Truly great old-vine Grenache for Pinot Noir lovers Jackson Family Wines bought Yangarra in 2001, when the Parker-driven fuss about Australian wines was at its peak here (pre-Yellow Tail). They didn't sell it when the market turned down and the vines have just been getting more gnarly the whole time. This biodynamically farmed vineyard is next door to the Smart Vineyard; it's a small, special area. Very nice balance on this wine, which offers red berry fruit and becomes more perfumey with air. Wish I could have spent an evening with it.

Full-bodied to say the least and there is no grenache of or in its ilk. There are also no tannins like these and the chewiness does its own singular thing. Really old and challenging vineyard with large bush vines that may as well be growing on a beach. At 200m on ancient sands with vines planted in 1946. This has it all and more, with fossilized bones rising up to the surface and length for days.

A Guide to Australia's McLaren Vale Wine Region: The Vineyards to Visit and Best Bottles to Try The Grenache from McLaren Vale, however, is what still haunts me...whereas the High Sands Grenache 2014 from Yangarra Estate showed the sleeker side of the variety, with lots of violets and mixed berries...

13 of the best red wines to be drinking this winter Grenache Of course, Grenache is an established variety in Australia, but has too long been used as a blending wine only, typically with Shiraz. Recently, though, Australian wine makers have started producing some top quality single variety Grenache, primarily in the South Australian regions of Barossa and McLaren Vale, which are definitely the ones to go for in the winter months. The fact that Grenache has been grown here for decades already means the vines are older than many of the other varieties listed here, and likely to produce more complex wines. Grenache is fine-textured in terms of tannin structure, and low in acid, with notes of cherry and white pepper. Old-vine Grenache is a great choice when looking for an interesting premium red for winter. Two to try... Yangarra 'High Sands' Grenache, 2014, McLaren Vale.

The Best Wines to Serve on Easter If guests prefer a red wine, Cole suggests this Old Vine Grenache from Australia: "Lighter bodied, with plenty of fruit on the nose, it has an enticing spiciness on the palate to keep you coming back for more. It is bold enough to pair with holiday roasts, but not as aggressive as merlots and cabs. It also comes in at a price point that the everyday wine drinker would not be afraid to take a chance on."

The 2012 Grenache labeled High Sands, from those old head-pruned vines, showed more tannins than usual, but also more restraint. It was toasty, with the Grenache fruit character surging underneath.

At the high point and at the heart of the 100-hectare Yangarra estate is a block of Grenache bush vines planted in the 1940s: gnarly old plants basking in the sun in their bleached sandy home. Sourced from the lowest-yielding vines within this sprawling garden, the High Sands is a stunning example of why I think Grenache is a more eloquent teller of terroir tales than Shiraz in McLaren Vale: there’s a translucence to the wine, despite its power and intensity, an open, grainy, dusty quality to the tannin, an unmistakable sandy spiciness that takes me straight to that high point on the Yangarra hill.

From vines planted in sandy soils in 1946. Light to mid cherry red. Savoury nose with some herbs. Definitely lighter (and tarter) than the average Australian Grenache. Still a bit chewy. There's a seductive leanness here with a dry finish and a wine that is certainly trying to be different - without a silly price tag. Still very youthful but potentially very interesting - especially to serve blind!

Light but bright and clear crimson-purple; some estate-owned vineyards were able to rise above the challenges of the vintage, and some winemakers shorted the grapes berry by berry in the winery to achieve results such as this - a highly aromatic and pure red-berried wine, with supple mouthfeel and no hint of green fruit.

Grenache thrives in the dry heat of Australia, where it’s typically used as a blending grape. Made from grapes harvested from 67-year-old vines in the McLaren Vale region, this complex grenache shows bright red fruit with savory and spice notes. “I like how this Aussie grenache accentuates the lamb,” Melissa Monosoff said. Michael Flynn agreed, adding: “The whites pulled out everything but the lamb. This wine is all about the lamb, and it lets the other elements peek through.” Although not a fan of the wine on an initial sip without the burger, Philip Natale appreciated subsequent sips with the burger. He suggests opening the wine 30 minutes before serving so that more of the wine’s fruitiness comes out. “I like the acidity and earthiness of this wine,” with the burger, he said.

Polished and fine, even elegant and withdrawn, but pretty for all that.

The 67-year-old grenache vines yield a beautiful nose and flavors of ripe black raspberries. Again good acidity makes these wines food-friendly as well as stand-alone.

Dark crimson. Quite different from the much cheaper 2011 from a rain-plagued vintage. Rich and opulent on the nose. Round and rather more mainstream in a way than the 2011 though it's very savoury rather than sweet on the finish. Seems a bit expensive but it's certainly ambitious. Though to me it tastes almost more Syrah than Grenache. Where's the sweetness of the variety? A bit savage and uncompromising.

This Australian wine is so compelling, both in taste and in story. Crafted from a single, lonesome plot of old vine Grenache that dates back to 1946, the wine shows a sour cherry over dried herbs on the nose. It’s silky but not simple. We served a bottle at a big dinner party and the whole table loved this wine, both before and during dinner.

This was the absolute best Grenache wine of all the wines I tasted. The flavors are so compelling; sour cherry over dried herbs, silky but not simple….layered, interesting. It was served at a dinner party and the guests loved this wine above all others, before and during dinner. Exotic and hedonistic— harvested from single plot of Grenache planted in 1946.

Delicious ripe raspberry flavors are accented by a touch of peppermint.

The Best Australian Grenache, According to People Who Drink it for a Living Yangarra High Sands Mc Laren Vale SA Vintage: 2006 Picked by: Chiara Danieli, head sommelier at Matteo Downtown. Chiara’s two cents: One of the finest vintages in recent memory of this region. 100% French old oak for 24 months, complex with layers of dusty rose petals, freshly oiled leather, cocoa powder, cassis and dark cherries. The palate is extremely layered with blueberry, dark cherries and a complexity of flavour that follows through in the rich mouth-coating palate. The tannins are velvety and voluptuous but silky.

From head-trained vines off Yangarra's estate, with indigenous fermentation mostly in older French wood. Big and slightly meaty, with birch bark and cinnamon, and more roasted plum aromas but a bright blackberry whack. Dense and chewy, with great firm tannins - perhaps from aging in older oak - and vibrancy. A more rough-hewn, sinewy style, but gratifying.

Concentrated, intense black cherry liqueur flavors, opulent and smooth and rich.

At the ripe age of 34, Peter Fraser has made wine in Spain, France, the United States, and Australia. His current project happens to be in this latter country, where he has been making wine for Yangarra since the inaugural harvest in 2000. At Yangarra, he focuses on Rhône varietals, which seem to thrive in the cooler part of McLaren Vale - and which already have made the young winery an icon in the region. The Yangarra Estate Vineyard 2005 High Sands Grenache, McLaren Vale is an extraordinary wine. Silky and rich with racy, jammy, spicy blackberry and blueberry fruit, it delivers pure, intense acidity and elegant flavors.

Lots of blackberries with spicy notes in this McLaren Vale offering. Very extracted. Great Value, too.

In another twist, the tasting started with the red wines, two that provided a striking New World-Old World contrast: Yanagarra Estate Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre Cadenzia McLaren Vale 2004 (93 pts. $25) saw extensive aging in new oak...Trotter was tyring to have a dish that would stand up to the power and concentration of the Australian wine. The audience liked both pairings, but gave the edge to Yangarra in their voting....Puck countered with a dih he called duck on duck on duck. I was surprised how food-friendly the Yangarra is, said the chef, It's riper, more approachable now.

Peter Fraser makes this Yangarra Estate beauty for Kendall-Jackson, one of America's biggest wine companies, and we're lucky that the whole lot doesn't flood Stateside. It comes from one of the most prized old vineyards in the Vales, on a big sandhill that grows, among other things, some of the state's best grenache. This is polished, intense and almost sullen wine that deserves a year or two before you trouble it. It's no early-drinking bimbo, but a dead serious, full-bore, very accomplished and confident dry red.

A truly expressive take on merlot, its lush cherry-berry fruit punctuated with a note of eucalyptus.

Our best of class in merlots priced $13-$25, this is a truly expressive take on merlot, its lush cherry-berry fruit punctuated with a note of eucalyptus.