to be bowled over by this wine’s beauty, from its bright colour to its heady fragrance of violets, Middle Eastern spices, fresh currants and blue fruits. Then magic happens. It is superfine, graced with perfectly formed silky tannins. The oak is seamlessly integrated, then flavours build across the barely medium-bodied palate. While there’s a lightness of touch, it’s layered and complex. A complete wine full of style, elegance and substance. Drink by 2034.” 98 points, Jane Faulkner, James Halliday's Wine Companion (Jan 2021).
I can offer it for $120 a bottle.
Yarra Yering Dry Red No.2 2020
“With 3% mataro and 1% viognier, the latter added as skins to some of the fermenters. Matured 15 months in French barriques (30% new). A deep crimson red. Concentrated with redcurrants, satsuma plums and blackberries along with fennel seed, olive tapenande, dark chocolate powder and a little fresh vanilla from the oak. A complete wine on the palate with its dark sour-cherry fruit, a slight savoury edge and firm, very fine tannins providing the structure for this to age well into the decade and beyond. Date: Jan 2022; Alcohol: 13.5%; Drink by: 2032.” 96 Points, Philip Rich, James Halliday Wine Companion.
“Deep, bright red with purple glints, the bouquet is spicy and lifted, with clove and nutmeg nuances foremost, while the palate has those same flavours plus a note of walnut, and is taut and drying on the finish and follow-through. A more elegant iteration of shiraz, with fine tannins and already very approachable. Fresh acidity is evident on the finish. Good length and harmony. (3% mataro, 1% viognier) Date: May 2022; Alcohol: 13.5%; Drink: 2022-2035.” 95 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review.
I can offer it for $129 a bottle.
