Deep-ish red with a tinge of purple and a very smoky, seemingly oaky bouquet, plus lots of crushed-rock mineral notes. The acid is high, the tannins abundant and firm, and the wine should be long-lived. It's very tight and firm. A total contrast to the rich, opulent fruit-sweet styles of lower altitude McLaren Vale sites. (14.5% alc.)

Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2009 Small Pot Shiraz offers a wild/yeasty nose with nuances of soy, smoked game, loam, orange rind and spices over a core of crushed blueberries and black cherries. Medium to full-bodied, rich and generously fleshed in the mid-palate, it has medium to firm rounded tannins, refreshing acidity and a long finish with layers of savoury and black fruit flabors plus a Provence herb lift. Approachable now, it should cellar to 2019+.

Good colour, although less deep thanthe conventional release, a novel approach in McLaren Vale, more frequently encountered in cooler regions; a robust wine is the result; at this early stage overwhelmed by new oak, but will settle down with time.

A rich, classic mix of blackberry and dark chocolate seamlessly fused with oak; nice, ripe tannins. Screwcap

Deep red purple. Slightly herbal stemmy nose, a hint of grassiness. Palate is tannin-driven, drying and savoury, with lots of oak tannin that puckers the mouth. Concentrated, dense, chewy and extracted but not bitter or harsh. Lots of cherry and plum fruit, coconut/vanilla/toasty oak and rustic. A little old-fashioned, and worth cellaring.

Classic regional style; sumptuous, rich, black fruits in an envelope of dark chocolate; alcohol (for better or worse), part of the style.

Sourced from six blocks across the Yangarra Estate. Roughly 50% on sand, the other half on ironstone. Its temper is even, its flavour is substantial. This wine is as balanced as they come. Tar and blackberry, a touch of sweet plum, plenty of peppercorn and dashes of cedar. Tannin drains back through the wine in an even flow. It’s in overall excellent shape and is, as so often, very good buying.

Deep red-purple. Clean, deep aromas but shy and slightly closed. Palate is dry and savoury, full and slightly chewy in its tannins. The grip closes out the finish. Dense, slightly chewy flavour; lots of guts here but not a lot of subtlety. Big wine with oodles of flavour and character.

They make some really good booze at Yangarra. This one’s a beauty. Ripe, luscious, leathery, earthen, minerally and laden with oodles of chocolatey, plummy, tarry fruit. There’s a sure slip of creamy, toasty oak here too but the fruit has it well and truly covered. Exquisite tannin. Adorable drinking.

Excellent combination of polish and grunt. Smooth-skinned wine with blackberry, plum and leather flavours laid on, well complemented by more savoury-accented notes of clove and dried spice. Creamy oak makes for a silken ride through the finish. No lack of tannin. Very good release.

Impenetrable colour; dark berries and oak in profusion; depth and structure; appropriate oak.

Very deep, dense, bold purple red colour with a bold, slightly raw young bouquet of shrill spicy fruit and smoky, charry, burnt-wood overtones (not necessarily from oak). The sooty character of the region is part of it. It's full-bodied, intense and powerful with a very lively palate thanks to fresh acidity, and very good concentration. This is a bit young to drink but has great potential. I'd give it a year or two longer. (68% grenache, 26% shiraz, 6% mourvedre; biodynamic certified; hand-picked; mechanically sorted; 50% destemmed & 50% whole berries, wild fermented; 10 months in older French oak)

Pure fruit. Peter Fraser. Preservative Free. All fit. Absolutely no additions, only filtration before bottling. Clean as a whistle, fabulous colour, brimming with dark fruit, choc-wheaten biscuits, spice and crunchy acidity.

They stuck the trade label over the barcode, which makes Mattinson positively stream through his ears, so I could not scan it into Wineosphere, but luckily, time passes, and if you’ve done it once, you need not do it again: it’s a fine line between pleasure and pain. The scan happened last year I suspect, no doubt via CM’s fair and steady hand, he who likes nothing more than to spend his leisure time in regional IGAs helping people to scan things. Anyway, I digress. There’s 3,264 cases of this produced from bush vines planted in 1946. Hand picked. 50% whole bunches. Cold soak. etc. Pretty good credentials for a $32 wine. Grenache. Is. Still. Not. Fashionable.
This is a bit more serious than your average South Australian Grenache. Leaf litter, spice, cherries, raspberry, potpourri, new leather etc. etc. Medium to full bodied, driven and controlled by firm dry earthy tannin that lends the wine seriousness, and structure. Raspberry, mineral feel, clutch of dried herbs, balanced freshening acidity, slight warmth of alcohol, then a crunch of dry tannin meets essence of raspberry on the finish. Significant wine I think.

McLaren Vale grenache grown on bush vines, planted 1946. Meticulously berry-sorted prior to crushing. Cold soaked, wild fermented, left alone, pressings excluded, bottled unfined. Certified biodynamic. Robust grenache, sizeable, slathered with toasty/creamy oak and plush throughout. Grenache with the works, sure, but complex. Deli meats, spices, redcurrant and plums. Lots of oak, too much arguably, but seductive with it. Intricately tannic yet overall it remains supple. Fabulous booze, so long as oak doesn’t annoy you. It drinks beautifully now but it has a future. Drink : 2018 - 2024+

If you’re after a very consistent, very good-value grenache, then this is a wine you should be buying by the case. It has such impressively energetic aromas and flavors of red and darker berries and a beautifully articulated frame of fine, sturdy tannin. Mouth-filling fruit pervades the finish. Screw cap.

Medium red colour with a faint tinge of purple. The bouquet is subdued and shy, the wine is very drying, firm and tannin-driven, with savoury flavours and drying texture. The tannins drive the wine and the flavours and aromas are very dry and savoury, strongly de-emphasising fruit. I suspect age will bring much more out of this somewhat closed wine. Its concentration is undoubted. (1946 old-vine fruit, fermented in ceramic eggs and left on skins long-term) Drink 2020 - 2033

A new wine for Yangarra, I think, hand picked off their younger (10 years old) dry grown Grenache vines. Good old Yangarra, nailing it left, right, and centre these days. White peach, strawberry and rosehip, perhaps a little fennel. It’s light and soft, but flavoursome in a subdued way, fine crunch of acidity, a subtle chalky texture, and a pretty long, and pretty red apple and rosehip perfumed finish. Strong words, quietly spoken. Provence on a budget? Maybe. Spot on. Drink 2017 - 2019+

A stunning rosé that is perfect served as an aperitif. Aromas of fresh lemon and new-season apples. The palate is tight, nervy and textured with gentle framing tannin. A unique style that is highly recommended. Drink 2017 - 2019

I had dinner with Yangarra winemaker Pete Fraser a month or so ago. You couldn’t hope to meet a more down to earth, forthright and candid bloke. We might not have agreed about every issue that was discussed that evening but the free flow of conversation was good for the soul. He’s got a clear vision for the type of wines he wants to make at Yangarra and after tasting this last night and a number of his other wines on a visit to McLaren Vale earlier in the year, I’m convinced he’s onto something special in the foothills of the Blewitt Springs subregion.
Grapes were hand harvested with selective picking and mechanical sorting tables employed to counter the rainy vintage. Roussanne is a pain in the arse in these sort of conditions. It’s tight, late-ripening bunches are prone to mildew and rot. Honest as always, Peter explains that there is a small amount of botrytis in this wine but believes it “adds some extra dimensions to the aromatic and flavour profile”. I’d concur.
The texture, palate weight and depth present in this wine at just 12.0% ABV really is quite remarkable. It smells as much of exotic tea houses, fromageries and wild flowers as it does fruit. Faint echoes of green pear and apricot nectar chime in along with an intriguing note of roast poultry. Honey and ginger are woven into the mix. It’s fluid and integrated on the palate, presenting as a whole that resists dissection. Viscous and savoury yet mellifluous. It’s a wild beast – not one for the technocrats – but I found it fascinating and delicious. 93 Very Good

Slightly earthy, spice, delicate fruit, savoury style, bottle aged with crisp acidity and crunchy length. Lighter iteration, but thoroughly charming and interesting.

Lemon curd, slight spice, light buttery tones, melon and juicy citrus acidity, good crunch on the finish and pleasing sense of harmony. Think this is just about in the zone.

I’m not quite sure about the 2017 Roussanne, again, so I’ll leave that to either MB or CM, just in case I was having a bad hair day. Meanwhile I have no hesitation about this new cellar door only wine, which is fermented in old French oak and raised in a ceramic egg. Much like Monkey, it’s irrepressible!
Gentle honeyed thing, with a what you might call ‘a lovely winey but neutral flavour’, seashell and seaside perfume, a fine chalky texture, soft but balanced acidity, perhaps a subtle peachiness to it, and a delightful dry and flinty finish. It’s a pleasure to drink. Love it. I’d drink it while it’s young and fresh.

From a 0.4ha patch of vines on the southeastern section of the estate. It's fermented in old oak before going into a 675l ceramic egg for 4 months. It has flavour and texture but more importantly it's retained its acidity well; it feels straight and strict even as it blooms with honeysuckle, mineral and nectarine-like flavour. It's a most attractive wine.