Cabernet sauvignon from the Yarra Valley it seems is no longer fashionable and is being grafted over to other varieties, I am told, at pace.  That does not mean it is not good or worth the effort tracking down – to the contrary, they can be astounding wines.  Further, and I would be delighted to be corrected, with one or two exceptions, I am yet to taste a non-cabernet based wine from the Yarra Valley that might be described as significant or benchmark wines in an international sense.  Happily, Yarra Yering persists with the inscrutably labelled “dry red no.1 blend” (a cabernet sauvignon dominant blend of Bordeaux grapes), although I have tasted few of their wines since their change of ownership.

The 2007 vintage of Yarra Yering’s Dry Red No. 1 is a marvellous wine.  Cellared since purchase, it presents in a youthful manner, with sweet blackcurrants, long length and a medium body.  There are flashes of sweet fruit through the middle palate and an earthiness and acidity that becomes more prominent with air.  An outstanding wine, this ’07 should cellar well for another 5-8 years.  (Alc: 12.3%, Region: Yarra Valley, Rating: Outstanding, Drink: now to 2024)

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