Yarra Valley

[Scotty vino]

Planning a Yarra Valley Trip in August and I've spied a few places I want to visit.
Thought Id throw it out to the Auswine brains trust for some tips and traps for young players.

Have friends in Healesville so will be staying in the vicinity.

[phillisc]

Yes a lovely area with lots to do and some great places to stay.
I have brought from just three wineries over the years, Mount Mary, Yarra Yering and Yeringberg. You will need appointments at MM and Yeringberg.
I have heard Oakridge Estate and Levantine Hill are also good.

Not wine, but I would pay Four Pillars new operations a visit.

Mjs and Con should have some good tips.

Happy planning
Cheers Craig

[Dragzworthy]

I went there in April. I didn't do a lot of tasting as I had the kids in tow but I did swing by Yarra Yering and Soumah, both very good experiences. I heard good things about Pimpernel but I neglected to make an appointment.

[mychurch]

You have to decide the experience and the styles you want before you go. I really am not a fan of the corporate experience cellar doors aimed at the high rollers, and there are a few of those in the valley. The problem for me though is that the wines I like are sold by people who are too small to have a CD - Dappled or Bobar are 2 examples.

I went to Pimpernel a while back on the advice of Oakridge. Very modern style for the reds. He did have a Chenin, which is rare for Yarra, but nothing really I would want to purchase.

Best tasting I have had was at the old Giant Steps in Healsville. That was 2 hours long and we got to taste the full range - some great Chardonnay. Not been though since they moved to a smaller nearby location.

[VinoEd]

Oakridge, Giant Steps and Yering Station would be my recommendations. Domaine Chandon well worth a visit too.

[cuttlefish]

Looking out the back of the Soumah cellar door is quite picturesque. See if you can chase down Mac Forbes, too. His wines are generally quite site specific, and of interest for that. I think he had a cellar door running in one of the villages around there, but that, I think, has closed. Great wines to taste if you can manage it.

[BHCC1]

Scotty
Suggest you check out the wine growers association website wineyarravalley.com.au. All members and their contact details are listed.
I guess you really need to identify where your interest is. The valley caters well for the “tourist experience” with plenty of cellar doors providing an excellent range of wines to taste, poured by well scripted staff. Many have meal options. On the other hand, there is a whole raft of producers that don’t have a regular cellar door but will/may receive guests by appointment. You are generally dealing with the winemaker/proprietor in this case.
Of the producers that led the Yarra’s rebirth and remain at the top of the tree Mt Mary, Yarra Yering, Yeringberg and Seville Estate would be great targets but of those only Yarra Yering and Seville are open to the public - you would need to contact the other two to see if an appointment was possible.
Oakridge (for their Chardonnay’s), Giant Steps (for their Pinot’s) and Coldstream Hills (for the range of wines and the views) offer excellent options.
I don’t have detailed knowledge of the producers that would receive you by appointment but Mac Forbes, Luke Lambert and Timo Mayer would be at the top of my list.
While you are planning, make sure you consider distances - its a long way from the northern to southern extremities of the valley. You could make a really good day and limit travel by working your way from Yering Station to St Hubert’s Road where you can visit The Yarra Valley Dairy (local cheese and wine), Yering Farm, Meletos restaurant and brewery, Punt Road and the new Hubert’s Estate. Then you could turn left on to Maroondah Highway and finish the day with a glass of fizz at Chandon.
Good luck.

[Scotty vino]

Hey guys, thanks for all the suggestions so far. Perfect.

[Scotty vino]

Did my Yarra Run.
Nice over there.

Visited Oakridge, Domaine Chandon, Coldstream Hills and Giant Steps.
Oakridge for lunch was very good. Not sure about these gigantic open plan stone floored pavilions these days. Sometimes I feel like I'm eating in a university cafeteria or something. Lovely view and all but some of these venues need to cut back on the edginess and round it off a bit. Food itself about 8.5/10 for me. A couple of strange choices in the degustation which were probably redundant. However smoked trout paired with current release chardonnay was very good. Hats off there.
Fantastic view from Oakridge. Acquired some current vintage stock pinot from these guys which I tried with lunch. Decent complexity not overly fruity in the wrong way and nice length. Touch of spice. Their tasting space is mammoth. Tasting bench as long as a nimitz class AC carrier. Again, seemed OTT.

Domaine Chandon was a very good experience. Well oiled machine over here. Did a couple of flights of current and slightly back vintaged sparkling whites and reds. Wines itself didn't really blow me away but the light lunch, service and pricing of aforementioned wines was really good. Maybe not for the hardcore hunters but a nice way to kick back and relax. Left with a couple of bottles of B de Bs.

Coldstream hills very quiet which was nice. Tasting room to ourselves. Very knowledgable attendant answering all my silly questions wth a smirk. In the end had a great chat about all things vino, Mr Halliday and recent bush fires. Bought some 2020 Dr.s Block pinot and some YV 2018 chardonnay. Oak nicely balanced in the chardonnay. Pulled back a bit. These wines are really precise & beautifully made. Little bit of age on the chardonnay drinking really nicely.
Cellar door a bit tired. Funny thing is they have this amazing view but when you sit to taste at the bench you have your back to it! Need to drag the whole setup outta the early 00's I reckon. Super spot just needs a tizz.

Giant steps on the Main Street of HV. Not for much longer they're moving out towards Oakridge in the future into a new setup for tasting etc. Will be good to return as these wines stole the show for me. Honed right in on the Applejack vineyard wines. Both Chardonnay and pinot. The 2021 AJ pinot is a ripping ripping wine. Absolutely the best wine I tried all weekend. Chardonnay from AJ also excellent.There were some museum release wines there for sale back to about 2015. But why bother when you can have the 2021 versions. Hot ticket IMO. So left with a case of these wines. Again, my partner and I were the only ones in the cellar door tasting and the attendant is part of the wine making team and very knowledgable. Answered all my silly questions with expert faux interest .
They also had had a 2021 YV clay ferment chardonnay for tasting which was very interesting compared to the french oaked cousins.
Overall though Giant steps get the nod and gold star golf clap.

The Yarra Valley. Excellent spot. Will return. Gets very busy in Healesville on the weekend and Mondays are the go if you wanna rip around and taste without crowds.. All the slickers have gone home by then.

One sour taste for the weekend wasn't wine. It was my bloody football team. 1 point... seriously. Talk about a choke and a half.

Oh a quick edit and nod to 'kitchen and butcher'. Highly recommend for cheese and charcuterie supplies etc.
Main Street of HV.

[phillisc]

Thanks for the report, planning a trip mid October, will also drive back via the Grampians, so could be a few stops there too

Cheers Craig