Yarra Yering Pinot Noir 2004
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Robert
Parker
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
There are only 20 cases of the 2004 Pinot Noir. However, it is an example of the potential for this varietal in the cool-climate Yarra Valley. Aged in 35% new oak, it is light ruby-colored with an alluring perfume of pain grille, smoke, earth, raspberry, and rhubarb. Light- to medium-bodied and elegantly styled, this Pinot has a velvety texture, excellent depth, and a long, sweet finish. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.
Other Vintages
2006-
Robert
Parker
The wines are a reflection of this highly individual man, the site he chose so carefully, and the vagaries of the seasons in which they are produced. From the beginning the aim was to produce wines of elegance and sophistication. The vineyard is not irrigated, and this promotes strong root growth deep into the subsoils protecting the vines against the trials of drought, and allowing the fruit to express the characteristics of the terroir in which it is grown.
The vines are hand pruned and cared for by vineyard staff with decades of experience at Yarra Yering. The fruit is hand picked, it is crushed gently by the old crusher destemmer and fermented in small batches, before being hand pressed in the basket press. Maturation is in carefully selected French oak casks and the wine is bottled on site. These are artisan produced wines of the highest quality. Yarra Yering maintains a proud heritage established by an extraordinary man.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
As the most important area of wine production in Victoria today, the Yarra Valley is most popular for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which account for over half of vineyard acreage. A gentle, rolling and rural region alongside the Margaret River, the Yarra Valley has a cool maritime climate with a lengthy growing season, perfect for these cool-climate varieties.
Two styles of Pinot Noir are possible here. The warmer Lower Yarra Valley with sandy, loam soils, produces plush and fruity Pinot Noir while the cooler, higher-elevation Upper Yarra Valley with soils of young red basalt, produces more angular and mineral-driven Pinot Noir.
Yarra Valley Chardonnay is among the best in Australia. To preserve the floral aromatics and fresh citrus flavors for which this area’s Chardonnay is so appreciated, time in barrel is restrained (though barrel fermentation is common). The best Yarra Valley Chardonnays display brilliant acidity, leesy characteristics, citrus, stone fruit and flavors of ginger and spice.
Shiraz and Cabernet find success in parts of this region as well.