Famous for Paul Hogan, Fosters Lager, and Mel Gibson, Australia's wine industry has become a dominant force on the international wine market over the past 20 years. Vines were originally grown here in the mid 1800s, but the wine produced was mostly fortified wine to be sent back to England. Old vine Grenache and Mouvedre dating back to the late 1800s is still farmed in Australia today; however it is probably the Syrah grape for which Australia is most famous. Known as Shiraz in Australia, these are generally big wines with generous fruit and oak. This easy drinking style helped to push Australian wines to the top of the export market. Australian wines became known for their simple fruit forward style and dominated the supermarket shelves and wine list alike. Recently Australia has begun to turn more to the thought of wine for quality rather than quantity, and is exploring many of the cooler climates offered by its coast.
Australia
Victoria is the coolest and smallest of the Australian states and possibly the most exciting at the present time. The regions on the coast, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, and Yarra Valley produce cooler climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that are almost impossible to produce well in the rest of Australia. Further inland are the regions of Heathcote and Strathbogie Ranges. Here the climate is tempered by the mountain ranges bringing cooling winds to help combat the hotter climate. The wines produced in Victoria differ from the super extracted, heavily oaked, jam bombs that are oft thought of as Australian wine. Here the cooler climate fosters a slightly more delicate wine with acidic balance and lighter tones.
Yabby Lake Vineyard
Yabby Lake specializes in producing wine which expresses the identity of three distinct regions within Victoria. The three regions are Mornington Peninsula, Heathcote, and Strathbogie Ranges.
The Yabby Lake label itself represents the Mornington Peninsula region. Located just south of Melbourne, directly on the coast, this region has a cool maritime climate very suitable for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The vineyard is positioned on a north-facing slope to capture the maximum amount of sunshine, but most importantly is refreshed by nightly cool sea breezes to create perfect conditions for growing high quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The grapes ripen over a long growing period, maintaining their acidity and developing excellent structure and complexity. To compliment this more delicate style of winemaking the wines are only given a limited aging in French oak barrels. Wine and Spirits gave both of these wines 90 points.
For winery, tasting & technical notes, vineyard and award information please see:
Cooralook Vineyards
Cooralook Vineyards is one of the labels of the Yabby Lake Vineyard winemaking team of Tod Dexter and Consulting Winemaker Larry McKenna. The Cooralook label is focused on creating wines from the Strathbogie Ranges north of Melbourne in Victoria. The winemaking philosophy is focused towards allowing the vineyard to show itself in the wine. All work in the vineyard from pruning to picking is aimed at creating an excellent foundation for this goal to be realized in the wine. The Chardonnay was given 90 points from Wine Spectator and the Shiraz was awarded 91 points from Wine and Spirits magazine.
For winery, tasting & technical notes, vineyard and award information please see:
Heathcote Estate
The Heathcote Estate Shiraz is another label from Tod Dexter and Consulting Winemaker Larry McKenna of Yabby Lake Vineyards. The Shiraz is sourced exclusively from the red Cambrian soil found in the Heathcote region of Victoria. The climate is heavily influenced by the strong cooling winds which are funneled in from the Mt Camel mountain range to the North. This is the classic style of Heathcote Shiraz; it is not the huge fruit monsters of Mclaren Vale or Barossa Valley. This wine is a little softer with pleasing fine grained tannins. Both Wine Spectator and Wine and Spirits magazine gave this wine an excellent 90 point rating.
For winery, tasting & technical notes, vineyard and award information please see: