We pair two of the annual calendar's most anticipated Aussie releases together for tomorrow's afternoon tasting (Friday 6th), showcasing the aromatic and structural generosity behind Geelong's legendary By Farr, alongside the fruit density and multi-blending brilliance brought about by Sarah Crowe's deft Yarra Valley touch with Yarra Yering! From Nick Farr and co. comes the newly-arrived trio that always hits shelves around this time each year - each one of strictly limited availability - the poised and punchy GC Chardonnay, the brightly-toned RP Pinot Noir, and the ageworthy whole-bunch pressed intensity exuding from the Tout Pres Pinot Noir. On the other side of the table, Sarah has just released the 2024 iterations of her Dry Red No. 1 and 2 series - the first is a Cabernet blessed with splashes of Merlot and Malbec, bringing a black-fruited beauty that ebbs and flows with cassis, crushed stone, cigar box and olive. The second is a powerful, yet pristinely plush Shiraz (plus a tiny portion of Viognier) that lingers with pepper spice, iodine and deep violet florals. This will be running between 4:30 and 6:30pm, or until bottles run dry!
We can't downplay our anticipation for what Saturday (7th) will sweep through, with both Grand and Premier Cru labels from Burgundy pouring between 12 and 2pm! For the white side of things, we feature three vibrant 2023 options from Chateau de Meursault, including the delicate 'Clos du Chateau' Blanc village entry-point, the more mineral-driven 'Charmes Dessus' 1er Cru, and surging citric precision of the 'Perrieres' 1er Cru - each one harnessing that unmistakably creamy Meursault finish in tandem with their respective fruit profiles. For the reds, we're thrilled to bring to your attention for the very first time the wines of Jacques Cacheux! Sharing the same Vosne-Romanée terroirs as their close neighbours Romanée Conti, this now fourth-generation family of winegrowers hold 7 hectares in some of the region's most prestigious plots such as Echezeaux and Les Suchot. This writer was fortunate enough to pay a visit to them late last year, and whether from barrel or bottle, the style was striking - these wines are utterly ethereal, silky and brimming with flavour and persistence. Pouring will be the moreish 'Bec au Vent' village Bourgogne, their robust and brooding 'Au Bas de Combe' (this particular one from Nuits St Georges), the fine-grained grip and showy spice of the 'Les Raviolles', plus two of their premium labels in the Echezeaux Grand Cru and 'La Croix Rameau' 1er Cru for a small singular cost on the day.
An overwhelming two days, no doubt, but it feels a fitting final hurrah before the festive bubble tastings begin next weekend...
By Farr GC Chardonnay 2025
Available for $175
(Limited availability)
"The GC Chardonnay (GC – Gary Charles) is attributed to all the knowledge we have been able to extract from Gary to create a close planted / high density planting of Chardonnay on an exposed côte. These hillsides facing North, Northeast and East will be the backbone of the Farr dynasty for decades to come. The North côte is a red to brown loam with buckshot stones across the surface. The East côte is divided through the centre of the slope by a rise. Black volcanic soil with fragmented limestone in one direction and grey loam with buckshot stones in the other direction. The fruit is handpicked and then whole bunch pressed in the winery. All the solids are collected and chilled before being put to barrel which are 50 percent new French oak. The wine has an amazing smoothness and calmness that stretches the length of the palate, surrounded with textured fruit and mineral elements. We have been playing with the fruit from these vineyards for more than 8 years, fine tuning the style of wine that these vineyards are producing. What a result once it all came together." - Winemaker Notes
By Farr RP Pinot Noir 2024
Available for $175
(Limited availability)
"The RP Pinot Noir (RP – Robyn Pamela) is in recognition of the matriarch. It is not only the support and goffering that Robyn has endured for Gary’s 40-year career. She has been in the vineyard and planted the first vines, driven the tractors, filled barrels and pigeaged at midnight. If we are ever a man down Robyn has always been the first one we have called to fill the void no matter the job, or time of day. You can always count on mum. The fruit for this wine is sourced from the Côte Vineyard as is the GC Chardonnay. This wine is pretty and so very perfumed. The cote sites simply produce amazing smoothness and calmness that stretches the length of the palate as with the GC. Abundance of fruit leading to fine and detailed tannin structure. We have been playing with the fruit from these vineyards for more than 8 years, fine tuning the style of wine that these vineyards are producing." - Winemaker Notes
By Farr Tout Pres Pinot Noir 2024
Available for $175
(Limited availability)
"Tout Pres was planted in 2001 and is a very special and intriguing site. It rises above the other vineyards, and each of the three slopes consists of a different soil type. The largest slope is black volcanic soil over limestone; the second is quartz gravel mixed with red ironstone; the third is an iron strand in grey sandy loam. With 7300 vines per ha, Tout Pres is a densely planted vineyard on the estate—hence its name, which translates as 'very cosy'. Tout Pres is fermented with 100 per cent whole bunches. With every year that passes, the Tout Pres vineyard’s subtleness and delicate fruit structure are becoming increasingly pronounced in the wine. The bouquet fills the glass with spicy fruit, mineral elements and a hint of integrated French oak, with the darkness and essence of the Moorabool Valley true expressions of site. This wine exhibits primary and secondary flavours, which strengthen the overall integration for a seamless finish. It is a tightly packed combination of plums and undergrowth with an edgy acidity—and one of our favourite drops." - Winemaker Notes
Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 2 2024
$125 on special ($139 RRP)
// 99% Shiraz and 1% Viognier
"Dense ruby with rich purple tones at the rim. Blueberry, ground cumin and fennel with a touch of reductive lift on the nose. Loaded with blue fruits at the core, intense yet not overbearing. There’s layers of cured meats, subtle Sichuan pepper spice and floral lifts along the line with deeper wakame and iodine tones underneath. It’s all bound by a supple acidity and finely wrought tannins, gentle in their guidance but resolute in their persistence, carrying it for an age to an eventual bright and fresh finish." - 98 Points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
"Fermented with whole berries and matured in barriques (30% new). A medium-deep crimson purple. Concentrated with dark fruits, cedar and melted licorice. There's an earthiness, too. The palate is medium to full bodied, powerful and plush yet beautifully balanced. The tannins are subsumed by the fruit. Everything is in place for this beauty to become softer and more complex over the next 15–20 years." - 97+ Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Yarra Yering Dry Red No. 1 2024
$148 on special ($165 RRP)
// 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot
"Deep ruby-red colour with a bright purple tinted rim. Cassis, dried rosemary, crushed granite and cigar box aromatics. A medium bodied delight, the integration of layers is outstanding and takes time to unravel. Black fruit forms the centrestage, with tobacco leaf, cedar wood, dried rosemary and black olive notes ebbing and flowing. It rolls incredibly long, leaving a fine whisper of saline minerality. Enjoyable now, with much more to come." - 98 Points, Stuart Knox, The Real Review
"Matured in barrique (35% new). A pure and focused bouquet of pure cassis, gravel and subtle cedar. Equally impressive on the concentrated yet elegant palate. The fine-grained, persistent tannins are in perfect harmony with the fruit. Seamless. A great Dry Red No. 1 in very fine form; a wine that will age effortlessly over the next decade, if not two." - 98 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Warramate Sparkling 2019
$34 on special ($38 RRP)
// 55% Pinot Meunier and 45% Chardonnay
"This is a sparkling wine that I’d be happy to champion. It has satisfying length without being overtly persistent, and if you really wanted to dig your heels in it’s the finish that you’d turn your attention to. But boy, the aroma and the flavour here are the bomb. This is just so generous and flamboyant; it’s great to spend time with. Peaches, candied fruits, cooked apples, pastries and strawberries; all these characters present here, and all are delicious." - 92 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Warramate Chardonnay 2025
$34 on special ($38 RRP)
"No malolactic fermentation and about 20% new wood. First things first, I love the new label by Marina Strocchi that was commissioned by Yarra Yering. A bright green gold. Aromas of just-ripened stone fruits, a hint of vanilla pod and a little orange blossom. With its gentle fleshiness, this builds nicely through the mid-palate. Finishes with a touch of grip, rounding off a very keenly priced wine." - 95 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Warramate Syrah 2024
$34 on special ($38 RRP)
"With 20% whole bunches and matured in barriques (10% new). A medium, bright crimson. Perfumed with bright red and black fruits, allspice and crushed violets. Medium–full bodied, this delivers terrific bang for your buck. A step up on the '23, and while it's calling out for food now, those who put some away for four to six years will be well rewarded." - 95 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Chateau de Meursault Bourgogne Blanc 'Clos du Chateau' 2023
$105 on special this week ($120 RRP)
"The Clos receives particular attention due to its location in the park of the Château. A real ambassador of our wines, it is vinified and aged like one of our best Meursault Premiers Crus. After manual sorting, pressing, and settling, the alcoholic fermentation in oak barrels lasts 10 days. Then, the wine is aged on lees for 12 months (25%new oak barrel, oak barrels of one or two years). During the first 6 months, stirring on lees twice a month reveals richness and complexity. The nose expresses white flowers, stone fruits and buttered bread notes. The mouth is mineral and elegant. A delicate oaky accent brings extra length in the mouth while keeping a good balance." - Winemaker Notes
Chateau de Meursault 'Charmes Dessus' 1er Cru 2023
$299 on special this week ($340 RRP)
"Attractive mid lemon yellow. The bouquet has much more precision. You know there is great weight behind but it doesn’t insist on it. However the further back you go on the palate, the more it delivers in completeness yet with immaculate balance." - 95 Points, Jasper Morris MW
"A more elegant, cooler and more floral-suffused nose is also much more restrained. The middle weight flavors aren’t quite as dense as those of the regular cuvée but they are markedly more mineral-driven and refined as well as displaying better persistence on the impeccably well-balanced, chiseled and youthfully austere finale. This firmly structured effort is very good and worth your interest." - 94 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound
Chateau de Meursault 'Perrieres' 1er Cru 2023
$315 on special this week ($355 RRP)
"A gleaming primrose colour. All about the weight more than the class on the nose., All about the class on the palate, where it really kicks off, heading to the stars. You feel that there are many layers waiting to unfold, very gorgeous. Wonderful finish, the stones adding pinpoint precision to the weight of orchard fruit." - 96 Points, Jasper Morris MW
"An even more floral-suffused nose is spicier as well with perfumed aromas of jasmine, exotic tea, Granny Smith apple and a variety of citrus nuances. Much like those of the Charmes Dessus, the vibrant flavors are not particularly dense though they are strikingly fine with a mouthfeel that akin to sucking on a tiny pebble, all wrapped in a lingering, agreeably dry and notably austere finish where a touch of wood appears. This could use better depth so a few years of keeping should be beneficial - 93 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound
Cacheux Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits 'Bec au Vent' 2023
$89 on special this week ($99 RRP)
(Limited availability)
"The Domaine Jacques Cacheux et Fils is located in Vosne Romanee. Patrice Cacheux is the fourth generation of winegrowers in the family. The vines are spread over 7 hectares, producing 11 cuvees with appellations such as Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru, Echezeaux Grand Cru,Vosne-Romanée, Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru, including the famous Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Croix Rameau" - Importer Notes
A smart entry label from this brilliantly talented Vosne-Romanee family. After it gets some air and breathes a bit, it unfurls with vivid ripe red berries, seductive spice and candied plum. Licks of dried herb at the finish keep things balanced and moreish. Tremendous value for everything this packs together - George Kelly, The Wine Emporium
Cacheux Nuits St Georges 'Au Bas de Combe' 2023
$143 on special this week ($159 RRP)
(Limited availability)
It is Cacheux's style in delivering tremendous elegance in tandem with flavour authority and tannic power, and the Au Bas de Combe is Nuits-St-Georges at its most beautifully robust and brooding, while bringing that supple silky texture of a classic Vosne. Dig deep after some decanting, and one finds dark cherry, blackcurrant, wild strawberry and licorice, supported by some leather, game and truffle characters coming through. The long persistent finish feels a treat each and every sip. This with some roast lamb or beef stew? Heaven sent - George Kelly, The Wine Emporium
Cacheux Vosne-Romanee 'Les Raviolles' 2023
$185 on special this week ($209 RRP)
(Limited availability)
We've made no secret of the fact that 2023 is one of our very favourite vintages from Burgundy ever when it comes to youthful appeal, and this Les Raviolles from Cacheux is perhaps a perfect example of why that is. This site being the southernmost vines in Vosne, bordering Nuits-St-Georges, the enduring aromatics of baking spice, raspberry and oaky vanilla set alongside the chunky mineral undertone that brings the mid-palate fine-grained grip of crushed stone and damp earth, this is a world-class Pinot effort and shows the pedigree of its special place in the world to the fullest extent. Such fun to unpack now, and certainly another 5-10 years will only help set in and complexify the already great sense of structure its currently harnessing -George Kelly, The Wine Emporium
Cacheux Echezeaux Grand Cru 2023
$509 on special this week ($569 RRP)
(Very limited availability)
Cacheux Vosne Romanee 'La Croix Rameau' 1er Cru 2023
$575 on special this week ($649 RRP)
(Very limited availability)
If you wish to purchase any of these wines, please use the links above
Otherwise, if you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Special prices listed valid until Thursday 12th of November