Wine Region	Yarra Valley, Victoria
Wine Maker	Michel Parisot, Darren Rathbone
Since 1996 Yarrabank cuvées have been produced by an ongoing joint venture between Champagne Veuve A. Devaux and Yering Station. Made in the Traditional Method, Yarrabank is now recognised as one of Australia’s top sparkling wine labels.   First created in 1993, the venture reflects the committed vision of Champagne Devaux president Laurent Gillet, to produce a benchmark Australian sparkling wine. Today the Yarrabank partnership combines century old tradition from Champagne with a contemporary approach to winemaking.   There is a real exchange between the wineries, with winemakers each year traveling from Devaux to Australia to assist with assemblage.  Whilst Yering Station winemakers continue to travel to Champagne for vintage to experience first-hand the structure of grapes needed to make great sparkling wine. The traditional Method used for Yarrabank is a complex and rigorous series of winemaking procedures which takes at least three years to complete. Each bottle is treated individually from the time of tirage* to consumption.   The exclusive use of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes hand picked with the perfect balance of ripeness and acidity ensures that the Yarrabank style is maintained. Chardonnay fruit gives lightness, elegance and finesse whilst the Pinot Noir enhances palate length and mouthfeel. Our cool climate vineyards in the Upper Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula offer differing soils and exposure to optimize the diverse characters of the two grape varieties. This gives our winemakers a fantastic range of base wine component to produce complex and balanced sparkling wine. The grapes selected for Yarrabank come from the Upper Yarra Valley (around 500 metres above sea level) as well as from very exposed sites on the Mornington Peninsula. Viticulture in these areas resents challenges as well as rewards.    These climates and locations, however, also produce some of the best sparkling wine in the world. Our sparkling wine vineyards are situated on hillsides to receive the best sun exposure for ripeness. Furthermore, these soils are advantageous, providing a very thin layer of organic soil lies over a lean subsoil. The two fundamental advantages are the slow ripening of grapes in the moderate temperatures promoting fine and delicate aromas. And secondly, the perfect level of ripeness - consisting of the desired balance between sugar and acidity - resulting in exceptional freshness of the wine.
What the critics have to say!
“Wine quality has been quite outstanding, the wines having a delicacy unmatched by any other Australian sparkling wines.” James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2007 Edition   “A refreshing, fififi ne, and elegant sparkling wine of elegance and tightness. Its dusty bouquet of fresh citrus, pear and apple-like aromas reveals undertones of creamy, bakery yeast while its palate presents a long, lingering core of intense fruit backed by lively acids and lifted by a fine, crackly, effervescence. Fluffy, smooth and even, its delicious fruit harmoniously backed by appealing but not overly dominant lees-derived complexity. (Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, 18.5/94, drink 2006-2009)” Jeremy Oliver, September 2006   “Born of a collaboration between Yering Station in the Yarra Valley and French champagne house Devaux, Yarrabank’s sparkle could well be Australia’s finest.” Ralph Kyte-Powell, The Age Epicure, 5 September 2006   “Subtly complex, with hints of toasted nuts and musk. The mousse is fine and creamy and the flavour is long, supported by a strong acid backbone.” Winewise, Lester Jesberg, Vol22, Number2, June 2006   “What delights me most about Yarrabank bubblies is their delicate creamy texture, fine mousse and intensity of flavour.” Peter Forrestal, Gourmet Traveller Wine