For those who don’t know Andrew Marks, or the wines of The Wanderer, they are one and the same. Except that Andrew is also the winemaker and presumably heir apparent of his family’s vineyard, Gembrook Hill. The Wanderer wines are garnered from Yarra Valley fruit, not his own, but the style of wine is all his, entirely different from Gembrook Hill, and the 2024’s are the best yet. I know, I say best yet a lot, but truly, they are, 2024 being a vintage that suits his style with just a little refinement that makes them even better and more delicious than previous iterations.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. His wines tingle. His chardonnay, intense, angular, with razor sharp acidity, glistens with cool high-toned citrus fruit and linear though it is, has an extra dimension of mid-palate flesh, fat and oozing texture that is quite frankly irresistible. And it’s here where things are a little different. Previous vintages seemed more streamlined and cut, just a little too tightly, like a too fit and skinny real estate agent. Now these wines age really well, I’d wager for decades, seriously, but they don’t necessarily gain in complexity or interest as they age. Well now let’s say the suit is cut just as well, but the body is more like a buff NRL player.
Pinot’s, ditto. Streamlined, floral, angular, with an emphasis on red fruit tang and mouth watering grippy tannins. Precise, defined and cut, but again I always thought that I’d just like to see a bit more buff. Not fat mind you, and they don’t need more fruit, just more flesh and texture. Well in 2024, we’ve got wines that are positively rippling with tense sinews and raw muscle. They are wonderful.
A very difficult vintage to sum up 2024, a year that will see variability in terms of quality and style. A year, paradoxically, where both vineyard and the producer’s talents were tested, but the best wines are intense and linear in structure, with cooler fruits, firm tannins for reds and mouth puckering acids for both pinot noir and chardonnay. They won’t have the richness, finessed curves and riper, juicier fruits of 2023, but who cares, bring on the differences.
The winemaking is simple, natural and instinctive. For the pinots, cold soaks, mostly destemmed and a natural, uncontrolled whole berry ferment. Pump overs and hand plunging, so these beauties are not only intensely aromatic and flavoursome, they’ve got texture, grip and damn grippy tannins. Aged in wood, the top pinot sees 30% new oak, which you just don’t see, and 11 months on lees prior to bottling and no fining or filtration.
These are brisk, tensioned and tightly wound, so keep them in the cellar for a few before uncorking. Diam closures. Fantastic closures to be sure, ensuring great ageing, and a more nuanced, savoury trajectory than if they were under screw cap.
The chardonnay is whole bunch pressed, and left overnight, before being run off into barrel with full solids for wild fermentation. These two parts are important as wood integration is better if fermentation occurs in the wood the wine ages in and the pre-ferment soak picks up texture, weight, flavour and greater stability for long ageing. Aged on lees, no stirring, and a light filtration, which tones and brightens. Filtration is an artform when making chardonnay. Too much and you risk stripping the wine, to little and it can appear a bit slack mouthed.
Competition in the Yarra Valley is intense. There are plenty of producers and labels out there making decent, if uninteresting wines. And I feel it’s these wines that have dragged the Yarra Valley down a notch. The top end is pumping, but the top end is too expensive and when you put them with your full flavoured suburban cuisine, these wines get blown away, and so does your wallet.
The Wanderer is that rarest of gems – fine wine bargains. Like Dappled and Rob Hall, most of us can afford these genuine fine wines with incredible ageing potential. The Wanderer shares a quintessential Australian ideal, alongside the aforementioned producers, an ideal or belief system long forgotten to many and in most walks of life, but not to me or them, egalitarianism.
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The Wanderer Macclesfield Chardonnay 2024
Citrus order delivered. All kinds of citrus, the cool citrus of lemon and limes, grapefruit, mandarin, fresh and preserved. Citrus blossom and some tangy stone fruits too, with a dusting of cashew, smoke, spring honey and alpine herbs. Pure and quivering, supremely intense, all muscle and tension. There’s just that delightful mid-palate softening texture, cream and pulpy fruit. Mineral and long, there is something relentless about the Wanderer Chardonnay, pulsating and making its presence felt long after a draw. I really hope you can keep your hands off it for 5-7 years and then some.
The Wanderer Yellingbo Pinot Noir 2024
Yellingbo is an Upper Yarra vineyard that produces wines with an extra dimension of stuffing compared to many in the area. Pretty as you would expect, but a sort of composite of Nebbiolo grip and pinot seductiveness. Floral, a touch reticent to begin with, but with coaxing really starts to show. Bright, intense red fruits, ripe and tangy strawberry, cherry and cranberry. Smokey, earthy, a touch gamey and a ball of savoury spice. A very linear wine, but there’s so much condensed stuffing on the mid palate that the al dente tannins act as a sort of pressure valve. Very long in the mouth, the tannins so firm and authoritative, a nod to the good old days. Pretty and punchy, for me, an irresistible combination.
The Wanderer Macclesfield Pinot Noir 2024
I can’t decide which of the white labels I prefer. I’m not hedging I promise, for they both offer something different, so my preference is dictated by my mood and possibly, what I’m eating. Macclesfield is another Upper Yarra vineyard, but sits on volcanic soil, whereas the Yellingbo has heavy clay. This is darker and broader, the tannins richer and less angular compared to the Yellingbo. Compote of dark and hedge fruits with tangy red fruits reminding you of the coolness of the site. Savoury, the fruit a little sweeter, with dried herbs laced with earthy notes. The tannins, a little more enveloped, the shape of the wine rounder and fleshier. As with the Yelligbo, this is very young, too young, although if you were to drink one tonight, this is closer to being ready. I just can’t believe the price of these wines!
The Wanderer Upper Yarra Pinot Noir 2024
The only pinot noir that sees whole bunches, 20% and new oak, 30%. It isn’t, however, bunchy or oaky, and is the prettiest and most elegant of the three. The aromatics are very complex with Middle Eastern spice mix, sweet red and dark fruits, violets, autumn leaves and a dusting of vanilla. Supple and pure, the most finessed wine in the range and the most harmonised. I haven’t tried an older bottle, but I believe that not only does this have great ageing potential, but it will become phenomenally complex with bottle age. Ironically, this is utterly gorgeous right now, certainly the most approachable, with a seamless, ease of drinking quality about it. An absolute fine wine bargain.
