BLOG — Reviews

An excerpt from our newsletter in 2014 – we were (and still are) chuffed to be rated so highly by Mr Halliday and his team:

Now a 4 ½ Star Winery  – In his  2014 Wine Companion, James Halliday has rated Yarrh Wines as a  4 ½ Star winery.  We are very pleased with this, and it marks another milestone in our development.  What does 4 ½ Stars mean? “Excellent winery able to produce wines of high to very high quality, knocking on the door of a 5-star rating. Will normally have one wine rated at 94 points or above, and two (or more) at 90 and above, others 87-89.” James Halliday is now no doubt the best known wine critic in Australia, so his ratings are an important indicator to many that they are dealing with a high quality producer.  Highlights of the wines he rated this year -  2011 Riesling 94/100 (“Outstanding”), 2011 Shiraz 90/100 (“Highly Recommended”). 

From our newsletter in October 2016.  Mr Natural has been a natural ever since:

Our new offering, Mr Natural Shiraz, has been a few years in the making, but is now doing particularly well, both wholesale and cellar door.

It’s unoaked, made from our 1654 clone with no additives or adjustments, apart from a small amount of sulphur (about a third of usual) at bottling to protect it.  While it has a few rough edges as a result, it has lovely round fruit and nicely balanced acid, tannin and spice.  It also has an interesting smokiness that people are attracted to.

Chris Shanahan said in the Canberra Times – “Bottled young and fresh, with no oak maturation, the medium-bodied red shows the lovely ripe-berry and spice character of Canberra shiraz in a soft, juicy drink-now style.”

Nick Bullied MW and Mike Bennie said in the Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine – “Shows great depth of dark berry fruit on the nose with a black pepper overlay.  The palate’s full bodied yet supple, with exotic spices, and has good length.  Bennie agreed.  “Black cherry, berry compote, anise, sarsaparilla, sniff of cola, and a whiff of clove-like wood,” he said.  “Fleshy textured palate with juicy, generous mouth feel, cool finish, crisp tannins and a light, fine spritz keeping things interesting.”  They gave it 91/100.