[question] Question submitted by Brian Little Regarding the passing of Dr. Carrodus. I’ve never quite understood Yarra Yering. I first started buying his wines back in 1988 and was faithful for over 10 years collecting the No.1, 2 and Underhill. I even gave the white a go for a while. The wine was stored under controlled and optimal conditions at a dedicated wine cellar, and all to nought. Over time I came to discover that at least 80% of the wine was affected / faulty in one way or another. From various conversations with the Dr. in the early days I knew he was interested in crafting his own style of wines but at the end of up to a decade of cellarage to find that the majority of wines were simply undrinkable was rather sad, not to mention a waste of money. Yes, every once and a while there would be one bottle that reconfirmed what it was all about and took one back to the promise of the No.1s and 2 or the early 90’s but for the majority they went down the sink. All rather sad. And it wasn’t just me, I’ve also found that the same opinion/sad experience of the wines is common to a number of others around the globe of my same ilk. By all means “Hail and farewell” to Dr. Bailey, but his legacy is all rather sad as far as I’m concerned. [/question] [answer] Thanks Brian. From a winemaking perspective, Bailey’s legacy was genuine, but I agree that it was certainly flawed. I agree entirely with you on the matter of Yarra Yering white wines. Many of the Chardonnays were affected by oxidation and volatility, and as such their charms were of the short-term nature. The reds also went through an ordinary spell in the mid 1990s. Personally, I found the wines from around 1999 onwards to be very much better than most preceding years (vintages like 1990 excepted), which would have coincided with the arrival of winemaker Mark Haisma at the property. [/answer]
