Yangarra, Old Vine Grenache, McLaren Vale

This shows how broken the Australian wine reviewing system is. There is no way this wine is legitimately 99 points on any scale. The wine is around the same quality as an average glass of wine served in a pub.

2021 vintage

Deep ruby. Pronounced Raspberry, red cherry, potpourri, black cherry Coupled with spices - light white pepper. Slight tannins can be felt still but resolving. Medium finish and body. High acid balancing the fruits. High alc. Pleasure easy drinking. Good stuff and excellent QPR. Would drink this regularly!

2013 vintage

Sarong finish but thin on the front end - which is why it didn’t garner a higher score. Still lots of cellaring potential. Arguably in the first half of the drinking window.

2021 vintage

Beautifully mature Grenache. Potpourri, Strawberry, nose. Soft strawberry fruits, some spice and tannins which have softened now. A silky flavour profile through the middle palate and then finish that lingers long and begs you to sip again. Australia's grenache from old bush vines in premium terrior. With or without food its all good.

2013 vintage

For the price this is seriously good value and aging potential. The wine needs 10-15 years in a cellar to show its best. Beautiful strawberry, dried herbs, zest of orange on display with plenty of tannin bite still evident. A full big wine.

2013 vintage

This was a Halliday wine of the year that I am trying to like but the hype still escapes me.

2021 vintage

Fresh almost Beaujolais like. With ripe berries, herbs and spices. Wins with air…

2021 vintage

Bright shiny red, hints of darkness. Mellowing sour cherry, blackcurrant support as before. Still sharp crunch opening, dry cherry, doesn't seem to have moved at all since last tasting. Some puckering mouth zing. With air this tightens up and there's a lot of tannin and edge. Ok, but not a 99 pointer!

2021 vintage

From vines planted in 1946. Decanted 30m. I'm getting Gamay vibes from this. Raspberry, sour cherry, minerality, herbaceous, baking spice, hint of cheap fruit punch.

2021 vintage

Wauw...this grenache is so elegant, fruity and a joy to drink - with or without food. Red fruit is dominating: strawberries, raspberries and some sour cherries. Flinty, wet stones, spice and herbs. It has structure despite the low tannin level - finish is pretty long and intense. Worth every penny. Served with pork jaw and roasted root vegetables.

2021 vintage

Great Grenache, another 375ml bottle. Slight raspy acidic aftertaste. Great smooth flavours and a very dark red wine for a Grenache. Had with my chicken pasta

2021 vintage

Pretty consistent with previous bottles. Clean, bright, deep ruby colour. Intense nose of red lolly, cherry liqueur. Crunchy palate or ripe but tart red fruits; raspberry, pomegranate, slightly plummy. Some spice notes of fennel and cinnamon sit behind the fruit and add complexity, keeping it interesting and from seeming like a one-dimensional fruit bomb. As previously said, I don't think it deserves Halliday's 99pts but it does punch well above its price point.

2021 vintage

I can understand the hype around this wine. It’s expressive on the nose with a lovely finish in the palate. Hard to find something else with this level of refinement at that this price point. Would buy again.

2021 vintage

Strawberry and savoury notes with some berry stems on the finish. Enjoying this and may consider picking up a few more as I’d be curious to see what this evolves into with some bottle age. Rather refined.

2021 vintage

Deep burgundy. Really well perfumed with wild strawberry and herbaceous elements. The palate is so rich with cherry, backed up by the strawberry and crunchy, savoury notes suggestive of whole bunch fermentation and aniseed. This is so refined and elegant. My wife actually nearly called this old world, but the brightness of fruit gave it away. Bargain wine, but 99 points it’s not (unless scoring relative to price, maybe?)

2021 vintage

Australia Trade Tasting (Lindley Hall, Royal Horticultural Halls) : floral notes, ripe red fruit, black fruit, palte with wamth (14.50%), same flavor in palate, juicy tannins, med body

2021 vintage

Beautiful wine in the glass with its intense ruby colour. Big nose with that textbook redskin lolly smell. I always associate that with Gamay and carbonic maceration, but this wine was open fermented, which I think precludes CM unless it happens inside the grapes before pressing? Anyone with a better understanding on this I'd be happy to be educated in the comments. Good balance of tartness and ripeness with red cherry, raspberry and pomegranate flavours. Subtle hints of warm spice …

2021 vintage

Light red and slightly dusty nose. Concentrated, red fruited, serious wine. A kind of slight astringency. Real bargain. 93

2021 vintage

Another JH J***z fest at 99pts. Each to their own I guess. It's very good actually but I've had better from 2021 from MV. Fruit forward, almost sweet, but plenty of quality and class. The sheer weight of pure fruit walks over the structural elements and for me I can't see the savoury tannin notes others have picked up on. Very yound and will nearly certainly get a lot better.

2021 vintage

Trying another bottle. This time a 375ml half bottle. Special price direct from the winery. Bought a case of the half bottles. (12). Starting to really like Grenache!

2021 vintage

Dark red colour, nose of sour cherry, cranberry, saline, salty sea air almost... crunchy, young... red berry fruits, big sweet berry acid, crunchy tannins, great length... just keeps going... I won't be opening more for a few years, the tannins are a little too prominent at this stage for me... great with food, but worth waiting a few years for the next bottles. Great QPR. For me, too early in its life to give a rating, but it will certainly …

2021 vintage

Opens with a big nose of candied cherry, I suspected some carbonic maceration but the label says open fermented so I think that's a no. I keep getting Gamay vibes as I drink this though. Red cherry, sour plum and cranberry on the palate, then iron ore minerality. Crunch acidity gets the lips smacking and saliva running. 99pts and Wine of the Year from Halliday seems over the top, but it's very good and excellent QPR @ $35. Would be …

2021 vintage

14.5%

2021 vintage

Mid dark red. Sour cherry nose, brisk blackcurrant nose. Crunchy opening flavour, crisp tannins, nice and dry with plenty of red cherry fruit. Decent, needs time, not sure it’s a 99 pointer though.

2021 vintage

For A$ it is decent. However, I was shocked it won Halliday red wine of the year 2024.

2021 vintage

This is the Halliday Wine Companion Wine of the Year. 97 by JH. I’m not an experienced Grenache drinker but smooth light red with lots of fruit flavours. At $45 a value wine. Bought a 6 pack to keep for a few years. It will improve immensely with a few more years.

2021 vintage

Impressed with this. Crunchy dark red cherries, musk, and plenty of tannins. Some aniseed and tobacco as the wine opens. It is juice and jelly. This is a wine balanced sweet/savoury. Great length and breadth. Raw yet polished. Great complexity. It becomes lighter and drier on night 2, moving the needle a little from McLaren Vale to something more Head-esq. Pink rose petals added to the mix.

2021 vintage

Excellent Grenache. Second half better on the second night. Tannin is beautiful and amazing complexity and interest at this price point. Will put three away fro a couple of years at least.

2021 vintage

Interesting wine with Strawberry traits to it. Has some cherry cola on the finish with acidity for a hearty dish.

2013 vintage

Densely tannic with focused acidity. Serious wine. Needs time

2013 vintage

Gorgeous crystalline ruby red Some raspberry with a hint of bitter orange Moderately tannic with laser focused acidity. Serious wine that avoids any of the jammy or raisin flavors. Nice stuff. Great at this price point The fine structure completely covers the 14.5%

2013 vintage

Lots of dark acidity and loads of spice A little heat from the 14.5% abv is balanced by the fruit and tannin structure; a food wine rather than a fruit bomb, and still plenty of life left I've never had a disappointing bottle of this OV Grenache - it is a good standby for S Rhone lovers

2013 vintage

Really easy to drink. I thought it was a bit sweet but the wife absolutely loved it

2013 vintage

Nice wine

2013 vintage

Gorgeous summer cherry color. Smells of bright red and black cherries, strawberry jam, crunchy plums, all of it topped in a significant amount of pepper, anise and bacon fat. A full-bodied (14.5% alcohol) but juicy wine with fleshy medium tannins and surprisingly fresh acidity, this actually stays alive and fresh. Lots of cherry, strawberry and some blackberry fruit, which is ripe but also tart and crunchy. I love the clove, pepper and meaty notes here, with just a bit of …

2013 vintage

Deep clear ruby. Very high in alcohol, though it says 14.5% actually feels like 15.5%. Immediately makes the chest warm. Dusty, blackcurrant, licorice and some weak berries on the nose. Medium bodied. Quite tannic. Good acidity. The best part comes from the emptied glass, where a very delicate floral, fruity, oaky nose comes through. Needs some decanting.

2013 vintage

Brought to blind tasting group. Nose shows violets, dark fruits, plum, pepper. Palate is big style, more pepper and dark fruits, medium plus tannins which threw everyone off. Some said Chateauneuf which was the closest guess. More black fruit than red made this a hard guess as well. Just lots of structure for a entry level Grenache, guess they weren't kidding about the old vines.

2013 vintage

opens up total barn yard but but burs off quickly into juicy grapey goodness if you love Grenache I suggest finding a 2006 Yangara, letting it breathe for thirty to sixty minutes and enjoy a superlative Grenache in the the way it was intended! PURE LOVE YUM!

2006 vintage

This is the best Grenache I have tasted in a while. Seems 2013 was was very favorable vintage in McLaren Vale. The nose is extraordinary. There is a floral, bramble, briary, sappy explosion of plum, red raspberry, strawberry, blueberry and other dark fruit that jumps out of the glass. The fruit on the palate is vibrant, expressive and juicy that coats the palate with rich red raspberry, cherry and blackberry fruit. The color is not as dark as expected. Beside …

2013 vintage

Nose opens with a touch of barnyard, not unpleasant though, dissipates within 30 min and drinks well with a half an hour of air and develops nicely over several hours. Polished off the last of the bottle the following afternoon and still holding up nicely. Deep dark plumy fruit, glycerin, supple almost flabby texture. A very enjoyable Australian granache. if your in the mood for this style it would have broad appeal in a group and would be enjoyed by …

2006 vintage

NnP 15 min glass time. Clear, deep red color. Good, big nose of proper fruit. Wow, an excellent example of Grenache in a perfect drinking window. Perfect balance, no too extracted, rich, bold fruit, med finish. No roughness at all, smooth and med finish. Nothing off. Great value, $20

2006 vintage

Christmas Eve with Family (Our House) : Very dark red color. Pop and pour, drank a small pour and then had 2 glasses over 2 hours on day 2. This improved significantly on day two. Nose has black raspberry, kirsch, eucalyptus, menthol, tar, pepper. The palate is dense, nice viscous feel, kirsch, rapsberry, spice, herbs, tart, pepper, tannins give just enough firmness, medium finish. 91pts.

2006 vintage

Delicious. Great color. Bright red and darker fruits, some acid and tannins. Exactly what I look for in a New World grenache. Will buy future vintages based on this tasting.

2006 vintage

Dull and thin, nothing to it, very disappointing.

2006 vintage

Deeply colored for the varietal with pronounced oak spice accents to its pomegranate and cherry fruit aromas. Round, and full of glycerin and baking spice, sweet blackberry and black cherry flavors on the palate with high alcohol, ripe tannin, and medium acidity. Thick and concentrated towards the back end.

2006 vintage

A bit of a sharp edge.

2006 vintage

This is why I like Aussie grenache. Great purity of grenache fruit without the cloying syrupy nature of Aussie shiraz. This is nice wine but a just a bit too structured for roast chicken. Would be better with meat or a more robust dish.

2006 vintage

I had this (pretty sure) a few weeks ago and thought it was rich and delicious dark cherry, so I was disappointed with this bottle because it seemed thinner and I eventually came to the conclusion that had a nose and especially a finish of blue cheese. The wine still seemed decent in every other way and my wife, who is not a big wine drinker, thought it was fine. I disliked it for the blue cheese funk.

2006 vintage

Tar, pepper, red fruits, nice bright cherry finish.

2006 vintage

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Yangarra, Old Vine Grenache, McLaren Vale

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