In 1969 Dr Bailey Carrodus, a doctor of botany, planted a 12-hectare vineyard in the Yarra Valley, northeast of Melbourne, South Australia. He selected a north-facing slope on the Warramate foothills, with gravelly clay soils, to become the Yarra Yering vineyard. Vineyards had existed in the valley before, from the mid-1800s to the 1920, but the growth of the wool trade had seen the valley given over to pasture for sheep; Dr Bailey's new venture marked the return of viticulture to the region. The first vintage was 1973, and the wines acquired a dedicated following in the Australian wine scene over the subsequent decades, competing with Penfolds Grange for pricing and prestige.
Dr Bailey died in 2008 and the estate was sold in 2009, but the buyers were fans of Dr Bailey's work and very little changed. Sarah Crowe joined as General Manager and Winemaker in 2013, from Brokenwood Winery where she had started in 2001 as a vineyard worker and worked her way up to a winemaking role. She has maintained many of the methods employed by Dr Bailey, most significantly the use of his 'tea chests', open-topped fermentation boxes which allow for plot-by-plot vinification, while also adding an element of finesse to the wines by reducing the amount of new oak.
The 'Dry Red' series are their most famous wines: No 1 is a Bordeaux blend dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and No 2 is a Shiraz-led Rhône blend. While both will drink well on release, these are built to age and will reward time in the cellar. Yarra Yering is a warm site in a cool climate region, so while the vineyard is suited to Bordeaux and Rhône varieties, they are also able to produce superb examples of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These wines are powerful yet beautifully balanced — especially in the cool 2023 vintage. Lastly, Underhill is a silky cool-climate Shiraz from a single block planted in 1973. /JH
