TarraWarra Estate is ready for take-off

Winemaker Sarah Fagan will do wonders for the wines of TarraWarra Estate.

For the past twenty years Sarah Fagan has been the not-so-secret winemaking weapon of De Bortoli’s Yarra Valley outfit. You name it, she’s made it; she’s the kind of winemaking asset that every wine producer would love to have. I went out to meet Sarah Fagan at her new winemaking home – TarraWarra Estate – recently and along the way stopped to briefly visit a couple of other Yarra Valley wine producers. One of these producers, when I said that I was going to visit Sarah Fagan, said, “Good luck going for a job interview with Sarah Fagan as one of the other candidates.” It says everything of the regard Sarah Fagan has hard-earned over the years.

Now that these events have transpired though it seems, suddenly, like a match made in heaven. Indeed it’s hard to think of a better place, at a better time, for Fagan to walk into. TarraWarra Estate is a significant producer; it’s part of the Yarra Valley establishment, or at least of the modern version of it. But its wine range, while always very good or better*, is in need of a fresh set of eyes.

I say this because, in Yarra Valley terms, the wines of TarraWarra Estate prior to Sarah Fagan’s arrival have sat generally at the beefier end of the Yarra Valley spectrum. Put it this way: TarraWarra Estate, which is on a beautiful patch of hillside land, faces north, and the wines have been reflective of this aspect. As a result, wine quality at TarraWarra Estate has never fallen backwards but nor has it kept pace.

Sarah Fagan will change that. Indeed she arguably already has, though given that she’s only one vintage in the best is no doubt yet to come. It will be a monumental surprise if TarraWarra Estate isn’t well and truly back at the top end of quality town within the next few years.

This, given the long term standing of TarraWarra Estate, is pretty exciting for both the Yarra Valley and for quality Australian wine in general.

The first shoots of this change can already be seen. Sarah Fagan didn’t make the 2023 TarraWarra wines but she did finish the wines and put them into bottle. TarraWarra usually makes both a Reserve and a ‘standard’ chardonnay and pinot noir; Fagan has put all the best wine into the standard release, and shelved the Reserve range. All the 2023 TarraWarra Estate releases – reviewed on The Winefront here – feel as though the ‘drinkability factor’ has been ramped higher. They are wines that you just want to hook into.

The bigger change though will be seen with the 2024 releases, which was Fagan’s first vintage in charge. None of the 2024 wines, when they are released, will have an alcohol percentage greater than 13.5. This is a headline in itself. This is the start of a fresher, brighter era at TarraWarra Estate.

The first sign of this is already on the market. It’s the TarraWarra Estate Pinot Noir Rose 2024, which is so much paler, spicier and friskier – and more savoury – than previous releases. It’s not just a beauty in itself; it’s a harbinger.

As indeed is news that TarraWarra Estate has taken a long term lease on the Swallowfield vineyard at Gembrook in the Upper Yarra, and – to boot – has also taken on Chris Beard as its viticulturist. Chris Beard is ex Mount Mary. So TarraWarra Estate has taken on Sarah Fagan as its winemaker, and Chris Beard as its viticulturist, and added a prime Upper Yarra vineyard as a key plank of its vineyard resources. It has also lured Samantha Isherwood into the role of General Manager, which in a behind-the-scenes sense is equally significant, courtesy of Isherwood’s extensive wine industry experience and general high regard. Combine these facts and it is clear that an across-the-board revolution has taken place at TarraWarra Estate.

All of which is aimed at an improvement of the wine in the glass. “We still want flavour,” Fagan says simply, “but we also want energy, and longevity, and freshness.”

It’s time to put your seatbelts on. TarraWarra Estate is ready or take-off.

TarraWarra Estate Pinot Rosé 2024: Review on The Winefront here.
TarraWarra Estate’s 2023 releases: Reviewed on The Winefront here.

  • On re-reading this article it occurred to me that the tone of this piece is disrespectful to the previous long-term TarraWarra Estate winemaker, Claire Halloran. This was certainly not the intent. Claire Halloran put TarraWarra Estate on the wine map, and she did so by consistently producing high quality wines. Indeed Claire Halloran’s work didn’t just put TarraWarre Estate on the map; her wines helped forge the high standing of the modern Yarra Valley. Her work is historically important, and should continue to be acknowledged as such. The point that now is a good time for a fresh set of eyes, and that Sarah Fagan is the perfect fit for this time, remains valid.

Campbell Mattinson

This article was written by Campbell Mattinson, founder of The Winefront and mattinson, and former chief editor of Halliday Wine Companion.

When you pick up a wine book or a wine website and see thousands of wines with 95 point and above scores, it’s hard to know which of these wines to choose. Mattinson guides you through this maze, leading you to the best wine stories, the best wine producers, the best value wines, the most prestigious wines and simply, to the best tasting wines.

Mattinson has been a photo-journalist since 1987 and a wine critic since 2000. He is the only Australian wine journalist to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once.

https://www.campbellmattinson.com
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