2025 The Wanderer Yellingbo Pinot Noir | 95 Point Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

🏆 93 WINE FRONT | SINGLE VINEYARD | SERIOUSLY GOOD VALUE YARRA VALLEY PINOT

This Is Extraordinary Pinot Noir Value

Just $43. That's remarkable for a genuine single-vineyard Yarra Valley Pinot Noir made by Andrew Marks

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
93 Points – Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

Yellingbo, Yarra Valley, Victoria

RRP $43 a bottle

This might be the sleeper wine in The Wanderer range.

The 2025 The Wanderer Yellingbo Pinot Noir has just received an outstanding 96 points from Halliday Wine Companion, adding to 93 points from Campbell Mattinson at The Wine Front.

And the RRP?

Just $43.

That's remarkable for a genuine single-vineyard Yarra Valley Pinot Noir made by Andrew Marks, using MV6 fruit, wild fermentation, whole berries and large-format seasoned French oak.

The vineyard sits at Yellingbo at 180 metres elevation, with cane-pruned MV6 Pinot Noir growing on heavy grey clay with a north-easterly aspect. The fruit is entirely destemmed but not crushed, preserving whole berries before a cold soak and wild fermentation.

This isn't a simplified second wine.

It's a completely different expression of Yellingbo.

96 Halliday points. $43 RRP. This has to be one of the smartest Pinot Noir buys in the Yarra Valley.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion

That's a huge result at this price.

We're talking about a $43 Pinot Noir receiving a score normally associated with some of Australia's considerably more expensive premium releases.

And it becomes even more impressive when you look underneath the label.

This is:

Single vineyard
MV6 Pinot Noir
180m elevation
Wild fermented
Whole berries
Large-format seasoned French oak
11 months on lees
Unfined and unfiltered.

There are no shortcuts here.

This is proper, small-production, vineyard-driven Yarra Valley Pinot Noir.

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Tasting Notes

The 2025 is a darker, more savoury expression of Pinot Noir, showing:

• Fresh black cherry
• Dark cherry
• Raspberry
• Wild berries
• Roasted nuts
• Woodsy spice
• Forest floor
• Undergrowth
• Earth
• Savoury herbs
• Subtle French oak
• Fine, beautifully formed tannins

There's a lovely purity to the fruit, but this isn't a Pinot Noir built entirely around pretty cherry and strawberry characters.

There's more underneath.

Earth. Forest floor. Spice. Nuts. Savouriness.

And then there are those tannins.

Fine, beautifully integrated and serious enough to suggest this will become even better with a little bottle age.

This is Pinot Noir with substance rather than simple prettiness.

Single-Vineyard Yellingbo Pinot Noir

Here's where things get really interesting.

The fruit comes from a single vineyard at Yellingbo.

The vineyard is:

Cane-pruned MV6 Pinot Noir

growing at:

180 metres elevation

on:

Heavy grey clay

with a:

North-easterly aspect.

And that soil is important to understanding why this wine is different from The Wanderer's more expensive Upper Yarra Pinot Noir.

Heavy Grey Clay – A Completely Different Expression of Yellingbo

Andrew Marks makes two fascinating 2025 Pinot Noirs from Yellingbo.

But they come from very different soils.

The Upper Yarra Pinot Noir comes from MV6 vines on free-draining volcanic red soil at approximately 200 metres.

The Yellingbo Pinot Noir comes from MV6 on heavy grey clay at approximately 180 metres.

That's only around 20 metres difference in elevation.

Same grape variety.

Same clone.

Same winemaker.

Same locality.

But dramatically different soils and different winemaking.

And the wines show completely different personalities.

This is exactly why single-vineyard Pinot Noir is so fascinating.

100% Destemmed – But Not Crushed

Unlike the more expensive Upper Yarra Pinot, there are no whole bunches here.

The fruit is:

100% destemmed.

But here's the clever part.

The berries are not crushed.

They're kept intact before undergoing a cold soak and fermentation in open fermenters.

That allows Andrew Marks to preserve the purity and aromatic character of the fruit without bringing stems into the equation.

The result is a Pinot Noir where the focus stays firmly on:

Fruit purity • Texture • Savouriness • Tannin

rather than whole-bunch perfume.

Wild Fermentation

Fermentation happens naturally.

The wine undergoes:

Cold soak

followed by:

Wild fermentation in open fermenters

with:

Pump-overs and hand plunging.

This is classic Andrew Marks.

Minimal manipulation.

No attempt to force every wine into exactly the same style.

Instead, the vineyard determines the personality of the finished wine.

Seasoned French Oak – No New Oak Required

This is another reason I think the value here is exceptional.

After fermentation, the wine undergoes élevage in:

Large-format seasoned French oak barrels

for:

11 months on lees.

Seasoned oak means the barrels have already been used, so you're not getting a huge layer of new-oak flavour.

There's no need to cover Pinot Noir with vanilla and toast.

Instead, the barrels provide a vessel for the wine to mature and develop texture while allowing the cherry, spice, earth and vineyard characters to remain front and centre.

At this price point, that's exactly what I want to see.

No Fining. No Filtration.

The wine is also:

Unfined.

Unfiltered.

Estate bottled.

Again, that's consistent with The Wanderer's philosophy.

Andrew Marks describes his approach as working with low-yielding vineyards and minimal winemaking techniques to preserve the natural character of the vineyard.

It's not intervention for the sake of intervention.

The goal is simply:

Don't get in the vineyard's way.

Andrew Marks – The Man Behind The Wanderer

The Wanderer is the personal project of Andrew Marks, who is based at his family's Gembrook Hill vineyard in the Upper Yarra Valley.

That's a serious pedigree.

Gembrook Hill has long been one of the benchmark names of the Upper Yarra, particularly for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The Wanderer gives Marks the freedom to work with individual vineyard parcels and explore how different sites, soils and exposures translate into the glass.

And these 2025 Pinot Noirs make that story incredibly compelling.

Yellingbo vs Upper Yarra – You Need to Taste These Side by Side

This is one of the most fascinating tastings you could do with Yarra Valley Pinot Noir.

2025 The Wanderer Yellingbo Pinot Noir – RRP $43

96 Points Halliday | 93 Points Wine Front

180m elevation
Heavy grey clay
MV6
100% destemmed
Whole berries
Seasoned French oak

Black Cherry • Woodsy Spice • Nuts • Undergrowth • Earth • Fine Tannin

2025 The Wanderer Upper Yarra Pinot Noir – RRP $62

97 Points Halliday | 94 Points Wine Front

200m elevation
Free-draining volcanic red soil
MV6
20% whole bunch
30% new French oak
11 months on lees

Red & Black Cherry • Roses • Sweet Spice • Autumn Leaves • Perfume • Depth

Same vintage.

Same grape.

Same MV6 clone.

Same winemaker.

Both single vineyard.

Yet completely different wines.

That's terroir.

And This One Is Only $43

This is where the Yellingbo Pinot becomes seriously compelling.

The flagship Upper Yarra Pinot is a brilliant wine.

But the Yellingbo is sitting there at $43 RRP with 96 Halliday points.

That makes it a fantastic introduction to Andrew Marks and The Wanderer.

And for existing fans?

This is the wine I'd be buying by the half-dozen.

There's enough complexity for serious Pinot drinkers, enough structure to cellar and enough generosity to make opening one on a Tuesday night perfectly reasonable.

Food Pairings

This would be brilliant with:

• Roast duck
• Duck breast
• Roast chicken
• Pork belly
• Mushroom risotto
• Wild mushroom pasta
• Beef tartare
• Charcuterie
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Soft cheeses

I'd particularly love this with duck and mushrooms.

The black cherry, roasted-nut, woodsy spice and forest-floor characters would be a beautiful match.

Serve slightly cool at around 14–16°C in a large Burgundy glass.

Drinking & Cellaring

Campbell Mattinson believes this wine could use another year or two in bottle and gives it a drinking window of:

2028–2033+.

That's impressive for a $43 Pinot.

I'd suggest:

Drink 2027–2035+.

If you're opening it now, give it 30–60 minutes in a decanter.

The fruit purity is already there, but those fine tannins and savoury elements should become increasingly complex as the wine settles into itself.

Why We Love It

This could be one of the great-value Pinot Noir discoveries of the 2025 Yarra Valley vintage.

Look at what you're getting:

🔥 96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
⭐ 93 Points – Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Single-Vineyard Yellingbo Pinot Noir
100% MV6
180m Elevation
Heavy Grey Clay
100% Destemmed
Whole Berries
Wild Fermentation
Large-Format Seasoned French Oak
11 Months on Lees
Unfined & Unfiltered

And the RRP?

$43.

That's the killer.

The wine has the pedigree and winemaking you'd normally associate with Pinot Noir sitting considerably further up the price ladder.

And the flavour profile is seriously compelling:

Fresh black cherry. Dark berries. Roasted nuts. Woodsy spice. Undergrowth. Earth. Fine tannins.

If you love Yarra Valley Pinot Noir from Gembrook Hill, Giant Steps, Yarra Yering, Oakridge or Coldstream Hills, Andrew Marks' The Wanderer wines need to be on your radar.

But perhaps the most exciting thing is being able to put this beside the 97-point 2025 The Wanderer Upper Yarra Pinot Noir.

Two single-vineyard Pinot Noirs.

Two different soils.

Two different expressions.

97 points at $62 and 96 points at $43.

That's an extraordinary pair of wines.

At $43 RRP, the 2025 The Wanderer Yellingbo Pinot Noir might just be the smartest buy of the two.