2026 Bloody Hill Villages Shiraz, Yarra Valley

Bloody Hill Villages has its origins as a more affordable lineup wines from German-born winemaker Timo Mayer’s eponymous Yarra Valley brand.

Timo and his partner Rhonda Ferguson’s son Rivar Ferguson-Meyer has now taken the lead for Bloody Hill Villages. The overarching idea of presenting affordable, fruit-forward and ready-on-release Yarra Valley wines remains, while he’s increasingly shining light on the subregional differences within the region.

The fruit is mainly sourced from contract growers, but recent dedicated plantings at his parents’ estate at Mount Toolebewong will give him steady access to home-grown fruit in the future. The fruit for this wine came from ten-year-old 1654-clone Shiraz vines in a north-facing Coldstream valley floor vineyard.

The wine was fermented with a 50% inclusion of whole bunches for enhanced aromatics and texture. It’s a sleek, bright and generously fruited Yarra Shiraz that shows lovely restraint and clarity that would make it an interesting wine to match to various Chinese, Korean and Japanese preparations of duck and mushrooms.