One Block Yellingbo is a superb single vineyard Yarra Valley Syrah made from fruit sourced from highly regarded Tibooburra Vineyard at Yellingbo in the Upper Valley. Handpicked and sorted with 30% while bunches to the wine structure and complexity, and matured in mainly older French Hogs head barrels, this medium bodied, fragrant and gently spicy wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered and can be enjoyed now and over the next five or so years.
This has the overall style and elegance of the wines made by Jayden Ong as he plays the whole bunch game as hard as he can in some of the cooler/coolest sites of the Yarra Valley. Here dark fruits come out on top, but that foresty underlay is still there tugging at your tastebuds.
95 points, Wine Companion (April 2018)
Yarra Valley
The Yarra Valley was first planted by the Ryrie brothers who explored a way through the Snowy Mountains to the Yarra Valley, planting grapes in 1838 just three years after the foundation of Melbourne. A wine industry (developed by Swiss Settlers particularly Hubert de Castella and Baron Guillaume de Pury in the 1850s) thrived during the gold rush era and heyday of the 19th century. However, the end of the gold rush brought the wine industry into decline and it was not until the 1970’s that the modern wine industry started up again. The region is probably Australia’s best-known cool-climate area, yet it is really a patchwork of meso-climates. This varied topography creates an incredible set of variables. Vineyards are planted on elevations of 50 to 400m on varying aspects and management programmes. The more exposed sites are subject to severe spring frosts and winds. Overall, the area experiences a relatively high rainfall pattern and is known for its temperature extremes during ripening. Site selection is crucial, with the best vineyards often located where the original vines were once planted, generally on sandy clay loams and gravels. The Yarra Valley is well known for high quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Blends with Shiraz increasingly garnering attention. Sparkling wine production is also extremely important, with many of Australia’s finest examples produced in the region.
