Acting as tour guide for some lovely Italians, I visited Tom and Sally Belford in the Yarra Valley and was introduced to their small-batch winemaking and their expression of Syrah and Chardonnay under the Bobar label. Here are my notes from the tasting, the last wine was from the tank the day before it was bottled.
Chardonnay 2013
Nice lean mealy leesy cheese biscuit notes. Full bold fresh ripe citrus peach, good texture and phenolic grip but focused acids too. Light yet brimming with personality and length.
Syrah 2014
Very subtle mushroomy earthy stalk notes, bright tight red cherry. Light fresh delicate yet full of life and energy, juicy but not bold broad extractive or fruit-sweet.
Syrah 2013
Darker more brambly pomegranate beetroot, a crunchy also blood orange note too. Crunchier tighter more intense somehow, pepper bush.
Syrah 2012
Dark herbal almost a naturopathic medicinal note. Bolder fuller on the mid-palate, a nice sharpness to it but nice and soft without being flabby.
Syrah 2010
Like slightly herbal oxidised ribena. In a really charming way.
2014 Chardonnay
Still smells a bit yeasty ferment style, but nice lemon pith. Wonderfully full and rich without being fat, unfocused or fruitful. Contained yet explosive.
Bobar Yarra Valley Syrah 2014
The Intrepid Wino 