Billanook Estate – Definitely Worth A Look!

We recently popped into Billanook Estate, a small winery in the Yarra, and were quite impressed with the wines! Definitely worth checking out on your next return to Wine Yarra Valley. Billanook is a D’Aloisio family affair. (You may recall we are giant fans of John D’Alosio’s work at Seville Hill Wines!) The place can trace its agricultural heritage in the Yarra back to the 1960s, but its first vines were planted in the early 1990s. All of the fruit in Billanook’s cracking wines comes from those vines on their Yarraland property. As the winery is quite small (only selling through their cellar door), they continue to onsell much of their fruit to various prominent winemakers in the Yarra.

But what you really need to know about are the wines at Billanook. Here we found one of those rare instances where the whole range exhibited attractive overlaying characteristics, such as “deep”, “plump”, “smooth”, and glorious finishes. These are seriously satisfying wines at great prices. We are confident they will make you happy you stopped in 🙂 Our picks from or last visit included:

* 2015 Sauvignon Blanc – Like a few of Billanook’s whites, this one has a fairly striking fruit-forward profile, in this case of ripe pear and pineapple. It also boasts a clean and lingering finish. While this is not a complex wine, it does not need to be. One you can merrily pound with full vinofile satisfaction. $22

* 2015 Rosé – Made form Shiraz, Cab Sav, Pinot, and Merlot, this one came out all plump, juicy strawberry. Quite different from the lean Rosés that are currently en vogue, but again, 100% satisfying, and like the Sav B, finishes very elegantly. $20

* 2014 Sangiovese – A fleshy nose of ripe cherry yields to a mouth-filling palate of dark fruit, mulberry, and vanilla. Layer after layer of flavour in this one! $30

* 2015 Nebbiolo – This is a perfectly poised, moderately complex drop. Spiced vanilla, pepper, just a little aniseed, ripe plum yum. Light enough you can drink alone, but just enough complexity to really light up a Mediterranean dinner. An elegant and well-defined wine. $35

* 2013 Shiraz – This one reminded me of Seville Hill Wines’ greatly treasured Shiraz #8, dripping with flavour complexity. A simmering vanilla stew with soft blackberry and light pepper. Not a huge Shiraz, but neither is it the typical lean cool climate affair. Rather, a titillating stew of intriguing tastes that linger and delight. $35