Awards and Accolades

2015 Vintage: 95 Points, Special Value Wine
"Estate fruit, 50% whole berries, a portion of whole bunches, wild ferment and aged in French oak 25% new for 17 months. Excellent dark-purple hue; succulent and velvety texture with some power to the chiselled tannins, savoury yet pristine fruit the key."

2014 Vintage: 95 Points - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion
"Estate-grown, 50% whole berries, 25% whole bunches cold soaked, open-fermented, wild yeast, matured in French oak (25% new) for 13 months. Everything falls into place, the design of the jigsaw puzzle taking shape post haste. McLaren Vale fruit essence, with black fruits and potent dark chocolate looking as much to the sky as the earth, the whole bunch elements adding a twist to the main design, eloquent tannins also making a significant contribution."

From the Winery

This wine is all about texture. Right from the start its tannins work the oral receptors beautifully, setting the digestive juices running and triggering the anticipation of food. This stimulation is then rewarded by the juicy fruits, as the flavours of all sorts of dark berries swim about the glass and the sensories, soothing as much as exciting. The meaty blueberry hint is sometimes like prosciutto or other dark charcuterie meats; the figgy base tones provide a solid base flavour, the cleansing natural acidity working with the tannins to draw the finish out to a delicious taper with a long aftertaste where those cherries evident in the bouquet re-emerge, sinuous and more-ish." - Peter Fraser, Winemaker

Shiraz adopts a very different form at Yangarra than the typical McLaren Vale style, and is more akin to the cooler climate styles. Our single vineyard estate has twelve individual blocks of Shiraz. Each block is defined by different aspects and subtle variations of the sand and Ironstone soils that overlie the ancient North Maslin Sands geological formation.

Shiraz was harvested at night and received by way of a belt elevator (rather than a screw-hopper which macerates the skins) and only de-stemmed. Whole berries were double sorted before going into open-top fermenters. We cold-soaked the fermentation tanks for 5-6 days until the onset of wild-fermentation, utilising the yeasts that naturally come in with the grapes from the vineyard. The open fermenters underwent a careful regime of plunging and rack and returns. The wine was then sent to French barriques after about 12-14 days and kept on the yeast lees prior to blending. The wine received no fining, just filtration."