93/100 The Wine Front
92/100 Halliday Wine Companion
90/100 The Real Review
91/100 Toni Paterson MW (2018 vintage)
91/100 Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine (2018 vintage)
96/100 GOLD James Halliday (2017 vintage)
95/200 Jeremy Oliver (2017 vintage)
92/100 The Wine Front (2017 vintage)

Four Stars - Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine (2018 vintage)
Bronze - Decanter World Wine Awards (2010 vintage)
Bronze - Decanter World Wine Awards (2008 vintage)
Silver - Decanter World Wine Awards (2009 vintage)

James Halliday 5 Star Winery

The Wine Front "Very Nice Chardonnay....Refreshing for sure. Good detail.... It does struck match and flint, it does citrus and green apple, some spicy oak there, it does a slightly rubbery tightness and a milky haze in texture through glass shard cuts. It’s a wine that feels primped and preened into its style of racy, leaner, taut, rather than reflecting inherent fruit character, but in that way hits its markers and will delight an audience of appreciative drinkers...."

Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion "No single-block wines this vintage, with all fruit allocated to the single-vineyard wines across the range. This has morphed into a more savoury wine with almost a complete absence of fruit flavours, except for a flutter of citrus. It has the sulphide stamp, the restraint yet even tighter with acidity leading. A hint of beeswax, just the finest creamy leesy flavour....don't chill it down too much."

The Real Review "palate is restrained, lean and high-tensioned. Enjoy with food."

The Winemaker "Defined by its fresh, citrus blossom aromatic lift and precise long, lingering finish. Characteristic pure and intense aroma. The palate is poised and complex, with layered fruit flavours. Tightly wound together with a precise minerality, the wine has beautiful line and length."

Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine “Elegant and beautifully balanced.....Opens with spicy cracked black pepper and bright notes of freshly picked blackberries. Plush and open with lovely freshness and vibrancy offering attractive fruit purity and peppery complexity....combines black cherry aromas with oak spices and a subtle touch of whole-bunch fragrance. There’s supple flesh on the palate with plenty of balanced tannin.” (2018 vintage)

The Winemaker "A perfumed and spicy Syrah, medium-bodied in style. The palate is concentrated and silky, with finely structured tannins, bright fruit characters, wonderful elegance and depth. Aged for 11 months in French oak. Stored carefully, this wine will age gracefully for ten years. " (2018 vintage)

Australian Wine Companion "This is another fantastic release under this label. Garden herbs, nuts, twigs and spice notes blend seamlessly with red and black cherries, licorice and wood smoke. Flamboyance is its middle name, but it has the discipline to make the most of it." (2017 vintage)

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.

Huon Hooke "One of 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."

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.

Chardonnay is one of the world’s most popular grapes, Chardonnay is made in a wide range of styles from lean, to rich, creamy white wines aged in oak. Bolder, richer, full-bodied and buttery Chardonnays are made using oak and are produced in California, Burgundy, and Australia. Unoaked chardonnays such as Chablis and those produced in Chile, New Zealand, and other parts of France are leaner and often crisp and mineraly, with delicate flavors. By law, if a label says “Chablis,” it must be Chardonnay.