2025 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula

Tasted soon after bottling, although it’s headed to market quickly, but more time in bottle will help to build depth. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very good. I like it a lot, thanks to its wave of richness – an amalgam of dark cherries, charcuterie, woodsy spices, some blood orange and a whiff of autumn. It's fuller bodied, with more sweet fruit caressing across the palate and meeting up with plush, supple tannins. Refreshing acidity to close.

96 points Special Value Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion

Few wineries have shaped the reputation of the Mornington Peninsula quite like Yabby Lake. Founded by the Kirby family and guided by the exceptional winemaking of Tom Carson, the estate has become one of Australia’s benchmark producers for site driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Their Single Vineyard Pinot Noir comes from carefully managed parcels influenced by cool maritime breezes, long growing seasons and ancient soils that bring both power and finesse to the wine. It is Pinot Noir built with precision, patience and a clear sense of place.

The 2025 vintage is beautifully layered and intensely aromatic, showing the balance and clarity that made the season so exciting on the Peninsula. Fragrant wild strawberry, dark cherry and raspberry notes rise from the glass alongside rose petals, Chinese five spice and hints of forest floor. There is impressive concentration beneath the perfume, though the wine never feels heavy or forced. Fine tannins frame the palate with a silky texture, while subtle oak adds warmth, spice and savoury complexity rather than overt sweetness. As the wine opens, deeper notes of black tea, mushroom and crushed herbs begin to emerge, adding further detail to an already captivating wine.

This is Pinot Noir made for the table and for long evenings that stretch well beyond dinner. Roast duck with cherries would be superb, though it would also pair beautifully with mushroom risotto, crispy pork belly or quail cooked over charcoal. There is enough structure and depth for serious cellaring, yet the wine already offers enormous pleasure thanks to its purity of fruit and flowing texture. Over the course of an evening it continues to evolve in the glass, revealing more savoury nuance and mineral detail with every pour.

Yabby Lake’s Pinot Noirs are consistently praised by critics for their elegance, complexity and ability to stand comfortably beside top international examples, and the 2025 Single Vineyard release feels destined to join the estate’s finest wines. It captures everything collectors love about Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, perfume, tension, texture and quiet power, while remaining wonderfully drinkable from the outset.