Recent events in the Yarra Valley, about 50 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, reinforce my belief that it is Australia's premier wine region of the moment. In   August I attended the two-day Yarra Valley Wine Program for media and trade, then in   September I chaired the annual Yarra Valley Wine Showand James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge.
Although a Yarra Valley chardonnay is yet to win the challenge - this year it went to the 2014 Silkman Reserve Chardonnay from the Hunter Valley - surely it's just a matter of time. Seventy Yarra Valley Show wines qualified for the challenge: the Yering Station Reserve Chardonnay 2013, with 97 points, was one of two runner-ups. 
At the Yarra Valley Wine Show, an impressive 14 out of about 90 chardonnay entries scored 95 points or above, earning them each a gold medal and making chardonnay not only a thrilling class to judge but the class that dominated the trophies. There wasn't much between the top four wines: Yering Station Reserve Chardonnay 2013, which won the trifecta of best chardonnay, best white wine and best wine trophies; Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2013; Seville Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2014; and Oakridge 864 Funder & Diamond Drive Block Chardonnay 2013, which won the best single vineyard white wine trophy.
What all these wines have in common is superb purity as well as perfectly integrated acidity, giving an assurance that, as good as they are now, they will age brilliantly. This was evidenced by the Seville Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2010, which won best museum wine at the show and is still very vibrant and fresh. Screwcaps are playing their part in giving these wines longevity. The idea that Australian chardonnay can improve over five years and indeed longer is relatively new and something to be celebrated.
Yarra cabernet continues to impress, too, despite sitting in pinot's shadow in terms of both plantings and popularity. Yeringberg 2012 is one of the most beautiful cabernets to come out of the Yarra in years. Dominique Portet 2013 was the highest scoring cabernet at the show. It has an elegance and perfume not always found in the best examples from Coonawarra and Margaret River.
Shiraz is the relative new kid on the Yarra Valley block and is unlikely to ever seriously rival the Grampians or Barossa Valley in terms of output. However the best wines from producers such as Jamsheed, Timo   Mayer, Serrat, Yeringberg and, in particular, Giant Steps, have surprising depth of fruit to go with the spice, all in a medium to full-bodied framework.
It's also great to see companies like De Bortoli, which has the resources to match its intrepid spirit, experimenting in the Yarra Valley with varieties such as nebbiolo and sangiovese. Its nebbiolo rose is both delicious and affordable and totally deserving of its gold - the only rose to get one - at this year's Yarra Valley Wine Show. I tasted its sangiovese out of the barrel recently. Made from relatively new clones in Australia, planted only at its Yarra Valley vineyards, it has the potential to set a new Australian benchmark for what is Italy's most planted red variety.
Philip Rich is a wine critic and judge, and co-owner of ???Prince Wine Store.

Cellar door
Vinoque Nebbiolo Rose 2015, $20
Producers such as De Bortoli are innovating with varietals such as nebbiolo and sangiovese in the Yarra Valley. The nebbiolo, grown on a north-facing slope at Dixons Creek, is put to good use to create a wine that is pale in colour, with good texture and length and a bone-dry finish. A worthy recipient of its rose category gold medal, the only one awarded at the Yarra Valley Wine Show.
Dominique Portet Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, $55
While it was cabernet that signalled the resurgence of the Yarra Valley in the 1960s, these days it takes a back seat to pinot. When it's good though, it's every bit as exciting as the best wines from Margaret River and Coonawarra, albeit within a more medium-bodied framework. This wine won the trophy for the best cabernet at the show; it's perfumed, balanced, elegant and long.
Innocent Bystander Syrah 2014, $25
Giant Steps has dominated the shiraz class at the Yarra Valley show in recent years and this year it was the "cheapie" that got up for the best shiraz trophy. Judicious use of whole bunches has resulted in a delicious, medium-bodied wine with bright, spicy fruit and soft tannins. Enjoy now and over the next five years.
A. Rodda Willow Lake Vineyard Chardonnay 2014, $38
Having done a 10-year apprenticeship with David Bicknell at Oakridge, Adrian Rodda clearly picked up a thing or two about making top flight chardonnay and his eponymous, Beechworth- based brand continues to go from strength to strength. From purchased fruit from a south-facing parcel on the Willowlake vineyard in the upper Yarra and planted in 1979, this superb chardonnay is supremely pure, refined and long. Drink now and over the next five to eight years.
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