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Back in the days when you could still buy a bottle of Wendouree pressings for $2.50, I made my first trip to the Yarra Valley. I purchased a quantity of Yarra Yering wines, the 1976 vintage, Dry Red Number 1 and Dry Red Number 2. It was a beautiful day with a very good friend, the Yarra Valley looked its best, and the wine at the winery was superb.
I cellared them for many years and then took one to my brother’s place for an evening meal. Unfortunately, on opening, the wine stank of over ripe banana. He graciously put my wine aside and opened some great wines from his cellar. Four days later he dropped around with a masked bottle and asked me to identify it. The wine was indeed superb, with just the subtlest hint of banana amid the dark berry fruit. I told him that was what the Yarra Yering should have tasted like, and to my surprise when unmasked, it was indeed my bottle. He had slipped the cork in at the end of the night and brought it around as a joke.
I read later that Dr Carrodus had experienced significant volatility problems with that vintage. I found that if I breathed the remaining bottles of wine for at least 3 hours, the volatility disappeared. Many years later, with my stock almost totally depleted, I was invited to a wine club vertical tasting of Yarra Yering, and unfortunately I couldn't make it. I donated one of my 76s to my friend who was going, with strict instructions to breathe it for several hours before the tasting.
As with all wine experts, he knew better and believed in breathing very old wines for only 15 minutes. Of course, when it was opened, the wine was off. Some days later, my friend spoke with the wine club president, who told him that he came across the 76 when he was tidying up after the event, tried it, and it was the wine of the night. He happily sat down and consumed the rest of the bottle. I wonder how many bottles of this wonderful wine were thrown away. I recently found that I had one bottle left, the Dry Red Number 2. I hardly dare open it now. Who knows what 25 years have done to that banana bouquet? I will have to open it soon I guess.
Dave, VIC
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