2024 Yarra Yering Underhill Shiraz, Yarra Valley

95 points, Top Gold & Trophy for Best Shiraz at the 2026 Yarra Valley Wine Show

From a shiraz vineyard planted in '73 adjacent to Yarra Yering. 10% whole bunches and matured mainly in large format oak (15% new). A deep, bright crimson. A brooding version of this bona fide Yarra classic. Aromas of boysenberry, blackcurrant, black pepper and lifted spice. On the palate this is compact and tightly coiled, just waiting to release its energy. A very good wine in the making that will clearly reward up to 15 years, if not longer, in the cellar. Drink to 2040.

97 points Philip Rich for Halliday Wine Companion, April 2026

Deep ruby red with distinct purple at the rim. Mulberry, blood plum, iodine and black pepper aromas. Complex and balanced, ripe purple berry fruit forms the base with layers of iodine, fresh ground pepper, clove and cinnamon bark. Fine gravel tannins sit harmoniously, carrying to a very long, structured and drying finish. Demands revisiting. Drink to 2043.

96 points Stuart Knox for The Real Review, January 2026

The 2024 Underhill Shiraz leads with red apple and licorice, pomegranate molasses, raspberry seed and blood plum. The tannins are finely wrought and pervasive, and they carry through delicate fruit across the palate and through to the lingering finish. While this wine ages elegantly, I love it for its vibrancy and levity on release. Drink to 2034.

95 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, June 2026

The Underhill vineyard is a single block of Shiraz planted in 1973 adjacent to the Yarra Yering estate and acquired for it in 1988. Where the Dry Red No. 2 draws on a broader Rhône-inspired blend, Underhill is 100% Shiraz of unknown clone, and entirely about what this patch of west-facing clay soil in the Yarra Valley can do.

The hand harvested grape bunches were sorted before processing as whole bunches and berries. Half of the block fermented in a 3500L oak cask with a 20% whole bunch inclusion, pressed and returned to the cask for a 12-month maturation. The balance fermented in Yarra Yering’s half-tonne open tea chest fermenters that were hand plunged twice daily. These were pressed and matured for twelve months in French oak puncheons of which 10% were new.

About this producer

Yarra Yering is a Victorian icon established in 1969 by Sydney-born Dr Bailey Carrodus. Yarra local Andrew Gorge has led the team looking after the 36 hectares of vineyards since 2012, with Brokenwood alumna Sarah Crowe joining as his counterpart at the winery a year later. With the luxury of time, quality is prioritised above all else whilst delivering innovation and creativity.