Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria
Variety: Chardonnay
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2025
The Wanderer is the personal project of Andrew Marks, the winemaker behind Gembrook Hill and one of the Yarra Valley's most accomplished custodians of cool-climate Chardonnay. Sourced from a tiny vineyard parcel in Yellingbo, this is exactly the sort of wine Cellared loves to champion: limited production, exceptional provenance and remarkable value relative to the quality in the bottle.
Yellingbo is one of the coolest and wettest pockets of the Upper Yarra, with ancient grey clay soils and a long, slow growing season that consistently delivers Chardonnay with natural acidity, fine structure and impressive ageing potential. The fruit was hand harvested and whole-bunch pressed before wild fermentation in French oak, followed by maturation on lees to build texture and complexity. The winemaking is deliberately hands-off, allowing the site to remain firmly in focus.
Produced in tiny quantities, this is a wine that rarely finds its way into broad distribution. Yet despite the pedigree of both vineyard and winemaker, it remains one of the better-value Chardonnays being produced in the Yarra Valley today.
Cellared says
This is exactly the kind of bottle that gets us excited. A brilliant vineyard, a proven winemaker and production measured in hundreds rather than thousands of bottles. It may not have the profile of some of the bigger Yarra names, but the quality is right there with them. If you enjoy the precision of Gembrook Hill, the tension of Bannockburn or the restraint of By Farr Chardonnay, this is a wine worth discovering before everyone else catches on.
Reviews
"A single-vineyard wine from Yellingbo in the Upper Yarra, barrel-fermented and matured in older French puncheons. Subtle aromas of nectarine, pink grapefruit and lemon curd. Beautifully balanced on a pure-fruited, delicate, chalky-textured and saline palate. Finishes nutty and long. Drink now and over the next four to five years."
95+ Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"Put this away for a while and you’ll be rewarded. It’s powerful but reticent, and it really needs a spell. It tastes of preserved lemons and nectarines, wax, saltbush and white peach, and it builds beautifully as it progresses through the palate. In fact for all intents, as a young wine, it’s immaculate."
94 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Region: Yarra Valley, Victoria
Variety: Chardonnay
Country: Australia
Vintage: 2025
The Wanderer is the personal project of Andrew Marks, the winemaker behind Gembrook Hill and one of the Yarra Valley's most accomplished custodians of cool-climate Chardonnay. Sourced from a tiny vineyard parcel in Yellingbo, this is exactly the sort of wine Cellared loves to champion: limited production, exceptional provenance and remarkable value relative to the quality in the bottle.
Yellingbo is one of the coolest and wettest pockets of the Upper Yarra, with ancient grey clay soils and a long, slow growing season that consistently delivers Chardonnay with natural acidity, fine structure and impressive ageing potential. The fruit was hand harvested and whole-bunch pressed before wild fermentation in French oak, followed by maturation on lees to build texture and complexity. The winemaking is deliberately hands-off, allowing the site to remain firmly in focus.
Produced in tiny quantities, this is a wine that rarely finds its way into broad distribution. Yet despite the pedigree of both vineyard and winemaker, it remains one of the better-value Chardonnays being produced in the Yarra Valley today.
Cellared says
This is exactly the kind of bottle that gets us excited. A brilliant vineyard, a proven winemaker and production measured in hundreds rather than thousands of bottles. It may not have the profile of some of the bigger Yarra names, but the quality is right there with them. If you enjoy the precision of Gembrook Hill, the tension of Bannockburn or the restraint of By Farr Chardonnay, this is a wine worth discovering before everyone else catches on.
Reviews
"A single-vineyard wine from Yellingbo in the Upper Yarra, barrel-fermented and matured in older French puncheons. Subtle aromas of nectarine, pink grapefruit and lemon curd. Beautifully balanced on a pure-fruited, delicate, chalky-textured and saline palate. Finishes nutty and long. Drink now and over the next four to five years."
95+ Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"Put this away for a while and you’ll be rewarded. It’s powerful but reticent, and it really needs a spell. It tastes of preserved lemons and nectarines, wax, saltbush and white peach, and it builds beautifully as it progresses through the palate. In fact for all intents, as a young wine, it’s immaculate."
94 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
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