Yarra Yering Dry Red No.1, Yarra Valley 2017

One of the first wines on which Yarra Yering's formidable reputation was built is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot, Malbec and a little Petit Verdot - very much a left bank claret mix. On the nose there is herbal mint and ripe blackcurrent aromas while the palate has a very moreish array of sweet ripe fruits with a slight earthiness giving it an appealing complexity.

Always a wonderful down-under claret-style blend this will be great drinking until at least 2030.

It was in 1969 that the founder of Yarra Yering, Dr Bailey Carrodus, made his first plantings at a site he considered ideal for viticulture at the foot of the Warramate Hills in the Yarra Valley east of Melbourne. A respected Oxford academic, he was looking for something to get his teeth into on his return to Australia following his retirement. As it turned out things took off in quite a fashion. A couple of his wines, namely Dry Red No.1 and Dry Red No.2, quickly gained an international reputation and set the winery on the path to global acclaim. After the death of Bailey Carrodus in 2008 the vineyard was acquired by a couple of Yarra Yering fans who wanted to make sure things would be carried on in the same manner. Since they’re still regularly cited among the best Yarra Valley vineyards that's certainly the case and under current winemaker Sarah Crowe the focus on delivering high quality wines remains undimmed.