97/100 James Halliday (2018 vintage)
95/100 Huon Hooke (2018 vintage)
94/100 James Suckling (2018 vintage)

James Halliday 2021 Award Winning Varietal - Pinot Noir of the Year (2018 vintage)

Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition
Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition (2015 Vintage)
Silver - International Wine & Spirit Competition (2013 Vintage)
Commended - International Wine Challenge (2010 Vintage)
Silver - Decanter World Wine Awards (2010 Vintage)
Commended - Decanter World Wine Awards (2008 Vintage)
Silver - Decanter World Wine Awards (2009 Vintage)
Silver - International Wine Challenge (2008 Vintage)
Silver - International Wine Challenge (2009 Vintage)
Silver - Decanter World Wine Awards (2008 Vintage)

James Halliday 5 Star Winery

Yabby Lake's Pinot Noir is the first pinot ever to win the Royal Melbourne Wine Awards’ coveted Jimmy Watson Trophy in the trophy’s 52-year existence. (2012 vintage)

Halliday Wine Award 2021 Judges Comment "Perfectly balanced, it has developed into an entrancing, delicately framed and poised wine with a silky mouthfeel and lingering aftertaste. Gold medal and runner up for the James Halliday Trophy for Best Pinot Noir Melbourne Wine Awards, gold medal Australian Pinot Noir Challenge....Multiple clones hand-picked and sorted, 25% whole bunches, gentle destemming, 13-15 days on skins, matured in French puncheons (25% new) for 11 months. "

James Suckling "Gorgeous decadence and richness with plum and crushed-flower aromas and flavors. Full body, very round and integrated tannins and a savory edge to the transparent fruit."

Australian Wine Companion "...continuing to blitz the Australian wine show circuit with Single Block Pinots."

Huon Hooke "Good concentration and persistence. A very smart wine, bold and fresh and solidly composed. It will have a long cellar future."

Jamie Goode "...these wines are peers of the world’s greatest Pinot Noirs, in my opinion." (comments from a tasting of previous vintages of Yabby Creek single block pinot noir)

Huon Hooke "One of [Yabby Creek's Winemaker] Carson’s biggest moments was winning the Jimmy Watson Trophy [Australia's most prestigious winemaker accolade] with his 2012 Block 1 Pinot Noir – the first pinot ever to win this coveted award."

Yabby Lake Vineyard was established by the Kirby family in 1998 and over the past decade, Yabby Lake has built a reputation for single-vineyard Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of great purity and character.

James Halliday "This high-profile wine business was established by Robert and Mem Kirby (of Village Roadshow), who had been landowners in the Mornington Peninsula for decades. In 1998 they established Yabby Lake Vineyard, under the direction of vineyard manager Keith Harris; the vineyard is on a north-facing slope, capturing maximum sunshine while also receiving sea breezes. The main focus is the 25ha of pinot noir, 14ha of chardonnay and 8ha of pinot gris; 3h of shiraz, merlot and sauvignon blanc take a back seat. The arrival of the hugely talented Tom Carson as Group Winemaker has added lustre to the winery and its wines, making the first Jimmy Watson Trophy-winning Pinot Noir in 2014, and continuing to blitz the Australian wine show circuit with Single Block Pinots."

Led by Tom Carson "one of Australia's most lauded winemakers" so cites Huon Hooke of the Real Review. Under Carson's direction, Yabby Lake's philosophy is to craft wines representative of their site and their season in which they were grown. Yabby Lake believe it’s this attention and care in the vineyard that is most critical to allowing this expression.

Mornington Peninsula is one of Victoria's most important Australian wine regions, located an hour's drive south of Melbourne on the southern coast of Australia. It is one of Australia's coolest winegrowing regions and produces elegant Chardonnay and internationally award winning Pinot Noir wines, and gaining a reputation for its quality medium bodied, peppery shiraz.

Pinot Noir is the dominant red wine grape of Burgundy, now produced in wine regions all over the world, including western Germany, northern Italy, Chile, South Africa, Australia and, perhaps most notably, California, Oregon and New Zealand.

The essence of Pinot Noir wine is its aroma of strawberry and cherry (fresh red cherries in lighter wines and stewed black cherries in weightier examples), underpinned in the most complex examples by hints of the forest floor. Well-built Pinot Noirs, particularly from warmer harvests, also exhibits notes of leather and violets, sometimes approaching the flavor spectrum of Syrah.