As in previous years, our 2006 Merlot was made by Alan Johns, owner and winemaker of Yering Farm Wines. We were there to do some tastings before bottling started. From 18 old-French oak-barrique barrels we took samples of the young wine. It showed all the varietal character of Merlot, had a deep red colour, a bouquet of ripe red forest fruit, good structure and a long finish. We were very satisfied with the quality of the new drop from Two Hills Vineyard. The wine from the barrels was pumped into a steel tank, blended and then filtered. It is in bottles now and we will release it in December.
2006 Two Hills Merlot in old oak
Alan getting ready for the Merlot tasting
The Adam family tasting crew
Yering Farm Wines is a great place to visit in the Yarra Valley. I love the rustic tasting shed. It has a great atmosphere, not the rather sleek and sterile type foften preferred by urbanites, but one which reminds any visitor that grapes are grown on a real farm, in a real vineyard, in earth and soil and have not fallen fully pressed into bottles out of nowhere. Alan Johns Yering Farm series wines are delicious and brilliant for easy drinking especially in warm summer. For advanced drinkers, he has various award-winning wines at hand, for instance Yering Farm Chardonnay (see the various awards at http://www.yeringfarm.com.au). In 2007 the late frost wiped out all of Alan’s fruit. If you are in the Yarra Valley don’t forget to drive by for a tasting.
Yering Farm Vineyard
The Man from Mosel River 