Serrat is releasing its 2024 vintage this month – including the 98-point cult-favourite Shiraz Viognier wine

The highly anticipated release of Serrat’s 2024 wines is fast approaching – with the general public getting the chance to purchase these wines on Thursday July 24, and the most loyal subscribers gaining access a few weeks beforehand.

Ahead of this release, Halliday taster Philip Rich had the opportunity to try most of the wines, giving each of them outstanding scores (all eight wines he tasted were awarded 95 points or above).

These wines include the 2024 Serrat Chardonnay, 2024 Serrat Pinot Noir, 2024 Serrat Shiraz Viognier, 2024 Serrat Nebbiolo, 2024 Serrat Grenache Noir, 2024 Serrat Other Terroir Chardonnay, 2024 Serrat Other Terroir Tasmania Pinot Noir and 2024 Serrat Other Terroir Yarra Valley Pinot Noir.

Serrat’s owner and winemaker Tom Carson has long been revered within the industry, with James Halliday noting, “As well as being a consummate winemaker, Tom has one of the best palates in Australia and a deep understanding of the fine wines of the world.”

Speaking of how the wine came to be, Tom shared, “Early in my career, we tasted some great old bottles of Yarra Yering no. 2 with Bailey Carrodus and, of course, some classic old Cote Roties with James Halliday himself – generously from his personal cellar.

“They were wines that really took me and Nadege, and we thought the Yarra Valley climate is so similar to the Lyon region and why wouldn’t it work here?

“It is now highly sought after and we try our best to share it around with as many of our customers as possible – but it is hard that the shiraz block is only 1.6 acres and doesn’t produce much fruit.”

And while most of the wines are made from fruit grown on the team’s own vineyard in the Yarra Valley, a couple of wines use fruit grown and cared for by Stephen Sadlier – a nominee for this year’s Viticulturist of the Year.

Speaking of how this partnership came to be, Tom shared, “I first met Steve in 1996 or around then. I was winemaker at Yering Station and Steve’s Nenagh Park vineyard was highly sought after – it took some years to secure Steve’s trust, but eventually we got some pinot noir and it often went into the Reserve Pinot Noir.

“We remained friends and kept in touch when I moved from Yering Station. A few years later – coaching his daughter and my daughter at the Yarra Glen footy club – the idea came to expand Serrat a tiny bit.

“I had always regarded Steve and his vineyard as one of the best so we started again taking fruit and wine, and since 2022 we have produced tiny amounts of Pinot Noir from the Nenagh Park site, an exciting new project for us. It's called Other Terroir, and it is different from our Serrat site – Our Terroir.”

Find Philip Rich’s scores and detailed notes on Serrat’s 2024 release below. 

You can purchase these 2024 wines via the Serrat website.