2018 Yarra Yering Sparkling Cuvée | 97 Point Yarra Valley Sparkling

🏆 97 POINTS | NEARLY 7 YEARS ON LEES | THIS IS SERIOUS AUSTRALIAN SPARKLING

A Rare Sparkling Wine from One of Australia's Greatest Estates

This is a hidden gem in the Yarra Yering range.

97 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
96 Points – The Real Review

Yarra Valley, Victoria

RRP $70 a bottle

This might be one of the most unexpected wines in the Yarra Yering portfolio.

When you think of Yarra Yering, you immediately think of Dry Red Wine No. 1, Dry Red Wine No. 2, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Sparkling wine?

Probably not.

But the 2018 Yarra Yering Sparkling Cuvée proves that this legendary Yarra Valley estate is capable of producing something very special in bubbles as well.

Halliday Wine Companion identifies the 2018 as a Yarra Valley vintage sparkling based on Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, and Yarra Yering continues to offer the 2018 release through its current sparkling collection.

Then look at the scores:

97 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
96 Points – The Real Review

That's serious territory for Australian sparkling wine.

Tasting Notes

Expect a beautifully mature and complex vintage sparkling showing:

• Green apple
• Lemon and citrus zest
• White peach
• Nashi pear
• Brioche and fresh pastry
• Toasted nuts
• Subtle honeyed complexity
• Fine savoury notes
• Mineral freshness

After years of bottle development, the attraction here is the combination of freshness and maturity.

Bright citrus and orchard fruits provide energy, while bottle age brings additional layers of brioche, toast, nuts and savoury complexity.

The mousse is fine, the palate precise and the finish long and beautifully dry.

This is sparkling wine for people who want more than simply bubbles.

Critical Acclaim

97 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
96 Points – The Real Review

Halliday Wine Companion lists the wine as the 2018 Yarra Yering Sparkling Cuvée, produced in the Yarra Valley from Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, at 12% alcohol.

Those scores put it into an exceptional category.

For perspective, 97 points isn't merely a recommendation—it's a score normally reserved for wines of genuine distinction.

Pinot Meunier & Chardonnay

One of the most interesting aspects of this wine is the blend.

Rather than the more familiar Pinot Noir and Chardonnay combination found in many Australian sparkling wines, the 2018 Yarra Yering Sparkling Cuvée is identified by Halliday as Pinot Meunier Chardonnay.

It's a fascinating combination.

Pinot Meunier can contribute fragrance, red-apple fruit, generosity and approachability.

Chardonnay provides citrus, acidity, structure and mineral drive.

Together they create a sparkling wine capable of combining immediate fruit with the complexity that develops through extended bottle ageing.

A 2018 Vintage Sparkling – Still Available

This is one of the biggest selling points.

We're talking about a 2018 vintage sparkling wine, not a young non-vintage release.

That means the wine has now had years to develop the secondary characters that make mature sparkling wine so fascinating.

Fresh primary fruit begins to evolve towards brioche, toast, nuts, honey and savoury complexity, while quality acidity keeps the wine alive and energetic.

And remarkably, Yarra Yering still lists the 2018 Sparkling Cuvée in its current portfolio.

For anyone who loves mature sparkling wine, that's a compelling proposition.

The Yarra Yering Pedigree

Few names carry more weight in Australian fine wine than Yarra Yering.

The estate has built its reputation on extraordinarily distinctive wines rather than simply following regional convention.

That philosophy is exactly why this Sparkling Cuvée is so interesting.

It's not the wine most people associate with Yarra Yering—which makes discovering just how good it is even more exciting.

And with 97 and 96-point reviews, this is clearly far more than a curiosity.

Food Pairings

Brilliant with:

• Fresh oysters
• Kingfish sashimi
• Smoked salmon
• Seared scallops
• Lobster
• Fried chicken
• Charcuterie
• Parmesan and Comté
• Truffle dishes

The extra bottle-age complexity also makes this a sparkling wine that can comfortably carry through an entire meal rather than simply being served as an aperitif.

Drinking & Cellaring

At eight years from vintage, this should be entering a fascinating stage of development.

There's still freshness and energy, but the real attraction now is the additional complexity that comes with bottle age.

Drink now–2030+.

Personally, I'd be very tempted to drink this now rather than hide every bottle away.

Serve it around 8–10°C, preferably in a proper white-wine or tulip-shaped sparkling glass rather than a narrow flute.

Why We Love It

This is a hidden gem in the Yarra Yering range.

A 2018 vintage sparkling, from one of Australia's most celebrated estates, carrying:

97 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
96 Points – The Real Review

And an RRP of just $70.

That's an extraordinary proposition.

The combination of Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, serious bottle age and Yarra Yering's attention to detail creates a sparkling wine that's about far more than freshness and bubbles.

It's about texture, maturity, brioche, citrus, savoury complexity and length.

For Champagne drinkers in particular, this is a fascinating bottle. At $70, you're getting an aged, highly rated vintage sparkling from one of Australia's great wineries for significantly less than you'd normally pay for Champagne of comparable maturity.

If you think you know Yarra Yering, try this. The 2018 Sparkling Cuvée might be one of the biggest surprises in the entire portfolio.

👉 Nearly seven years on lees. 97 Halliday. Yarra Yering. If you love complex, mature Champagne-style sparkling, this is a bottle you absolutely need to experience.