Mornington/Yarra Trip - Day 3 Yarra Valley

[pc79]

Waking up bleary eyed and heavy headed after last night's festivities we packed and jumped in the car - which was more like driving around in a small tank - and headed to the Beechworth Bakery on the main drag for some breakfast pies which went down a treat. After knocking them off we made up our way to the far reaches of the Yarra for a visit to:
Tom and Sally Belford of Bobar Wines . Generally non interventionalist, letting the grapes run free. Limited pumping and plunging and for the most part fermented on skins to created light funk in most of their wines. Both Tom and Sal are enthused about what they're doing and the vision of Bobar. What they want to do and where they want to be. Wonderful people making wonderful wine.
Bobar Wines
2017 Viognier - Lemon, flint, apricot, ginger spice, tight lines of acidity that drives and drives and drives through the finish. 92
2017 Chardonnay - lemons, cream and brioche, aldehyde, but ripping white peach, yeasty, but that lemon really rocks and rolls. a zing of amazing acid, strong. Needs time to settle in to itself. - take 2, a little warmer, that acidity unfurls in ribbons. Mad. 93
2017 Petit Verdot - violets and black cherry, crunchy red and blue fruits, with a cranberry edge. Drive through the palate and strong acid. massive interest 93
2017 Shiraz Viognier - savoury crunchy red fruits, on black and green olive, black tea tannin drive through the finish. slight bitter end to it. grippy tannin. Good gear 91
2016 Bobar Gamma Ray - wowser. 75 gamay 25 Franc - 11% smash city, red cranberry fruit, cherry spice, some beaut funk and gentle tannin, cracking wine 93
2015 Syrah - lean and light, cherry bubblegum and blueberry spice, some dry zippy tannin, dry as, spicy goodness 91
2017 Bobar Royal Chardonnay - yes, yellow nectarine, lemon and flint, mineral flow, and some funky aldehyde and almond spice. Baller. 94
Apple Cider - rip roarer 93
2016 Royal Chardonnay - bruised pear and Apple. Has been opened for a week. Fruit still kicking, non oxed. Cloudy af, jura'esque. Brilliant fruit and acid work. Magnificent wine 93
All wines interesting and excellent. Acid treatment is quite phenomenal in all of the wines, atypical. Quality. Another winery where we went in with no real expectation and came away blown away by the quality of the wines and the generosity of the people. Sat at a long bench for over two hours, sal and tom bouncing off each other's passion and fervour for the wines they're making, talk of their travels and the obscure folk in obscure places making obscure wines and trying to replicate them in their own way. A winery to keep an eye on, and certainly a winery I'll support. Mum and dad operation, great people.

Running back to town and an appointment at Mac Forbes' new tasting room, The Graceburn Room, just off the main drag and a quick run through the wines, some interesting stuff coming from Mac. In particular the EB (experimental batch) wines. It was a bit of a rushed tasting as we received pours in to a glass to share, so it was whipped around fairly quickly. Not1es are very brief, trying to keep up with the wines coming around.
Mac Forbes
2016 Pet Nat - pear and smoke, yellow flowers, some cheese gruyere, fun wine. Lovely mouthfeel, gives some yellow snakes through. 91
2017 EB 33 - nectarine, yellow flowers, ice and fire, funky goodness. Like 92
2017 Riesling - linear lemon acidity ... no more notes 91
2017 19 RS Riesling - lemon, and flint, white flowers, Rs there, but great acidity flowing through 91
2017 28 RS Riesling - leaner and more focussed similar profile, but better tension. 93
2017 EB 34 raunchy Riesling -'spicy lime, lemons, bit of bready funk, in there. Lemony, but lovely gear. 92
EB 32 arneis - white flower, light passionfruit, great mouthfeel, limes and citrus acid running over. 91
2016 hoddles creek Chardonnay - extreme focus, tense taut, white stonefruits. Acid lines for days. Lemon. Flinty 92
2016 woori yallock Chardonnay - got more of a creamy nose, some. Milk bottles and jersey caramel but a similar flavour profile as the hoddles but giving more . 93
2016 woori yallock rose - savoury strawberry, pink flowers, some lemon drying, gentle nuttiness, long! Boom. 93
2015 Coldstream pinot - nr. Oxd. Can see this as being very good. A little oxd, but pretty smart 91
2016 woori yallock Pinot - vibrant cherry
2016 Yarra junction Pinot - again bright red cherry fruit, some savoury spice. Little meaty 92
2017 house of frank - Cab Franc. - black plum, savoury tannin, herbaceous, bindies, great lines. 93
2016 Syrah - black cherry, bright, savoury lines of meat drippings, black pepper, spice, racy and strong tannin 92
2015 the Hugh Cabernet (Bordeaux blend) - blackberry, red fuits, lifted red florals, great ripe tannin. Amazing nose. Beaut flow. 95
High quality wines no doubt. Mac was going to try to make it, but couldn't get there. The tasting was a bit of a blur. Perhaps after spending quality time at Bobar and then to the shop was a bit if a shock. Some great gear though.

Fuelled up with a great burger at Monroes before heading to Timo Mayers a tough man to get a hold of. Communication was sparse, but a general agreement that we'd meet him at his (winery) just after lunch. Waiting near the property we received a message saying he was at Oakridge eating lunch with his family. Off to Oakridge we went, just to say g'day. Whilst waiting we jumped in to a flight of wines with Chris, a posh talking Englishman with a voice that sounded as though David Attenborough and Morgan Freeman had a lovechild that somehow found himself pouring wine at Oakridge. Again sparse notese as we were there and rushed - plus pretty bloody exhausted after the previous days and night.
Oakridge
2015 Sauvignon - lemon and flint, white and green herbs, lime, zippy acidity. Lean. 89
2016 Arneis -
2016 willowlake chardy - good 93
2015 864 drive block - yellow stonefruits, cream, and peach, zesty spice, almond spice, long and strong. Balance and power. Very very good gear 94
Plus many more I didn't get around to writing up. Then:
"Matt". "Who the fck is Matt" (krusty) comes a booming voice from restaurant side of the tasting room. Here he is, Timo. The man, the mystery. Loud, loose, family in hand. Voice reverberating through the room. There is a mystique in the wine world about what he's doing and how he's doing it. Normal is boring. He gives pretty much gives zero fcks. I missed the chat, but I'm sure it was entertaining.
As for Oakridge. Another schmick cellar door and operation. 5 wines on tasting (generally) we got through about 12. Making bloody great wines.

Nearly broken, we sauntered back to the car and on to our last appointment with Luke Lambert - a 20 minute drive from Central Yarra, north. We all felt like we'd gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson by this stage and the meter was nearing empty. Luke is a quiet guy, very humble but very focussed. The map of the Yarra on the wall was hand drawn in chalk. An oval, divided by a river through the middle and a few crosses showing the location of the vineyards he sources the grapes to make the magic with. He had just woken from a snooze in the winery with his young daughter. That made 4 bleary headed and bloody eyed people in the room having a chat, with the stopwatch on us having to get back to the airport for a 7pm flight out. He has just purchased a 4acre block just out of the Yarra where he will be planting Nebbiolo and only Nebbiolo. His passion. Given the quality of what he is putting in bottle these days I can only wish him the very best and hope the site proves fruitful (excuse the pun) and produces brilliant fruit for him to work with.
Luke Lambert
2017 Chardonnay - lovely line of ripe sweet lemon sours, white nectarine fruit, whistles of power and full frontal fruit. Powerful wine 94
2017 Shiraz black cherry fruit charcoal thick black pepper and black plums, olive drive. Spice and savoury goodness. 92
2004 Shiraz - black cherry, blue fruit savoury, runs in to red flowers, black pepper and peaty tar. beauty 94
2017 crudo Shiraz - warmer climate, blackberry, cherry fruit, dark plums savoury spice some blueberry in there. Good gear! 92
2016 Nebbiolo - Licorice root, rose, light tar red cherry, tannin rocks and rolls round. Quite tense. All the bones in place needs time to settle 92
2017 Nebbiolo - from barrel. Huge fruit concentrate, rose petal, black and red cherry fruit, aniseed, balance and power acid beautifully worked. Tannin enveloped in the wine. better. 94
2017 Heathcote Shiraz - black cherry anise, some blue fruits and dark earth. Ballsy thing. Large and tannic as a baby. Good fruit and balance 91
A shame we didn't get more time with Luke. Would have been great to sit and chat, but had to make the airport run. I figure though at the end of the weekend where the average temperature was in the high 30s, we were all cooked.

So, there you have it. A massive weekend. 170 or so wines tasted across 14 wineries. 2 hatted restaurants eaten at and about 500kms covered. Bloody brilliant!

Would we do it again? Absolutely, BUT - would cocentrate on the smaller makers, those that can spend the time with you and that have the passion and drive for what is in bottle. The big corporate cellar doors are a little vacuous and are more of a production line, in and out. Give the spiel and move on. We'd also be less ambitious in where we were going. 4 wineries a day is probably a good number. Particularly if sitting down with the makers, or the owners and getting the low down.

Highlights/Best Tastings - Thousand Candles, Bobar, Moorooduc and Luke Lambert. Primarily because of the quality of the wines and the great people behind the brands.
Best wine - 2017 Thousand Candles Pinot Noir, 2015 Moorooduc Garden Pinot, 2017 Thousand Candles Syrah, 2017 Bobar Royal Chardonnay and the 2015 Paringa Estate 'Paringa' Shiraz.

Things to note. Buy 2015 Yarra Valley wines with confidence, particularly the dry reds. 2017 will be a cracking vintage also.

If you got the the bottom. Congrats, and thanks for reading

[dave vino]

"Matt". "Who the fck is Matt" (krusty) comes a booming voice from restaurant side of the tasting room. Here he is, Timo. The man, the mystery. Loud, loose, family in hand. Voice reverberating through the room. There is a mystique in the wine world about what he's doing and how he's doing it. Normal is boring. He gives pretty much gives zero fcks. I missed the chat, but I'm sure it was entertaining.

So what happened here? You ducked out and only Krusty spoke to him? So no tasting of his wines?

Who was the appointed RSA officer for the weekend? As the Commission for Liquor and Gambling would like to speak with them...

[pc79]

"Matt". "Who the fck is Matt" (krusty) comes a booming voice from restaurant side of the tasting room. Here he is, Timo. The man, the mystery. Loud, loose, family in hand. Voice reverberating through the room. There is a mystique in the wine world about what he's doing and how he's doing it. Normal is boring. He gives pretty much gives zero fcks. I missed the chat, but I'm sure it was entertaining.

So what happened here? You ducked out and only Krusty spoke to him? So no tasting of his wines?

Who was the appointed RSA officer for the weekend? As the Commission for Liquor and Gambling would like to speak with them...

We met him in the Oakridge tasting room. Kind of stalkerish, but not. I had a Skype call with the mrs who was in NYC, and after having little to zero wifi reception and contact with her, thought it important to keep on the good side. Matt can fill you in on the conversation.

[rooman]

Luke Lambert
2017 Chardonnay - lovely line of ripe sweet lemon sours, white nectarine fruit, whistles of power and full frontal fruit. Powerful wine 94

I have been trying to find some of this in Sydney but no one seems to have it. I checked the Prince Wine Shop online for Sydney but its a no go. Anyone else know where it can be purchased in Sydney?

Mark

[pc79]

Gavin stocks it at $35. There are many worse chardies at twice the price

[rooman]

Gavin stocks it at $35. There are many worse chardies at twice the price

Trouble is I'm after a bottle to try, not a six pack or more. I just don't seem to be enjoying chardonnay at present hence the desire to try a single bottle.

[Krusty]

Thanks for writing all this up Paul.

It was an epic trip, some great discoveries, some disappointments, lots and lots of laughs, and the odd hangover !

Big thanks to Paul and drhesh, excellent travelling companions, and awesome wine knowledge. The trip benefited from each of us having slightly different preferences and biases. Given that, it is impressive that all 3 of us pretty much had the same top 5 wines (I would swap out the Bobar '17 Royale for the '16 but other than that agree with PC).

How lucky are you melbournians with these 2 awesome wine regions on your doorstep !

I highly recommend grabbing a mate or two and giving it a crack (although maybe not as crazy as us - Paul's advice would be well heeded I think !)

[sjw_11]

Gavin stocks it at $35. There are many worse chardies at twice the price

Trouble is I'm after a bottle to try, not a six pack or more. I just don't seem to be enjoying chardonnay at present hence the desire to try a single bottle.

so buy something/s else from Gavin to make up the 6...

[rooman]

Thanks for writing all this up Paul.

It was an epic trip, some great discoveries, some disappointments, lots and lots of laughs, and the odd hangover !

Big thanks to Paul and drhesh, excellent travelling companions, and awesome wine knowledge. The trip benefited from each of us having slightly different preferences and biases. Given that, it is impressive that all 3 of us pretty much had the same top 5 wines (I would swap out the Bobar '17 Royale for the '16 but other than that agree with PC).

How lucky are you melbournians with these 2 awesome wine regions on your doorstep !

I highly recommend grabbing a mate or two and giving it a crack (although maybe not as crazy as us - Paul's advice would be well heeded I think !)

So out of interest what would you think your top 4 chardonnays would be. I see GWT has an article on Victoria chardonnay but I would be interested to see your top pick, especially since I am struggling to get excited about the variety at present - my riesling obsession is out of control.

Mark

[pc79]

Hey Mark,
Top 4 Chardonnays
2015 864 Drive Block from Oakridge
2017 Luke Lambert Chardonnay
2016 Yarra Yering Chardonnay
2017 Bobar Royal Chardonnay

Special mentions to all Moorooduc estate Chardonnays with the estate offering great bang for the buck.

[rooman]

Hey Mark,
Top 4 Chardonnays
2015 864 Drive Block from Oakridge
2017 Luke Lambert Chardonnay
2016 Yarra Yering Chardonnay
2017 Bobar Royal Chardonnay

Special mentions to all Moorooduc estate Chardonnays with the estate offering great bang for the buck.

Thanks