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Power and elegance…
Each year we release our very best wine as flagship Reserves and today, we are thrilled to release those of our exceptional Vintage 2022. Only the most premium fruit is channelled into this collection, meaning some years there may be one sole standout wine. This year, our Vintage 2022 Flagship wines include our Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz Viognier.
Vintage 2022
The 2022 Vintage for Yering Station, as for much of Victoria, was marred by a difficult cool and wet spring. Particularly so in October where we had over double the average monthly rainfall. This made for poor flowering and fruit set, resulting in our crops being down by 60% at the get go. A mild to warm January followed with a helpful burst of rain by the end of the month which topped up soils nicely for a very dry February (only 1mm fell).
Harvest began in the Yarra on the 25th of February with some brilliant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, mostly all off before the first major rain event on the 5th of March. This set up the remainder of the month with mostly dry and mild conditions, with cool nights, seeing the Shiraz and Cabernet into optimal maturity. Stylistically, these Reserves show their colours through the lens of another La Nina growing season, with lots of perfume and flavour, bright, vibrant palates and a subtle increase in structural density driven by the lower crop levels.
2022 Reserve Chardonnay
The blend was barrel selected from two different vineyards, our block Y28 from the Yering Station vineyard and from grower Copperhead vineyard in Coldstream. Both are Mendoza clone and were hand harvested and whole bunch pressed. The juice was then fermented with solids in French Oak 500L puncheons (14% new), the majority using wild yeast for fermentation. MLF was avoided and the wines were matured on their gross less for 10 months and then another 5 months with lees in tank after blending. The 2022’s have a beautiful density to them, with this Chardonnay showing beautiful texture and poise on the palate, along with the white florals, fruit power and savoury elements we so love from these two vineyards.
Colour: Pale straw gold.
Nose: White blossom, crushed cashews and hazelnuts with white nectarine and mandarin fruits.
Palate: A beautiful, textured silken and poised palate. Full of juicy peach, nectarine, almond praline and toasty French oak highlights. Flavour and texture glide effortlessly across the palate thanks to the bright, mineral acidity which provides the backbone of this wine’s structure, carrying each element through to a long finish.
Cellaring: Drinking beautifully now but will also reward patient cellaring over the next 10+ years.
2022 Reserve Pinot Noir
Barrel selected from 7 different parcels, with the resulting blend being a majority from blocks Y06 & Y07 at Yering Station and again from the Copperhead vineyard in Coldstream. Gravity fed handling of grapes, fermented in small open top fermenters were gently hand plunged or pumped over accordingly. Barrel matured in 500L French Oak puncheons (10% new) for 10 months. Through blending we seek a harmonious balance of the inherent intricate detail that each parcel of fruit, and barrel shows. Bringing together a core of ripe cherry fruit and silky tannin, that Y06 and Y07 does so well, with lovely perfumed and whole bunch highlights from Copperhead drives the body of the wine. Other barrels were chosen for their darker, brooding elements and their spice.
Colour: Light garnet red.
Nose: Crushed strawberries, ripe cherries and delicate pink florals dance around a complex line of freshly tilled earth.
Palate: Pretty red fruits fill the front of the palate which extends to reveal darker, more brooding elements. Lovely, fragrant spices build along with the gently firm yet supple tannin profile. The finish is expansive; full of complexity, energy and deep satisfaction.
Cellaring: Drinking beautifully now but will also reward patient cellaring over the next 10+ years.
2022 Reserve Shiraz Viognier
Another beautiful vintage of Yarra Valley Shiraz, 60% of which comes from Block C04 at the Carr Vineyard in Coldstream. C04 is 2 acre patch in the middle of 6 acre vineyard, identified and kept separate for its thinner top soil. This patch always drives a deep and dark fruited wine with beautiful warm spice and structural tannin. The remainder of the blend is barrel selected from the other blocks at Carrs along with a splash from Warramunda Estate’s Best clone Shiraz. The parcels of fruit were co fermented with 3% Viognier picked on demand from our Yering Station and Spring Lane vineyard, which lends a delicious velvet like texture to the tannin, along with highlighting the lovely spice and dark floral characters. The wine was barrel matured in 228L French Oak (26% new) for 18 months.
Colour: Deep, dark ruby.
Nose: Blackberry, blood plum, liquorice, five spice and polished leather.
Palate: Dark cherries, sour plums and ripe raspberries shine bright. Soon after savoury elements begin to evolve; graphite, black olive, warm spices and oak toast. These build alongside a tannin profile that flows through velvet and velour arriving at a crescendo of balanced fruit, spice and texture which drive through the long finish.
Cellaring: Drinking beautifully now but will also reward patient cellaring over the next 10+ years.
A notable exclusion from the lineup is a Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. While we made some beautiful Cabernets in 2022, detailed and elegant, our winemaking team made the decision to release what could’ve been a Reserve as a Single Vineyard, as the wine did not possess the full weight nor power our collectors expect of Yering Station Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
