TN: Yabby Lake 20 Anniversary Tasting

[mychurch]

The Yabby Lake Block 6 Chardonnay, drunk last Nov, is the best Auz Chardonnay that I have ever had. Great wine and when I noticed that Yabby Lake were have a 20th Anniversary tasting, it was a bit of a no-brainer to book some tickets. About an hours drive from Melbourne CDB and just off the motorway, this is a lovely and quite large estate. The entry drive is particularly impressive as you wind your way past the lake (which I presume is full of yabbies) and through the vines.

This was a walk thru tasting with 4 tables situated in the winery, with a couple of tables serving lovely oysters, charcuterie and sandwiches. Good food and overall it was a fantastically well run tasting, which I hope turns into an annual event – this was the first such day they had run.

I lost connection to the phone in the cellar room, so the final tasting noes for the Shiraz are a bit clipped, but it was the whites I was mainly interested in anyway.

2012 Single Vineyard Cuvee Nina, 2*
Served upon entry and accompanied by some lovely plump oysters. Not bad with the food, but on its own its a well made sparkler, with equal amounts of Chardonnay and pinot, but it has no soul. No sign of any bread or any lees elements, this was a standard wine that would go down well at Xmas parties, but showed absolutely no development or any reason why it had been kept so long. Poor QPR

2017 Single Vineyard Chardonnay, 3.5*
The middle quality level, and this shows a lot of class. Powerful nose, which shows a bit of oak. Plenty of smoked pineapple in the palate, with a lovely texture. Long and intense. Very good wine, which is drinking already, but needs at least 5 years to show its stuff. Yum. Almost bought a half case, but decided to get some older stuff instead.

2014 Single Vineyard Chardonnay, 3*
Interesting contrast. This lacked the intensity of the younger wine, but was better in balance. Silky and round, this again features the house style pineapple, but maybe with a hint of camomile. Drink now and enjoy.

2017 Block 6 Chardonnay, 3*+
The top cuvee. Roughly 300 cases made. Very instersting. This had more in common with the '14 than the '17 single Block. Its round and silky, with none of the power and spice on the nose that I was expecting. Lemon curd, hint of aniseed, some tropical fruit. You could drink this now, but I'm pretty sure this needs time in the cellar to grow. Unfortunately there were no older vintages of this to compare with, but I'd say leave at least 5 years

2016 Red Claw Pinot Gris 3.5*
2016 Red Claw Chardonnay 3*
2017 Red Claw Pinot Noir 2.5*
The entry level wines. The '16 Gris was in a great place, with some jasmine coming thru amongst the soft pear fruit. Probably on its way out, but its the wine I would have taken to lunch. Drink now. Equally yummy was the Chardonnay that was a mini version of the Single Block wines. You could see the link and this is also in a great place today. Not so keen on the Pinot though. Its had some varietal definition, but was quite jammy.

2018 single vineyard Pinot Noir Rose, 3*
2017 Single Vineyard Syrah, 3*
2018 Single Vineyard Pinot Gris, 3*
3 solid wines here. The rose was medium bodied with plenty of roses and cream. Will sell well once the summer arrives. The Gris had a nice traminer like spiciness to it. Good acidity and was calling out for a salad. The Syrah was the best of the 3. I thought that maybe the fruit was just a bit too ripe, but its high quality, with round red berries and a tannic bite at the end. Needs time

2017 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, 3 *
2017 Single Block Release Pinot Noir, 3.5*
I may have underestimated these, but I like to be conservative at these sort of tastings. The Single Vineyard was great, with a warm inviting nose and lots of cherry fruit, without any hint of over ripeness. Moorishly drinkable now. Yum - Trudi took a bottle home. The Single Block was a step up. First glimpse of this wine, and this had the real structure as well as savoury cherry fruit. Classy and one to probably keep a few years. Yum

2009 Single Vineyard Chardonnay, 4*
2010 Single Vineyard Chardonnay 4*
2011 Single Vineyard Chardonnay 3*
Downstairs in the Cellar, there were a number of older magnums to taste, and this trio, all with cork stoppers, was the highlight of the day for me. Here the house became clear – low acid, silky texture, smoked pineapple – and the difference was the intensity and power of the wines. Best was the '10, which really did take me back to '10 block 6. Lots of spice and power and still in the prime of life – took 2 of these home. The 09 was almost as good, but has clearly peaked. The '11 was a softer wine, more in the '14 mould. Nice, but overshadowed but the other 2.

2011 Single Vineyard Pinot, 2*
2009 Single Vineyard Pinot, 2.5*
Another 2 magnums, these showed that age is not always a good thing. The 11 was older tasting of the 2, with browning on the edge. Some medicine in with the fruit, this was showing its age and was past its best. The 9 had more life and actually was a nice wine. As good as the 17 and the downgrading is due to the fact that nothing seems to have come with age. Its a survivor, rather than a developer. On this evidence, cellar the Chardonnay and drink the pinot young.

2016 Single Vineyard Shiraz Heathcote Estate, 3*
2016 Block C Shiraz, Heathcote Estate, 2.5*
2016 Block F Shiraz, Heathcote Estate, 3*
2016 Pressings Shiraz, Heathcote Estate, 2.5*
2010 Single Vineyard Shiraz Heathcote Estate (Magnum), 2.5*
2014 Single Vineyard Shiraz Heathcote Estate, 2*
These are all made at Yabby Lake, but have a different label. Very rich and rip fruit, these were a conundrum. The best wine was the 16 single vineyard, which I noticed a few people carrying to their car, with plenty of ripe, round, plummy fruit. Palate staining, but with very good balance. The Block F was similar, but slightly different in its fruit profile. All the others had a good attach, and plenty of mid palate intensity, but featured different levels of very dry tannins on the finish. I though maybe the older wines were a bit stalky. The dryness go worse with the older bottles, and I would question if these wines will ever come around. Not my style

Summing up, this was a great morning out. Lots of different styles, plenty of time to taste and a nice atmosphere. Will be back next year if they hold another tasting.

[Bobthebuilder]

Great notes, thanks
I am a real fan of this winemaker and am always on the lookout for the single block releases which are excellent and unique wines, to me.