Rob Dolan captures everything that is good and right about this moment in Australian wine. Here we find an enterprising and committed winemaker, putting his hands in a lot of bottles, and eventually pulling out some magic along the way. As much as anyone, Rob’s various ventures have shaped the good direction of the Yarra over the past decade. Along the way, he has crafted exceptional wines that are offered at better than fair prices and made some cool experiences available to the average Joe.

The key ingredient to such a notable winemaker, of course, is passion and commitment. Rob clearly has these in spades. We first heard of Rob when we noticed that he was winemaker for some of the Boat O’Craigo drops we love so dearly. A little digging, and one quickly learns that Mr Dolan also kicked off Sticks Yarra Valley and Punt Road Wines, two highly respectable labels we have enjoyed in the past. In 2012, a year after purchasing his own winery, Mr Dolan launched his own wine label, Rob Dolan Wines (more on that below). To this day, Mr. Dolan remains involved in a fairly wide variety of notable vineyards and ventures in the Yarra.

Rob Dolan’s cellar door, about half an hour out of Melbourne, is a must-visit. In additon to trying through his range of wines, the cool venue hosts some amazing events. For example, Pick and Stomp, where wine club members have the opportunity (starting from this event and over the course of the year) to make their own wine under the tutelage of Mr Dolan himself. How cool is that!

And finally, of course, we come to what’s nearest and dearest to us, the wines. In his formidable range, Mr Dolan has crafted some exceptional wines. There is a consistency, precision, and yet curiosity to the range that are the hallmarks of our favourite winemakers. We particularly enjoyed the Bon Blanc (a funky yet focused wine, pushing towards an end), the 2016 Chardonnay (a Shaw + Smith style clinically perfect Chardy that captures the best the Yarra can offer) and the 2016 Pinot Noir (also a clinically perfect Yarra Pinot). None of these will set you back more than $35!

We encourage you to visit Rob Dolan Wines. He’s smartly constructed a super cool cellar door only-range, so it’s the only way you’ll get to try the Black Labels 🙂