Its fair to say Luke Lambert hasn't looked back since 'relocating' his Syrah to the Tibooburra vineyard. This southwest sloping site lies in the southeastern corner of the Valley, near Gembrook, and might be the coolest microclimate of the Yarra. The site is expertly managed by Greg Kerr, the grower who planted the vineyard in 2001. The soils here are considered very unusual for the Yarra, comprising a seam of black volcanic topsoil over yellow clay with a smattering of granite rock throughout. Furthermore, the quality of the clonal material in Tibooburra supplies Lambert with deeper and darker Syrah fruit that also has more depth and structure. This is what drew him to the site and a good chunk of the reason the Syrah has become a touchstone example of cool-climate Yarra Shiraz.

Serrat Shiraz Viognier is a spicy, elegant, cool-climate style, sourced off a small plot of close-planted vines in Yarra Glen. Serrat is the family label of renowned winemaker Tom Carson and his wife Nadège. The fruit is hand-picked, lightly destemmed and co-fermented with a small amount of Viognier in small open fermenters. Following fermentation, the wine is pressed to 500L French oak puncheons for 11 months maturation.

Yarra Yering Carrodus Cabernet, Yarra Valley The Carrodus range wines from Yarra Yering are part of very limited special reserve group. As reserve wines, they are only made in exceptional years and are named for Dr Bailey Carrodus, who founded of Yarra Yering in 1969. I take small parcels from specific sections of the vineyard, the original 1969 plantings and make a barrel or two of a single variety. - Sarah Crowe An initiative from chief winemaker Sarah Crowe, who takes small parcels from specific sections of the vineyards. These reserve wines aren't bottled every year and cover single variety bottlings of Viognier, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Dr Carrodus was respected for his blending ability so I take grapes he would have blended and bottle them as single varieties The wines need to be exceptional, I want to produce the most ethereal wines I can for these small bottlings. - Sarah Crowe The Carrodus wines are made gently, with moderate use of oak, with the aim of highlighting the varietal expression of the very best grapes that Yarra Yering can produce. Essential for Yarra Valley collectors, these wines will live long in the cellar.

OAKRIDGE WINES 864 Winery Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Yarra Valley

The vineyard series range of wines by David Bicknell at Oakridge matches particular varieties of wines with specific sites, showcasing outstanding examples of single vineyard wines. This wine was sourced from the north-facing Hyde Park vineyard sited in the grey alluvial loams of Coldstream. Vintage 2021 was a long, cool growing season with average cropping levels and ample rainfall has resulted in wines with outstanding varietal definition and purity. A traditional winemaking approach was used

Expect layers of fleshy Pinot fruit, suggesting rose petal, plum and earth, balanced by fine, powdery tannins and a long complex finish that perfumes the mouth with sour cherries and sappy freshness. The Pauls Lane Pinot was hand harvested from Toolangi's 2001 plantings (MV6 clone grapes in E Block rows 46-66), partially de-stemmed (50% whole bunches retained) and naturally fermented in open top wooden fermenters. In total, the wine spent 23 days on skins before being pressed to French oak (20% new) for eight months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. "A producer that demonstrates a deep commitment to terroir in producing Australias finest and most distinctive wines." Nick Stock, Good Wine Guide In case you hadnt heard the good news, Helmut Konecsny, the owner of Rochford Wines, has purchased Toolangi Vineyards and has immediately started ringing in the changes. Of course, its early days, but from what we have seen so far, the future for Toolangi now looks very, very bright. Apart from the new packaging, Konecsny and his team seem very serious about rejuvenating and upgrading the work in the vines. This was, after all, one of the few Yarra producers to engage the services of renowned soil scientist Claude Bourguignon on his recent visit to Australia, and the Toolangi vineyard was one of the sites he analysed. In terms of winemaking, Toolangi will now control its own destiny with the talented duo of Kaspar Hermann and Kelly Healey working closely with seasoned Yarra viticulturist John Evans. Hermans CV includes stints at Seville Estate, Viticoltori De Concillis in Campania, Coldstream Hills, Punch (formally Diamond Valley) and Mount Mary where he worked as assistant winemaker for 8 years before joining Toolangi. Kelly Healey started his wine career in Otago in his homeland of New Zealand before donning the Blundsones at Chandon in the Yarra Valley and Moet & Chandon in India, followed by a spell at Kilchurn in Macedon until he accepted the role working alongside Kaspar. Crucial to the Toolangi team is experienced viticulturist, John Evans. Johns previous experience includes Chief Viticulturist at Yering Station for 14 years, Vineyard Manager at Yarra Ridge and worked at De Bortoli, as well as various Vineyard Consulting roles including the setup and redevelopment of Toolangi Vineyard in 2001, which he has continued to this day. Safe to say, John knows the Yarra like the back of his hand and exactly how to get the best from the Toolangi vineyard. Another positive is that there are currently only two tiers of winethe Toolangi and Pauls Lane labels. The first set of wines under the new team hail from 2018. Under the new regime, there is no inoculation for any of the wines, the Pinots take in a large portion of whole bunch ferments, and the reds are neither fined nor filtered. The winemakers also take a balanced approach to new oak, so even the top label is capped at 20% new barrels. Its very early days, yet the first set of wines makes a statementan excellent statement. Going forward it will be fascinating to see the consequences of Konecsnys and the new teams intention to apply the time honoured vigneron model on the Toolangi wines. The future is bright.

Wine Notes Colour deep crimson purple Aroma cassis, blackberry, spicy black fruits, cedar Palate dark red fruits, rich texture, savoury tannins + bay leaf Cellar up to 10 years After a lifetime of making wine for others, Rob decided to launch his own label in 2010. After purchasing Hardys Yarra Burn winery, Rob produced his first vintage in 2012. Rob's philosophy is 'Real people, real wine, real character,' and he produces wines to reflect this. Rob Dolan Wines strive to make fruit-driven, approachable, fresh and distinctly varietal wine styles that over-deliver in terms of quality and price and appeal to a wide market.

A bright, fresh Cabernet from the Yarra made for drinking in it's youth. Great value and dangerously easy to drink!