Winemaker Notes
Arguably at the more Syrah end of the Shiraz / Syrah flavour spectrum due to the cooler growing conditions of Australia's Yarra Valley. We've stuck with the Shiraz moniker just because it seems more friendly, and boy is this wine just about being friendly. Bright juicy fruits and christmas cake spice in a medium bodied softer style that just seems to be daring you to pour another glass.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A juicy and fruity red with dried-plum and strawberry character, as well as cream. Medium to full body, round tannins and a savory finish. Drink now. Screw cap.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2018 Helen & Joey Estate Layla Pinot Noir is a flavorful wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is redolent in complexity. Its steady aromas and flavors of savory spices, dried fruit, and oak make a statement on the palate. Its powerful aromas and flavors thrust forward and should pair well with a spicy Porchetta. (Tasted: July 15, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.