Yarra Yering Dry Red No.2 2023

97 POINTS

Philip Rich - Halliday Wine Companion

A blend of 99.5/.05% shiraz/viognier. Fermented with whole berries and matured in barriques (30% new). The cool vintage shows through in what's a lovely and elegant rendition of this Yarra Valley classic. Aromas of red and black fruits, spices and ironstone together with a gentle meatiness. Medium bodied and supple. An approachable and quite delicious Dry Red No. 2 that will provide copious amounts of enjoyment now and over the next 10–15 years.

96 POINTS

Ray Jordan - Winepilot

Quite beautiful wine from this difficult vintage. I guess it shows what old vines can do when the going gets tough. It’s a co-fermented blend of Shiraz, Marsanne and Viognier, displaying texture. perfume and structural tannin. The additional spice comes from a tiny amount of Mataro. Medium weight and so beautifully balanced and poised as you would expect. Most appealing wine.

96 POINTS

James Suckling

Savory and earth-driven aromas of blood plums, graphite, cured meat, charcoal, dried herbs and licorice. The palate is full-bodied with firmly framed tannins and pure acidity, giving flavors of wild raspberries, dark chocolate and dried flowers. A firmly structured yet fresh and plush syrah blend. Excellent.

95 POINTS

Jeremy Oliver

A charming, complex and alluring shiraz with the tiniest splash of viognier. Smoky, complex and alluring scents of charcuterie meats, blackberries, briar and cedary oak precede a long, meaty, smoky and savoury palate of medium weight whose enticing core of black and dark red and blue fruits is pleasingly met with creamy cedary oak and smoky, meaty complexity. It finishes long, soft and gentle. Quite a stunner and likely to build.

95 POINTS

Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front

The vines date back to 1969, though there were also plantings in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s a blend of Shiraz, Marsanne and Viognier, with a minor amount of Mataro as well. The combination of bright-but-complex flavour, creamy mouthfeel, good general concentration and immaculate structure places this wine in excellent territory in a canter. That said, it has yet more going for it. This wine has an air of “Burgundian shiraz”, so to speak, in its rendition of delicacy, and combination of nuts shells and dried herbs, and in the way it almost feels water-based, even as it delivers solid flavour. This wine is drinking beautifully even now, though once the creaminess of the oak has had more time to settle in and down, it will be better again.

94 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2023 Dry Red No 2 is a Shiraz (99.5%) with a pinch of Viognier (0.5%) and leads with rose petals and tapenade on the nose. The palate is a floral yet meaty affair and brings everything from pastrami to petunias to mind. The remit here is silky, supple, medium-bodied drinking, and it nails it perfectly. The tannins are a gentle support through the long finish. This is an excellent wine. 13% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.