Chances are, you don’t drink nearly enough Champagne. I don’t either, and I try to make an effort. Chances are you don’t know as much about Champagne and other sparkling wines as you do about red, white and rosé. Most people don’t. And if you’re like most people, you haven’t been to New Orleans lately.

There’s a simple fix to all of the above, and it’s called the Independent Champagne and Sparkling Wine Invitational. And just like it sounds, it’s a conference (and more importantly, a tasting event) dedicated solely to bubbles.

I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like a hell of a good time.

The event starts on Friday April 16th, with a seminar on the sparkling wines of the world. Then around mid-day, the Grand Tasting hall opens to the public, and you have the opportunity to taste hundreds of sparkling wines and Champagnes. In the evening, winemaker dinners are followed by an after-party on Bourbon Street. The next day offers more of the same, with a grand bash on Saturday night on Rue street.

Unfortunately the event web site isn’t great, so its quite difficult to tell, for instance, what the winemaker dinners are, which winemakers will be attending, or where they will be held.

However, the one thing that is quite clear is the list of producers that will be attending and pouring, and I’ve started salivating just reading it.

Independent Champagne and Sparkling Wine Invitational 2010
Friday April 16 - Saturday, April 17, 2010
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
900 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, Louisiana

Tickets for the event start at $200 (or $150 if you just want to attend a winemaker dinner), and go up to $400 for a Grand Cru VIP ticket. Tickets can be purchased online. Of course you gotta get yourself to New Orleans (assuming you aren’t lucky enough to live there) but tickets look to be pretty cheap this time of year. If any of you folks go, let me know how it is !

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I’ve just spent a couple of days in Australia’s Barossa Valley, with its rolling hills of ancient rock worn down to nubs by the sands of time. I arrived in the first real rain of Autumn, the moisture a welcome relief for most everyone in the drought stricken region, and doubly so for the fact that almost all the fruit had been harvested.

I came to the Barossa for two reasons. The first was to see some of the classic producers and lay my hands, or at least my eyes, on some of the oldest and some of the most unique grapevines in the world: 150-year-old Shiraz growing on their own roots, untouched by the ravages of Phylloxera. The second was to find out what was new and interesting in a region that has largely become a victim of its own success and stereotypes. There had to be more to the Barossa than huge point-inflated fruit bombs, right?

All of which is how I found myself seated yesterday afternoon on a sunny brick patio with a group of (mostly) young winemakers who have banded together under the name Artisans of Barossa. Formed in 2005, this group of producers consists of 10 different wineries, most of whom have production levels of just a couple hundred to a couple of thousand cases. Each member either owns their own winery or their own vineyard, or both. The group’s self described purpose is to maintain and celebrate “the regionality, environmental sustainability, traditions and cultural spirit of our home - The Barossa” while making wines “that excite, inspire and delight our customers and each other.”

In talking with a portion of this group, it seems like they are still finding their way in terms of what they aim to achieve, but they seem to be quite clear on what I believe is the most important fact of their existence — that they represent an important reality of winemaking in the Barossa that should be more visible.

The promotion of small production, independent wineries I believe to be one of the most important priorities in a world of wine where increasingly such players are shut out of the market due to consolidations in the distribution chain, as well as their own lack of marketing resources. While the Artisans’ tagline “Custodians of the Future” may slightly overstate their importance, the core of that sentiment is certainly true, and much more so for Australia than some other wine regions.

Most consumers’ experience with Australian wine has come at the hands of huge corporate winery operations and “ready-made-for-export” brands that have no real presence in Australia (as the wines are made from bulk wine purchased and then packaged to be sold in the USA). The idea that there are thousands of small independent wineries whose products are available, albeit with a little searching, in America needs to be much better understood. Likewise, the demand for such wines needs to be encouranged in the US, as well as the UK.

Additionally, while some of the wines from the group are a bit over the top, most of them belie the notion that Barossa is about massively extracted, high alcohol wines. I was happy to find many of them making 13.5% to 14% alcohol, elegant and delicious Shiraz (some from very old, microscopic family vineyards , and lean, low-alcohol Rieslings from the Eden valley). The group also takes pains to point out that among their members, they are making wines from 11 distinct sub-regions of the Barossa valley, each with a different character. I’m not entirely sold on how important this further dissection of the Barossa is, but in my travels around the valley, it’s clear that regional variations in soil types, exposure, and temperature are quite distinct.

I’m quite pleased that Artisans of Barossa exists as a group, and I hope they grow and other such groups arise to help the smaller producers of Australia get more visibility.

Here are the wines that the group brought to lunch.

TASTING NOTES:

2009 Radford Riesling, Eden Valley, Australia
Light yellow gold in the glass this wine has a nose of floral aromas with green apple and bright candied lemon peel scents. In the mouth the wine has a fantastically explosive candied lemon peel quality. Super juicy with excellent acidity, the electric lemon quality stays lingering in the finish keeping the mouth puckered and salivating for nearly a minute. One of the best Eden Valley Rieslings I’ve tasted. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $20. Click to buy.

2007 Radford Shiraz, Eden Valley, Barossa Valley, Australia
Dark garnet in the glass with a cloudy haze, this wine has rich blackberry and blueberry aromas. In the mouth the wine comes across as juicy with lush blackberry and cassis flavors. Great acidity and lightly tacky tannins add complexity while the wine finishes with a sour cherry note and the barest hint of alcoholic heat. Despite the heat this is quite a tasty wine. Score: around 9. Cost: $48 Click to buy.

2007 Hobbs of Barossa “Gregor” Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of chocolate and black cherry with notes of espresso. In the mouth the wine has a fine grained tannic structure and excellent acidity with chocolate, cherry and blackberry flavors. Good acidity lingers in the finish. Tasty. Score: around 9.

2007 Hobbs of Barossa Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of rich chocolate and cassis aromas. In the mouth the wine has fantastically rich chocolate and espresso flavors with a distinct but well integrated signature of new oak. Bright acidity makes this quite juicy and delicious, but this is a wine for those looking for a slightly riper, more fruit driven style, but wanting to stop well short of a fruit bomb. Quite tasty. Score: around 9. Click to buy.

2007 Kalleske “Clarry’s” Red Blend, Barossa Valley, Australia
Dark ruby in color with a distinct cloudy haze, this blend of Grenache and Shiraz has a nose of cherry, leather, and hints of dried flowers and chocolate. In the mouth it is juicy with cherry and raspberry fruit that has a spicy note to it. Faint tannins and a citric quality lingers in the finish. Juicy and ready to drink. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $30 Click to buy.

2003 John Duval Wines “Plexus” Rhone Blend, Barossa Valley, Australia
Dark garnet in the glass, this blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Mourvedre has a nose of chocolate covered cherries and leather. In the mouth the wine has a wonderfully velvet texture with flavors of stewed cherries, prunes and a chocolatey leather quality. Wonderfully soft tannins and the texture that some fine sediment provides give this wine an extra dimension of pleasure. This is the first commercial vintage of this wine. Score: around 9. Cost: $40. Click to buy.

2008 John Duval Plexus Rhone Blend, Barossa Valley, Australia
A blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Mourvedre, this wine has a dark garnet color in the glass. It smells of black cherry, cassis, and cedar. In the mouth the wine offers a nice suede-like texture with fine grained but aggressive tannins, and flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry. Very nice acidity. With a couple of years the tannins will mellow and make this a very well put together package. Score: around 9. Cost: $40Click to buy.

2006 Massena “The Moonlight Run” Red Bled, Barossa Valley, Australia
Medium ruby in the glass with a cloudy haze, this blend of Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre, and Cinsault smells fantastically of violets and cassis aromas with an undercurrent of fresh herbs. In the mouth the wine has a juicy cherry and raspberry fruit core with a spicy sandalwood and incense haze that hangs around the edges of the fruit. Excellent acidity and faint powdery tannins. Outstanding. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cos: $25. Click to buy.

2007 Schwartz “Thiele Road” Grenache, Barossa Valley, Australia
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of sweet cherry and black raspberry fruit. In the mouth the wine is quite ripe with black cherry and raspberry fruit mixed with cedar and black tea flavors. Moderately aggressive, muscular tannins linger with a cedar note into the finish. Good acidity and quite aromatic in the mouth. Quite dark fruit for a Grenache. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $37. Click to buy.

2008 Spinifex “Indigene” Red Blend, Barossa Valley, Australia
A Shiraz dominated blend with bits of Mataro and Grenache, this wine has a dark garnet color to it. It smells of bright cassis, black cherry, and violets. In the mouth it is wonderfully juicy with powerful tannins that wrap around a core of cassis and blackberry flavors tinged with leather and wet dirt. Very nice violets and cassis aromas linger on the finish. Excellent. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $45. Click to buy.

2009 Teusner “Joshua” Rhone Blend, Barossa Valley, Australia
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this blend of 65% Grenache, 25% Mataro, and 10% Shiraz smells of sweet cassis and mulberry flavors. On the palate the wine is velvety, with thick, sweet tannins that wrap around flavors of cassis, blueberries, and mulberries. A slight bit of alcoholic heat emerges on the finish, the only adverse quality of this otherwise delicious wine. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $19. Click to buy.

2006 Teusner “Albert” Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of chocolate, stewed prunes and black cherries. In the mouth the wine tastes of cherry and sandalwood with cassis notes. Sandpapery tannins and juicy acidity take the cherry flavors and launch them onto the palate in a quite tasty way. The finish is juicy and mouth puckering. Score: around 9. Cost: $55. Click to buy.

2006 Dutschke “Oscar Semmler Single Vineyard Reserve” Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia
Dark garnet in the glass, the wine has a nose of cocoa powder and blackberry fruit. In the mouth the wine packs an alcoholic heat that lifts flavors of blackberry chocolate and cassis into the top of the mouth and drives them through the finish while an earthy and leathery tannic structure lingers in the mouth. Some heat continues in the finish. Score: around 8. Cost: $40. Click to buy.

2004 Tin Shed “Single Wire” Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia
Dark garnet in the glass, this wine smells of stewed prunes and blackberry jam. In the mouth the wine has an interesting savory/sweet character that is a combination of roasted figs, kalamata olives, and dried black cherries. This wine is quite jammy with its cooked fruit characters, and a bit heavy on the palate. Good acids keep it from being overpowering, but it is definitely a bit overdone. Score: around 7.5. Cost: $42. Click to buy.

2004 Tin Shed “Three Vines” Rhone Blend, Barossa Valley, Australia
A blend of Mourvedre, Shiraz, and Grenache, this wine is a cloudy dark garnet in the glass, with a nose of chocolate, mulberry, and blueberry aromas. In the mouth the wine tastes quite alcoholic, with high toned alcohol lifted flavors of cassis, mulberry, and incense. An aromatic finish of violet aromas has a good deal of alcoholic heat to it. Somewhat unbalanced. Score: around 8.

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The greatest wines of the world are undeniably a product of place, embodying the particular constellation of elements that can be captured by the seeking roots and waving leaves of a grapevine. But some very special wines are as much a product of intense passion and vision as they are of a specific terroir. Someone must choose the land, must drive the posts, must plant the vines, and of course, make the wine.

These actions can be done with ordinary dedication or with extraordinary insight, and their results vary accordingly. As I journey through my adventure as a wine lover, I find increasingly that some of the most extraordinary wines on earth are also made by some of its most extraordinary individuals — people whose sense of what they want from wine lies beyond the realm of common sense, tradition, or, occasionally, even sanity.

Doctor Bailey Carrodus was, in the truest sense of the cliché, a renaissance man. Both a biologist and oenologist by training, he earned his doctorate at Oxford studying plant physiology, and traveled around Europe exploring its greatest vineyards before returning home to Australia to make a life, and a life’s work for himself. That work began with the search for a site to plant a vineyard and build a home.

His search eventually brought him to the Warramate hills in the heart of the Yarra Valley, once a reasonably prolific wine producing region, but abandoned as such since 1921 when the last recorded wine was made in the area. In 1969, Carrodus purchased 30 acres of roughly north-facing hillside of silty loam soils laced with deep bands of gravel from prehistoric wandering streams. He immediately planted vines and built himself a home, both enterprises planned and recorded in detailed, longhand notes and meticulous sketches, and both clearly bearing the imprint of their maker.

The Yarra Yering vineyards were planted with both traditional Bordeaux grape varieties as well as varieties that Carrodus believed might be suited to the area, including Pinot Noir and several red and white Rhone Varieties. The vineyard rows were spaced wide to accommodate the basic farming equipment of the day. The spaces in between were cultivated with cover crops, and most notably, no affordances for irrigation were made, the doctor’s intention being to dry farm the vineyard, largely by hand, and though never certified, essentially as completely organic.

The house that Carrodus built for himself would strike most people as austere if not downright odd. Surrounded by the wonderful gardens and trees that Carrodus carefully planted, landscaped, and tended, the house was made of simple cement blocks, unfinished both on the inside and out. In response to polite questions about how he enjoyed living in what amounted to a box of grey concrete, Carrodus would reply that the container was not important, the contents being the only thing that truly mattered.

This philosophy, if one could call it that, bore itself out both literally and figuratively in every aspect of the doctor’s small winery. Carrodus purchased the cheapest glass bottles possible, and without regard for traditions, bottled every kind of wine in the same shape and color of bottle. The labels for the bottle were hand drawn and hand lettered by Carrodus himself each year for decades. The one thing the doctor paid handsomely for were the highest quality corks he could find from Spain.

The work in the vineyards and winery reflected a level of dedication to both quality as well as control that few winery operations in the world could possibly afford to match. The grapes were hand harvested and transported in small black plastic bins the size of a large salad bowl. These bowls with their whole clusters of grapes were dumped one by one into a manually cranked crusher which funneled the crushed grapes and juice and stems into custom designed 2/3 ton steel-lined wooden fermentation vats that would allow Carrodus to carefully shepherd even the tiniest sections of the vineyard separately through their fermentation as a one-man operation. Carrodus invented and built a small radiator-like device to cool these small vats, one of the few devices in the winery that required any electricity.

Carrodus’ first vintage of wine was made in 1973, and that wine represented the first commercial wine made in the Yarra Valley since wine production ceased more than fifty years prior.

For the next 35 years, Carrodus produced wines that met his exacting standards, or, on occasion, no wine at all. On one famous occasion, he recalled a wine that he decided wasn’t good enough after it had sold, offering full refunds to every customer. These were wines that fit no established model or style other than his personal vision for what kind of wine he should be making from the place he had chosen to do so. Only in comparison to the neighboring wineries that sprouted up over the decades is it possible to see the uniqueness of the doctor’s approach. From dry farming and its miniscule yields, to the consistent harvesting of grapes weeks earlier than neighbors and the steadfast refusal to add anything but yeast to his grapes, Carrodus defied most local conventions before they were invented.

In total, the winery produced about 4000 cases of wine and with additional plantings, reached a total of about 80 acres of vines under cultivation.

By the end of 2007, the doctor’s health was failing, and so he began searching for a winemaker to help him keep the winery operating smoothly after his long standing winemaking assistant Mark Haisma decided to move to Europe. Paul Bridgeman doesn’t remember exactly how he first became a potential candidate for the job, but he remembers nearly four months of intermittent conversations (and tastings) with Carrodus about the position. Then one day, he got the call that he’d gotten the job.

Two weeks later on September 19, 2008 Dr. Bailey Carrodus died.

Carrodus had never married, nor had any children. In a flurry of activity, the winery was quickly purchased by a group of investors, led by Singaporean businessman Ed Peter, all of whom steadfastly committed to let the winery operate as it always had, in the hands of Bridgeman and winery manager Tim Hampton.

Indeed, little has changed at Yarra Yering. The entry hall and living room in Dr. Carrodus’ house have been plastered and turned into a tasting room open to the public for the first time, and instead of the bearded Carrodus in his slacks and shirt, you will now find a strappy Paul Bridgeman wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with “The Yeastie Boys - Licensed to Spill” worrying over the fermentations with a different, but comparable intensity to the late doctor.

I will not be the first to call Yarra Yering’s wines phenomenally good by any means, but these wines are really and truly exceptional. Above all the wines are almost breathtaking in their honesty. Tasting them provides the nearly unsettling sensation of tapping into something quite essential about what wine is, and should always be: a distillate of sun, earth, water, and a passion of feeling. The three or so hours I spent wandering the cellar and tasting these wines have entirely changed my sense of what Australian wine is, and has the potential to be, and more than anything, left me with the profound sense of loss for not having had the opportunity to meet the man responsible for making them. While I am not fully qualified myself, by lack of experience, to proclaim these some of the best wines made in Australia, I can heartily agree with any others who have been bold enough to say so.

TASTING NOTES:

1996 Yarra Yering Blanc de Noir Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Australia
Light yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of honey and white flowers with a hint of yeastiness. In the mouth the wine has a yeasty, baked-apple and bread flavor with a nice lemon juice quality on the finish. Competent and pleasant, but missing some depth. Score: between 8.5 and 9.

1999 Yarra Yering “Dry White #1″ Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc, Yarra Valley, Australia
Bright medium-yellow in the glass with a faint haze, this wine has a nose of lemongrass and a yeasty breadiness. In the mouth it offers bright lemon, sourdough toast and brewers yeast flavors. A long finish incorporates a hint of waxiness. Unique and distinctive, the wine hasn’t been made in recent years as the vines were ripped out because the wine didn’t sell well. Score: between 8.5 and 9. Cost: $36. Click to buy.

2007 Yarra Yering Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Australia
Light green-gold in the glass, this wine has a nose of cold cream and wet stones with hints of white flowers and lemon curd. In the mouth it is gorgeously bright with bee pollen, lemon curd, and beautiful long chamomile notes on the finish. A very nice mix of fruit and more savory herbal components, this is a chardonnay with great personality. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Click to buy.

2003 Yarra Yering Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Australia
Cloudy light ruby in the glass, this wine smells of wet dirt and raspberry fruit. In the mouth it is gorgeously delicate and beautifully textured, with raspberry and reducurrant flavors mixed with a deep river mud quality that morphs to wet leaves in the long finish. Soulful and unique. Score: around 9. Cost: $55 Click to buy.

2007 Yarra Yering Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley, Australia
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of some sort of herb-encased mulberry and raspberry but with an otherworldly edge that is hard to pin down. In the mouth the wine is a strange combination of sensuality and rustic earthiness. It possesses gorgeous texture with faint tannins and perfectly balanced acidity. The core of the fruit in the wine centers around raspberry and redcurrant with gorgeous incense and spice coursing over a foundation of river mud. Impeccably honest. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $55. Click to buy.

2007 Yarra Yering “Gruyere” Shiraz, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium ruby in color, this wine smells of blackberries and raspberries. In the mouth it is soft and bright with raspberry and blackberry flavors that bounce juicily along with light greenish herbs in the background. Friendly but not particularly profound. Score: between 8.5 and 9.

2001 Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of hints of bacon fat and blackberry pie. In the mouth it is incredibly silky and smooth, with cherry, blackberry, raspberry and wonderful garrigue herbs that hover above a pounded earth floor and float through a long finish. Wonderful acidity and faint tannins add to the complexity. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Cost: $45. Click to buy.

2007 Yarra Yering “Underhill” Shiraz, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of mulberry and blackberry aromas. In the mouth it is beautifully textured with a silky medium body of freshly picked blackberry and briar flavors. Wonderful acids and a beautiful, wet redwood planking quality linger through a very fine finish. Ethereal tannins linger at the edge of perceptibility. Score: between 9 and 9.5. Click to buy.

2005 Yarra Yering “Agincourt - Dry Red #1″ Bordeaux Blend, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of smoked meats, redcurrants, and cherry aromas. In the mouth it is gorgeously textured with sweet tannins and a core of bright cherry fruit mixed with exotic woods, cocoa powder, and beautiful floral characteristics that linger in the finish. Fantastic soft tannins give structure to the wine and are balanced by a wonderful acidity that makes the wine extremely juicy. A special bottling that is just a blend of Cabernet and Merlot. Score: around 9.5.

2004 Yarra Yering “Dry Red #1″ Bordeaux Blend, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium to dark garnet in the glass, this wine has a nose of dried cherries, wet dirt, and woodsmoke. In the mouth it offers dried cherries, fresh cherries, orange rind and mulling spices wrapped in faint, powdery tannins that have a delicate sweetness to them. The incredibly long finish incorporates beautiful notes of cedar and orange oil. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $55. Click to buy.

2006 Yarra Yering “Dry Red #1″ Bordeaux Blend, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium to dark garnet in color, this wine smells of bacon fat, mint, and bright cherry and mulberry fruit. In the mouth it offers stunning, bright spicy plum and cherry fruit with exotic woods and spices that linger in an impressive finish. Astonishingly smooth texture, accentuated with faint powdery tannins that contrast with perfect acidity. This wine is the epitome of balance. The finish, which my notes describe as “gobsmackingly aromatic” lingers literally for minutes. Score: between 9.5 and 10. Cost: $55 Click to buy.

2007 Yarra Yering “Dry Red #1″ Bordeaux Blend, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium garnet in the glass, this wine has a gorgeous nose of incense and cherry fruit with incredible floral overtones. In the mouth the wine is astonishingly balanced with the poise of a ballerina. The core of the wine contains cherry fruit surrounded by what I can only describe as “an atmosphere” of fennel seeds, anise, mixed dried herbs, and orange peel flavors. Quite extraordinary and incredibly drinkable. A mere 12.5% alcohol. Score: between 9.5 and 10. Click to buy.

1989 Yarra Yering Dry Red #1 Bordeaux Blend, Yarra Valley, Australia
Cloudy medium ruby in color with a dark brown haze, this wine smells of coffee with milk, stewed cherries, and smoked meats. In the mouth it has an astonishing, sexy, silky texture and delivers beautiful dried cherry, coffee-with-milk, sticky date pudding and lingering cedar flavors that hover with a sweet rosemary quality for minutes in the mouth. Definitely advancing in age, this wine is drinking beautifully, but I don’t have the experience to predict how much longer it will last. Score: around 9.5.

2007 Yarra Yering “Dry Red #2″ Shiraz Yarra Valley, Australia
An interesting blend of 98% Shiraz with little bits of cofermented Viognier, Marsanne, and Mourvedre, this wine smells of mulberries and white flowers. On the palate the wine is exceedingly delicate, even feminine. Fantastic mulberry and cassis flavors with floral, exotic citrus oils and garrigue herbs linger through an incredible finish. Fantastically elegant I sat for minutes as the finish sailed onwards in the back of my mouth. Outstanding. Score: between 9.5 and 10. Cost: $55. Click to buy.

2007 Yarra Yering Merlot, Yarra Valley, Australia
Light to medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of a fistful of green herbs and plums layered on a wet chalkboard. Wonderful tart and juicy plum fruit courses through the palate with notes of dried herbs and incense that emerge on the finish. Beautifully balanced and incredibly drinkable. Fantastic acidity. Astonishingly just 12.5% alcohol. Score: around 9. Click to buy.

2007 Yarra Yering “Dry Red #3″ Red Blend, Yarra Valley, Australia
Medium garnet in color, this wine has an unbelievable perfumed nose of violets, cassis, and plum. In the mouth it is exceedingly soft and velvety, with powdery tannins wrapped around flavors of cassis, plum, cedar, mulberry, amazing concoctions of fruit and exotic woods. Fantastic acidity makes the wine juicy throughout its time in the mouth and for minutes afterwards. An unusual blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão, Tinta Amarela, Alvarelhao, Roriz and Sousão varieties. Score: around 9.5. Cost: $60. Click to buy.

A TASTE OF THE FUTURE OF YARRA YERING
I had the opportunity to taste many of the above wines in their current vintages out of barrel, as well as their various components.

Despite the disastrous and deadly brushfires in the Yarra Valley in 2009 the vintage at Yarra Yering was excellent. Not only is there not a trace of smoke taint (Bridgeman says their location and prevailing winds prevented it) the wines are fantastic and perfectly in keeping with the quality and style evidenced by the earlier vintages I tasted out of bottle before and after my barrel tasting.

I can say with relief and excitement that the 2009 wines will likely be fantastic, and that Bridgeman seems to be embodying the spirit and vision of Dr. Carrodus while at the same time, clearly forging his own path. Perhaps the highest compliment one could pay to Bridgeman at this point is that he is clearly both talented and inspired enough to not have screwed anything up. After tasting and listening to him talk about the wines I have little doubt that Yarra Yering is in excellent hands.

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