Visiting Yangarra, a star producer in Australia’s McLaren Vale
Website: https://www.yangarra.com/
The story of Yangarra nicely tracks with the revival of Grenache as a key variety in Australia, where the McLaren Vale has become the spiritual home for this grape, producing some remarkable examples.
The story of Grenache in Australia begins right at the commencement of serious viticulture in the country. Grenache was one of the original set of varieties imported by James Busby in 1832. Busby, born in Scotland, was just 23 years old when his family migrated to New South Wales in 1824. Before arriving, he’d learned as much as he could about wine, and then headed back to France and Spain for a grand tour of some key wine regions in 1831. Busby took exhaustive notes, which he later published in ‘Journal of a Tour, Through Some of the Vineyards of Spain and France‘, in 1833. On this journey he collected cuttings, sending them back to Australia packed in a mix of moss, sand and soil. Of these, 363 survived the journey and were planted in the Sydney botanic gardens. Grenache was one of these survivors, and from New South Wales they found their way to South Australia. Records suggest that the first Grenache vineyard was planted in 1838 in the McLaren Vale.
Busby, in his journal, described Grenache thus:
‘Black skin, very thick, but yielding less colour than that of the preceding [Carignan]. This grape by itself would yield a sweet wine. Cavoleau adds of this grape that it is rich in saccharine matter and strongly imprinted with aroma.’
Grenache took off, and in 1862 one of the leading wine critics of the time, Ebenezer Ward from Adelaide, reported that Grenache was ‘thriving better than any other kind.’ It had found its home in South Australia, where the warm, dry conditions mimicked those of its Mediterranean home.
Fast forward to the 1970s. The shift to table wines, away from the fortifieds that had long dominated Australia’s wine production, didn’t help Grenache. In 1979 72000 tons of Grenache were harvested; this figure dipped to 15000 tons in 2012. As the area under vine in Australia increased (plantings doubled in the 1990s), Grenache decreased in terms of its percentage of the total vineyard plantings (no one was planting it), and it now stands at just over 1% with 1500 hectares. The classic, warm regions of South Australia were forgotten a little as people’s attention turned to cooler areas. And even within South Australia, heads were turned by the bigger, more obviously fruity wines that could be obtained from Shiraz, and even Cabernet Sauvignon.
But things are now changing, and now that there’s interest in terroir-expressive red wines that don’t have to be rich and dark, people are beginning to realise that McLaren Vale Grenache from good sites is one of Australia’s great wine styles. And Yangarra, with their High Sands Grenache (retailing at a punchy A$325) is one of the wines leading this revival of interest. Interestingly, 10 years ago Yangarra’s sales were 80% Shiraz and 20% Grenache. Now they use all their Grenache, and sell some Shiraz grapes. In time, as new plantings come on line, they will be making more Grenache than Shiraz.
On a recent trip to Australia I got to spend time with Peter Fraser (winemaker and general manager) and Michael Lane (viticulturist) for a deep dive into Yangarra. It’s a sizeable estate of 170 hectares with 90 hectares under vine, and both have been here since 2000. In that time, there’s been real progress, and the current Yangarra portfolio of wines is exceptional.
The estate can be split into three parts. There are some soils near the winery that are more alluvial, and many of these grapes, while good, end up being sold. The Mourvèdre here does very well, though.
Then there’s an ironstone ridge in the middle of the property. Lots of things are grown well here, including white varieties Piquepoul, Clairette, Viognier and Bourboulenc.
Then we have the sandy soils, with a remarkable block of 1947-planted dry grown bush vine Grenache – the High Sands. This is the biggest dry-grown plot of bush vine Grenache in Australia.
A film of the visit:
Farming is biodynamic, but before Peter and Michael took charge it was conventional, and with herbicide this was all beach white. They went organic in 2008 and saw a big decline initially. So they started composting in 2011, the year they got certification, using 40 m3 of compost per hectare each year.
We tasted extensively with Peter in the brand new tasting room.
First, a vertical of High Sands Grenache
‘2011 was a pivotal vintage for me personally and for McLaren Vale winemakers,’ he says. ‘It was the wettest, coldest vintage I ever experienced. On records, 1974 and 2011 are similar in terms of a wet vintage, and 2023 is not far behind it. We had built the winery in 2010 with lots of sorting equipment. We selected in the vineyard and the winery, making sure no botrytis found its way through. It forced our hand before style had headed that way to make earlier picked, lower alcohol wines.’ So this bad vintage actually came with a silver lining, demonstrating Grenache’s true strengths.
‘This opened people’s eyes to what could be done with Grenache,’ says Peter. ‘Although it is considered a warm climate variety, the cooler vintages in the warm climate are the best. The worst vintages are hot ones with a small crop, but they can be tight wines when they are picked earlier. 2015 is a good example of this, with racy acidity.’
‘The problem before 2011 is the notion of physiological ripeness: the tannins needed to taste ripe, the seeds needed to be brown. So people were picking too late: the wines were impressive and deeply coloured, but the wines today are so much more interesting.’
2016 was a mild, normal kind of year that made neat, classic wines: ‘everything was tucked in,’ says Peter.
2017 was cold and dry -‘a favourite of mine’
‘2020 was a low yielding year with a hot spring. Averaged around a ton a hectare. In late January around Australia day is when we normally see veraison and it got cold and never warmed up again. This saved our bacon.’
‘2021 probably the most perfect harvest I’ve ever experienced. It was incredibly mild and the wines have an elegance and depth.’
Small oak was used exclusively until 2017, when other methods of elevage began to be introduced. ‘But the wines still have to breathe. Grenache made in just stainless steel doesn’t have breadth to it, and it doesn’t have the tannins to sit in higher level wines.’ They started with ceramic eggs in 2013, but didn’t have enough of them to roll them out across everything. The first ceramics they used were the Magnum675 in Australia (made by Phil Sedgman of Living Water Flowforms in Byron Bay). Sedgman started making flow forms for biodynamic wineries. He stopped making them and until Yangarra found Clayver they were in a bit of a spot. This is also when they discovered Drunk Turtle, which is a composite vessel, rather than just ceramic. The Clayvers were 600 litres (A$6000 each) but they’ve now started making 800 litre versions (A$14 000).
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2011
14% alcohol, pH 3.26. This is fresh and youthful with bright cherry and raspberry fruit, showing nice structure and a bit of grip on the finish. There’s brightness here: it’s still quite fresh and isn’t showing much development. Some subtle notes of tea and iodine in the mix. Lovely in a restrained style. 94/100
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2015
14.5% alcohol. pH 3.42. Showing some lovely development with some fine earthy, spicy, dried herb notes sitting under the ripe berries and cherries, showing some tar, spice and a touch of iodine. This has developed nicely, but relatively quickly when compared with the 2011. 93/100
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2016
14.5% alcohol. pH 3.35. Lovely texture to this wine: it has seamless, pure red cherry and berry fruit with nice tannic structure and some brightness to the acidity. Such concentration with sleek fruit and lovely purity, finishing brightly. Harmonious and really elegant. Pretty. 95/100
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2017
14% alcohol, pH 3.58. Astonishing aromatics: so floral and pure with red and black cherries and some hints of pepper and aniseed. This is really pretty and expressive in the mouth with lovely elegance and fine cherry fruit. This is so elegant and alluring. 96/100
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2019
Slightly stern on the nose with spicy, tarry notes as well as sweet cherry and plum fruit. Brooding with a savoury edge. In the mouth this is concentrated and dense with lovely sweet fruit, but also some stern spicy structure. Chunky and unfurled with nice tannic structure. One for the long haul. 94/100
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2020
14.5% alcohol. pH 3.48. A$300. Very floral aromatics with nice sweet cherries and some complex almond and aniseed notes. This is all about the pure, beautifully aromatic fruit on the nose. The palate has real concentration and structure but also elegance and purity of fruit. So expressive and detailed with nice tension and complexity, with lots held in reserve: it’s beautiful now but you get the impression there’s a lot to come. 97/100
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2021
Wonderful depth here: bold, concentrated but elegant with red cherries, berries and some plums. Under this there’s spicy depth and substantial tannin but also prettiness: silky red cherry fruit with a floral dimension, and a long, tapering, finely spiced finish. Everything is in its place here. Quite beautiful. 96/100
Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2024 (a blend of samples from Clayver)
Youthful, intense and very pretty. It’s evidently primary but there’s such lovely perfumed fruit with nice tannic structure sitting under it. Has vibrancy and lovely tannin, with good acidity. Could be quite special.
Then a vertical of the Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne
Yangarra started making Roussanne in 2007. In 2013 they bought some eggs and began the skin ferment journey. The 2013 Roussanne was unfiltered, but the next vintage he began filtering.
Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne 2013
13.5% alcohol. 50% foot-trodden and fermented on skins for 120 days in a ceramic egg. Slightly cloudy. Intense and flavourful. Wax, lime, pear and some aniseed with a slight saltiness. So textural but fresh at the same time. Nice pithy hints on the finish. Very fine and expressive. 93/100
Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne 2015
13.5% alcohol. Two eggs, one skin fermented. Such complexity and texture here. Lovely pear, apricot and white peach with some grapey richness. It’s pure, with just a bit of structure adding a nice foil to the smooth, ripe fruit, and a hint of bitterness on the finish that works well. Such lovely fruit flavours here, verging on the exotic. 95/100
Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne 2017
13% alcohol. Delicate with a mandarin/tangerine edge to the fruity aromatics. The palate is bright and pure with a lime oil edge to the supple fruit, showing a hint of pineapple richness and then finishing smooth and supple. Hints of oiliness on the finish. There’s some delicacy here. 94/100
Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne 2020
13.5% alcohol. This is powerful but balanced with lovely tension to the citrus and peach fruit, with a nice acid line and a bit of structure. It’s really harmonious, and the phenolics frame the ripe fruit really well. Such a beautiful wine: complete and with potential for further development. 95/100
Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne 2021
13.5% alcohol. This is delicate but full flavoured, with pear and mandarin notes as well as some crystalline citrus. Youthful and quite primary, with nice tannins framing the fruit. Nice presence here with some salty hints on the finish. 94/100
Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne 2022
13.5% alcohol. Salty, mineral, fine. Nice peach and pear fruit with some citrus and then some mandarin detail. Nice citrus presence here but also some richness. Tightwound and not showing what it’s capable of. 94/100
Next, a vertical of the Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz
This is from a North-facing block with ironstone soils.
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2010
14.5% alcohol. Spice, earth, some iodine. Nice density here with some freshness. It has developed quite a bit with a combination of sweet fruit, nice acidity, and some earthy hints. Berry fruits with some sweet plum. 91/100
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2012
14.5% alcohol. Bold and bloody with a twist of soy sauce and damson, as well as supple berry fruits. There’s a richness and ripeness here with some iodine and earth. Nice grip on the finish. This is quite evolved but it has lots of appeal. 92/100
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2013
Nice density here. Grippy and quite savoury but also shows some bright cherry and plum fruit, with a touch of damson on the finish. Nice intensity, showing a bit of development. Bright and still has some energy. 92/100
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2017
Concentrated and bright with nice energy. Has sleek but fresh berry and cherry fruit with some grip. Salty and energetic with nice freshness and focus. Has some saltiness. Lovely. 94/100
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2019
This has nice ripeness with a slight saltiness and nice concentration. Supple and fresh with some iron-like savouriness. Bright and focused with beautiful elegance as well as power. 95/100
Yangarra Ironheart Shiraz 2021
Lovely peppery detail as well as sweet floral cherry and berry fruit. There’s a completeness to this wine. Peppery but sleek with black cherries, a touch of saltiness, and lovely energy. Has a touch of savoury iodine detail. Has lushness but also freshness and elegance. 96/100
Other wines:
Yangarra Piquepoul 2024
Bright and tart with nice acidity. Lean and a little chalky with appealing citrus and pear fruit. Very restrained. 91/100
Yangarra Blanc 2023
25% Grenache Blanc, 18% Bourboulenc, 25% Clairette, 22% Piquepoul, 8% Roussanne, 2% Grenache Gris. Fresh, focused and linear with nice bright pear and cherry fruit with such presence: fresh and linear, textural and fine. 93/100
Yangarra Ovitelli Blanc 2020
Mainly Grenache Blanc and Roussanne with some Clairette, Piquepoul and Bourboulenc. 3-4 months on skins, raised in ceramic (Clayver). Lovely texture: powerful with nice weight, some spiciness and a little bit of tannin. Chalky and mineral with some white pepper. The fruit component is citrus and pear. Dry and focused with nice precision and freshness, with appealing mouthfeel. 94/100
Yangarra Ovitelli Blanc 2021
No Piquepoul this vintage. This is bright with some mandarin notes, as well as white peach and lemon, with lovely texture. It has a fine spiciness, with some white pepper and a wide dynamic range. 94/100
Yangarra Ovitelli Grenache 2021
Supple, bright and juicy with lovely purity. Fine red cherry and raspberry fruit. Really fine and expressive with supple fruit to the fore. This is a really beautiful wine. 95/100
