Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz 2021

In 1969, Dr Bailey Carrodus re-established winemaking in Yarra Valley in Victoria, picking up from where it left in mid-1800s to the 1920s. He completed degrees in horticulture and winemaking and studied in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Dr Carrodus found a vineyard site in the Yarra Valley and produced wine in the style he loved. After his passing, the vineyard was sold to two businessmen who carried on his legacy and pathed the way to becoming one of the region’s oldest and most respected wineries. From 2013 the coveted role of winemaker and general manager went to Sarah Crowe who was named James Halliday's 2017 Winemaker of the Year. Sarah makes elegant, acclaimed wines, but humbly credits the vineyard as the true hero. 

At Yarra Yering, all fruit is hand-picked in the cool of the morning into 10kg picking buckets and delivered directly to the winery. The fruit is then sorted and either destemmed or crushed into traditional tea chest 0.5-tonne open-fermenters. Depending on the variety, stalks may be added back during the fermentation stage in baskets for easy removal when there is just enough stalk tannin present. The 70 acres of vines at Yarra Yering are grown without irrigation on a northerly slope at the foot of the Warramate hills. The vines benefit from good drainage, all-day exposure to the sun, and enough elevation from the valley floor to avoid spring frosts. This produces wines that are inherently balanced, precise, and elegant. The low yield of 1-2 tons per acre results in fruit with great intensity and concentration of flavour, as well as an abundance of natural acidity.