🏆 95 POINTS | PINOT NOIR + SHIRAZ | ONE OF MEDHURST'S MOST FASCINATING REDS

Pinot Noir + Shiraz – One of Australia's Great Forgotten Blends

This is one of the most fascinating wines in the Medhurst range.

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

Yarra Valley, Victoria

RRP $46.50 a bottle

This is one of the most fascinating wines in the Medhurst range.

The 2022 Medhurst Estate YRB combines two varieties we don't often see together anymore:

Pinot Noir + Shiraz.

But this isn't some modern winemaking experiment.

Pinot Noir and Shiraz have a fascinating history together in Australia, and Medhurst has taken that idea and given it a thoroughly modern Yarra Valley interpretation.

The crucial detail is that Medhurst describes YRB as a co-fermented blend of Pinot Noir and Shiraz rather than simply two finished wines blended together.

The result is vibrant, fragrant and beautifully energetic—combining Pinot Noir's perfume and red-fruited elegance with Shiraz's spice, darker fruit and structure.

And with 95 points from Halliday Wine Companion, this isn't just interesting.

It's seriously good wine. Halliday confirms the 2022 YRB as a Yarra Valley Pinot Noir–Shiraz blend at a restrained 13% alcohol.

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

That's a terrific result for such an unusual wine.

But perhaps more importantly, the score tells you that YRB shouldn't be regarded simply as the quirky wine in the Medhurst portfolio.

This is a legitimate premium Yarra Valley red.

Halliday records the wine as:

2022 Medhurst YRB
Yarra Valley
Pinot Noir Shiraz
13% Alcohol

At RRP $46.50, it offers something genuinely different from almost anything else at the price.

Tasting Notes

Expect a wonderfully fragrant, energetic red showing:

• Red cherry
• Raspberry
• Cranberry
• Pomegranate
• Dark cherry
• Red and purple florals
• Black pepper
• Exotic spice
• Subtle herbs
• Fine, silky tannins

Pinot Noir provides the perfume, red berries and silky texture.

Shiraz adds darker fruit, pepper, spice and backbone.

Put the two together and you get a wine that sits somewhere between the elegance of Pinot Noir and the savoury depth of cool-climate Shiraz.

It's juicy and immediately delicious, but there's enough tannin, acidity and savoury complexity underneath to keep serious wine drinkers interested.

The Secret Is Co-Fermentation

This is where YRB gets particularly interesting.

Medhurst describes the wine as a:

“delicious and juicy co-fermented blend of Pinot noir and Shiraz.”

Co-fermentation matters.

Rather than making Pinot Noir and Shiraz independently and simply blending them afterwards, the varieties ferment together.

That allows their characters to integrate from the very beginning.

The Pinot doesn't simply sit next to the Shiraz.

They become one wine.

It's the same broad principle behind the traditional Northern Rhône practice of co-fermenting Syrah with small amounts of Viognier—different varieties working together during fermentation to create something greater than the individual components.

Pinot Shiraz – A Great Australian Tradition

Here's a brilliant story to tell customers.

Pinot Noir and Shiraz might sound like an unusual combination today, but Pinot Shiraz has deep roots in Australian wine history.

During the middle of the twentieth century, wines combining Pinot Noir and Shiraz were produced by some of Australia's legendary winemakers.

The style largely disappeared as Australian wine became increasingly focused on varietal labelling.

Now producers such as Medhurst are revisiting the concept.

And it makes complete sense in the Yarra Valley.

Both varieties thrive here.

Pinot provides:

Perfume • Red fruit • Acidity • Finesse

Shiraz provides:

Spice • Dark fruit • Structure • Savouriness

The result can be incredibly compelling.

Made at Medhurst's Gruyere Estate

Medhurst is a genuinely small estate.

There are just 12.5 hectares under vine, with the winery focused on small-batch production and wines built around purity, freshness and structure.

The vineyard includes Pinot Noir and Shiraz alongside Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

That gives Medhurst an unusual advantage with YRB.

They're not buying two unrelated varieties and forcing them together.

Both Pinot Noir and Shiraz are already important parts of the estate's identity.

The Cool 2022 Vintage

The 2022 growing season was the third cool season in succession at Medhurst.

Rain during flowering dramatically reduced yields in the earlier-ripening varieties, with Pinot Noir yields approximately 50% below normal.

But Medhurst reports that despite the tiny crops, quality was extremely high, producing wines with power, balance and excellent flavour intensity.

That lower-yielding Pinot component is particularly interesting in a wine like YRB.

The vintage naturally gave Medhurst concentrated Pinot fruit while maintaining the freshness required for this style.

Not Pinot Noir. Not Shiraz. Something Completely Different.

That's the easiest way to understand YRB.

If you're expecting classic Pinot Noir, you'll find more spice, darkness and structure.

If you're expecting classic Shiraz, you'll find more perfume, red fruit and delicacy.

YRB sits beautifully between the two.

And at only 13% alcohol, this isn't a heavy red.

It's the sort of wine you can serve slightly cool and drink across an entire meal.

That's increasingly attractive for people looking for lighter, fresher Australian reds.

The Medhurst Red Range

If you're looking across the Medhurst Estate wines, each offers something very different:

Estate Pinot Noir
Perfumed • Red-fruited • Silky • Elegant

Estate YRB Pinot Noir Shiraz
Juicy • Fragrant • Spicy • Savoury • Energetic

Estate Shiraz
Dark-fruited • Peppery • Structured • Powerful

Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Cassis • Violet • Cedar • Fine tannin • Cellar-worthy

YRB might actually be the most immediately enjoyable of the lot.

It's serious wine without taking itself too seriously.

Food Pairings

This is incredibly versatile at the table.

Try it with:

• Duck breast
• Peking duck
• Roast chicken
• Pork belly
• Chargrilled lamb
• Mushroom risotto
• Wood-fired pizza
• Charcuterie
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Soft cheeses

I'd particularly like this with duck or wood-fired pizza.

The Pinot fruit works with the lighter flavours while Shiraz provides enough spice and structure to handle richer dishes.

And don't serve it too warm.

Around 14–16°C would be ideal.

Drinking & Cellaring

The attraction of YRB is its immediacy.

This is already four years from vintage and should be drinking beautifully.

Drink now–2030+.

The combination of Pinot Noir and Shiraz should allow the wine to develop some lovely savoury complexity, but I wouldn't buy this primarily for long-term cellaring.

I'd buy it to drink.

Give it a large glass, serve it slightly cool and enjoy the combination of red fruit, florals, pepper and spice.

Why We Love It

This is one of those wines that gives you something genuinely different.

You have:

95 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
Pinot Noir + Shiraz
Co-fermented rather than simply blended
Cool-climate Yarra Valley fruit
Only 13% alcohol
RRP $46.50

And it taps into one of the great forgotten traditions of Australian wine.

But forget the history lesson for a moment.

The reason to buy it is because Pinot Noir and Shiraz work brilliantly together.

Pinot gives you perfume, cherry, cranberry and silkiness.

Shiraz brings pepper, spice, darker fruit and structure.

The finished wine lands somewhere wonderfully in between.

At $46.50 RRP, the 2022 Medhurst Estate YRB Pinot Noir Shiraz is one of the most interesting wines in the Medhurst range—and with 95 Halliday points, it has the quality to back up the story.

If you've never tried a serious Pinot Noir Shiraz blend before, start here.