Yarra Valley Visit – Part Two

Written by Ian Robertson on 27th November 2006

In this second instalment of our overview of the Yarra Valley, I’ll go through the cellar doors that we visited so you can get an idea of what is worth a visit and what can be left till next time!

Yering Station

Owned by the Rathbone family, who also own Xanadu, Parker Wines and Mt Langhi Giran, this cellar door is without doubt the beacon of the region. Much money has been spent here, however it has been spent well. A great looking complex, with wonderful grounds, great modern looking café and restaurant. And a cellar door built in the round that can accommodate a lot of people comfortably. The range of wines is comprehensive and for the most part tastes great – from budget right up to expensive, the wines are classy. Standouts are the Pinot Noirs and the Shiraz Viognier, both the Reserve and the ‘standard.’

De Bortoli

A slightly old fashioned looking cellar door in a red brick building that again copes with coach loads rather than car loads, this cellar door is again well worth a visit. An overwhelming list of wines from a huge array of labels, including cheap value wines right through to more prestige labels and fortifieds. You may need to wait for service if you time your run at the same time as a coach though! The Yarra Valley range is the pick of the crop here – some wonderful wines in this range.

Coldstream Hills

Quite a dramatic view from this cellar door out over the vines in the valley. A lovely intimate cellar door with a solid range of wines. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the picks.

Tarrawarra

An art gallery also on site, with a very nice looking restaurant café. The tasting area that is used when the café is in use seems to be almost an afterthought. The cheaper range is so-so, the Chardonnay is quite tight and lean with potential to be a corker, and the Pinot Noir is sometimes approaching greatness, sometimes not.

Yering Farm

A lovely location, lovely cellar door in the old fashioned farmhouse vein. Wine quality surprised me – I had not tasted these wines before, and across the board flavours and prices were quite solid. Well worth a visit, especially since most wines are not distributed much.

Oakridge

Modern looking winery in a dramatic circle if vines on gently rolling ground. When we were here the sky was dark and thundery, and a huge flaock of crows were flying in formation – a stunning scene. The wines are fair to good across the board, however the Chardonnay’s are what are worth checking out here.

Fergusson’s

This comes across as a tourist trap – ye olde BBQ house type of location (with ye olde BBQ house on premises) and lots of corrugated iron complete the look. Yet, blow me down – the wines were pretty darn soft and drinkable! The Cabernet and the Shiraz were what grabbed me here – they were pretty hard not to like.

Dominique Portet

The cellar door itself did not really grab me, but this was one of the last I visited – it is fair to say that after visiting a lot in a row you start to become a little blasé about them!! The wines were pretty good, and for me, the Sauvignon Blanc was the standout.

St Huberts

One of the older labels in the valley, and the cellar door is small and pretty without being particularly memorable. Wines were so-so when we were there but were generally quite keenly priced. The biggest item of interest was the Rousanne based wines – quite good.

Rochford

I was a little disappointed in the Yarra Valley wines, but some of the Macedon Ranges wines were very good, especially the Pinot Noirs. The complex is large and impressive without being too grandiose!

Domaine Chandon

The still wines under the Green Point label were fair, and were free to taste if you could get near the counter. The Chandon sparkling wines have a fee to taste – and you need to queue up to get into a sit down area with a menu. I was not really convinced by the food and the cleanliness of the area – maybe I am being picky. The Chandon range is quite good, so maybe it is worth forking out.

The Yarra Valley Dairy

Yes, the cheese is very good, but they have wine too! Local wines without their own cellar door are fronted through here – it is like to Boutique maker’s cellar door. Well worth visiting – some real crackers like Hoddle’s Creek were here when I visited.

This is obviously just a limited selection – with more than 50 cellar doors (I admit I have not counted – it may be a LOT more than that!) there is plenty to choose from.

Just be sure you like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir!