Yarra Valley Estate Grown Sauvignon 2007

88 Points
"This medium-bodied wine is a stylistic departure from the stereotypical Aussie stainless-steel Sauvignon Blanc, being fermented and aged in old French oak barrels for eight months.  The result is a citrusy wine with greater depth and richer texture, even some leesy, slightly toasty notes that complement rather than overwhelm the fruit.  Drink no - 2010, but it could surprise and develop even more interest over time."
Wine Enthusiast, September 2008


Yarra Valley Estate Grown Sauvignon 2006

"You are unlikely to find a Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé (both French sauvignon classics) to challenge this awesome, world class wine."
The Daily Mail Weekend, 1 December 2007

Yarra Valley Estate Grown Chardonnay 2007


"...This wine is typical of Australia's new-wave Chardonnay: elegant, mineral, silky, with touches of grapefruit and judicious use of oak, which complements the fruit, not drowns it."
Decanter (UK), Splash out white, October 2008

Yarra Valley Estate Grown Chardonnay 2006

"...wears its ambition on its sleeve. Low cropping from mature vines in Victoria's premium wine regions, lees stirring, whole bunch pressing, barrel fermentation result in considerable fruit and elegance. The excellent Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2007 describes it as 'complex with cashew, yeast and butterscotchy notes interwoven with subtle fig and citrus fruit'. Phew"
Neil Sowerby, Manchester Evening News, 22 June 2007


Yarra Valley Estate Grown Chardonnay 2005

"...it's streets ahead of the mainstream market budget pleasers, big, buttery, creamy thanks to an Oz growing season which resulted in the best of the crop for a long time. Lovely elegant wine."
Jacqueline Morley, Blackpool Gazette, 23 June 2007

"...much creamier [than Gulf Station Chardonnay] and with an excellent integration of fruit (pineapple) and oak flavours. It's tangy, complex, lingering and delicious."
The Journal (Newcastle), 8 June 2007


Yarra Valley Estate Grown Chardonnay 2004

"This is a smorgasbord Chardonnay, with a little of everything you could possibly want in a glass. The trick is that no matter how much this wine is loaded with fruit, it is still impeccably balanced."
Matthew Jukes, Top 100 Australian Wines 2006, UK

"This gorgeous, ripe chardonnay is available in 245 stores around the country. It is made by Steve Webber, one of Australia's most dynamic winemakers and the class in this Yarra Valley wine is sensational. With honeyed succulence, nutty oak nuances and sensational balance, this is a serious glass of wine. If you dabble with white burgundies such as mersault and chassagne montrachet, then you'll find this stunner every bit as alluring at a whole tenner less."
Matthew Jukes, The Daily Mail, UK, 29 April 2006

"Is a peachy-lush but mineral-bright dry white of sublime richness."
Ned Halley, Western Daily Press, UK, 28 January 2006


"The nose is tight, toasty and concentrated, with very clean apple / green melon aromas and subtle fresh oak support. Very youthful, beautiful, lightweight and balanced palate."
Best Wines of 2005, Winestate Annual 2006, Volume 29, Issue 1

"Lively citrus and good oak."
Richard Ehrlich, Sunday Independent, UK, 11 December 2005

"Steve Webber is the mastermind behind this barrel-fermented chardonnay whose butterscotch-fudgey intensity and burgundy-style complexity is derived from the cool climate and fine craftmanship."
Anthony Rose, The Independent Magazine (UK), 8 October 2005

Yarra Valley Estate Grown Pinot Noir 2004

Wine of the Month
"One of the best Australian Pinots around, this is bursting with rich plummy and red cherry flavours."
BBC Home & Antiques, September 2007

"Pinot Noir is a hard wine to make, but can be a very rewarding wine to drink! Try this Australian version that has a lovely plum aroma and savoury taste. Delicious with mushroom risotto or soft rind cheeses."
Bournemouth Daily Echo, 25 June 2007

"... it is definitely worth treating yourself to this classic Pinot Noir from Australia"
Sharon Walters, Shropshire Star, 9 June 2007

"...produced from Yarra Valley fruit and is pleasingly lean with delicate red fruits and an accomplished structure."
Kattie Rosser, Sunday Herald Magazine, 3 June 2007

"Could Steve Webber be Australia's unsung Pinot Noir superstar? If this year's releases are anything to go by, no discussion needs to be entered into. With Windy [Peak], Gulf [Station], PHI and this Estate and the Reserve neatly filling the gap, this must be the singularly most complete, value-crammed Pinot Noir portfolio anywhere on the planet. De Bortoli EGPN is on par with a good Premier Cru Pommard from Burgundy, tight, nervy, reverential, but serious Pinot. Seamless, velvety, lush, mellifluous, not extravagent, totally balanced from day one, this wine is going exponentially, ballistically upward. Wines like this are the gift of our book to you - the chance to learn about serious wine that you can confidently buy by the case and serve to impress everyone over the next six years."
Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer, Taste Food & Wine 2007

"Costs about the same as a good village burgundy, and provides at least as much excitement.  A slinky, summer-fruit red of great balance."
Ned Halley, Western Daily Press, UK, 28 January 2006

Yarra Valley Estate Grown Shiraz Viognier 2004

"A finely crafted blend of red shiraz with a little white viognier (a classic Rhône mix). Packed with cassis and raspberry, there's a subtle peppery note here. Crack open with the best barbecued steaks."
Susy Atkins, Stella Magazine - Sunday Telegraph, 12 August 2007

"I'm always a little suspicious of these types of blends but in this case it worked. The rich, powerful taste of the Shiraz grape is reined in by the gentler viognier, providing a subtle taste of berries, pepper and oak."
Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun (Newcastle), 27 May 2007

"The Australian version first hit home - superbly - while I was trying some lovely De Bortoli wines during the recent Australia Day tasting.  Chief Winemaker Steve Webber seeks flavour and finesse rather than jammy over-ripeness and high alcohol - pinot noir is his greatest love, and he escaped to Burgundy to make a stunning 2003 Gevrey-Chambertin.  His Yarra Valley Shiraz Viognier is superb - hugely elegantly perfumed, silky smooth, with flavours which develop, expand and continue on and on.  There is even that hint of violets more often found in Rhône wines than those from Oz."
Liz Sagues, www.woodandvale.london24.net, 17 February 2006

"The technique of co-fermenting a tad of the perfumed white Viognier with red Shiraz has become incredibly popular; it is The Red Wine Style of the Moment...the best...De Bortoli...among others...are helping take Australian reds in an exciting new direction."
Max Allen, Harpers, The Wine & Spirit Weekly, UK, 2 December 2005