2025 Warramate Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley

Gold at the 2026 Yarra Valley Wine Show

Made with 50% whole bunches, 10% new oak. An exuberant crimson purple. Leaps out the glass with exuberant aromas of red and black fruits, Indian spice and dark rose. The palate is medium bodied, juicy fruited and quite delicious straight out of the gate. There's enough tannin and bright acidity, though, to ensure this will only get better over the next four to six years. A bargain at this price. Drink to 2032.

96 points Special Value Philip Rich for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2026

The fruit for this wine came from selected blocks across the Warramate vineyard and is a blend of the Pommard, 943, Abel and MV6 clones of Pinot Noir. The grapes were fermented in small batches with whole bunch inclusion ranging from nil to 100%. Musts were hand plunged throughout the fermentation, the wine pressed and gravity fed to a combination of French oak barriques and hogsheads, with malolactic fermentation completed ahead of the winter months.

Good value on offer in this wine that drinks well on release, and could also be stashed away for a year or two (although you might deplete a case sooner than you’d think).

About this producer

Established by the Church family in 1970, the well-regarded Warramate vineyard has since 2011 been part of neighbouring Yarra Yering, a Yarra Valley icon established in 1969 by Sydney-born Dr Bailey Carrodus. Yarra local Andrew Gorge has led the team looking after the vineyards since 2012, with Brokenwood alumna Sarah Crowe joining as his counterpart at the winery a year later.