Yangarra High Sands Grenache

Vegan Suitable
Certified Biodynamic
Certified Organic

Vintage
2019
Winery

Yangarra
Region
McLaren Vale, SA
Grapes
Grenache

CHERRY – ROSE PETAL – SCULPTED TANNINS

Holy-Grail Grenache from Yangarra’s highest sandy block: cherry and pomegranate, rose petal and blood orange with clove and white spice. Powerful yet pristine, finishing long with complex minerality and elegant, sculpted tannins.

$265.50 in any 12

$280.25 in any 6

$295.00 each

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The Story

Yangarra High Sands Grenache 2019: Tasting Notes

WINE STYLE → Holy Grail Grenache

High Sands is Yangarra’s Holy Grail Grenache — a wine that balances intensity and authority with fragrance and precision. The 2019 sits in that sweet spot: perfumed yet powerful, pristine in fruit, and defined by complex minerality. Expect cherry and pomegranate, rose petal and blood orange, then clove, white spice and savoury herbs. The palate is dense but not heavy, finishing long with elegant, sculpted tannins and a salty, mouth-watering line.

Highlights

Certified biodynamic and organic; vegan-suitable
100 points – Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com (2019 vintage)
97 points – Halliday Wine Companion (Ned Goodwin, 2019 vintage)
96 points – The Real Review (Gabrielle Poy, 2019 vintage)
From Block 31 (1.7 ha), the highest section of Yangarra’s 1946 bush-vine Grenache at 210m
Wild yeast open ferment; long, gentle maceration (min. 21 days); no pressings
Matured on lees in older large-format French oak and ceramic eggs for 11 months; bottled March 2020
Alcohol 14.5% | pH 3.37 | TA 6.4 g/L | Dry style

Tasting Notes

On the nose: vibrant red berry fruit with cherry, rose petal, clove and white spice, plus a pomegranate-like freshness. The palate is powerful yet pristine, with complex minerality and a salty edge that keeps it vivid. The tannins are elegant and sculpted — firm, but beautifully worked — extending the finish with herbs (thyme/verbena) and a faint cedar-like accent.

Winemaking

Sourced exclusively from Block 31 (1.7 ha) at 210m, the highest and deepest-sand section of the 1946 bush-vine Grenache. Hand-picked on 6 March, then mechanically sorted. Half the fruit is destemmed to whole berries and fermented wild in open fermenters, with a long, gentle maceration for a minimum of 21 days. No pressings are used. The wine is matured on lees in older, large-format French oak and ceramic eggs for 11 months before bottling in March 2020.

Vineyard & Vintage

2019 was very dry with moderately low yields and a condensed, fast harvest — ideal conditions for concentration without losing freshness. This high, sandy block (deep sands over clay) naturally holds perfume and marked natural acidity, giving the wine its signature combination of intensity, fragrance and mineral definition.

Why We Love It

Because it’s a rare Australian Grenache that feels truly world-class: power with precision, perfume with authority. The fruit is vivid and clean, the structure is serious, and the mineral thread keeps everything exciting in the glass. It’s the kind of bottle you plan a dinner around — or gift to someone who collects the best.

Food Pairing

Best with dishes that meet its intensity: duck, game, slow-cooked lamb, and spice-driven plates with a savoury edge. It’s also stunning with char and smoke — think grilled meats, roasted root veg, and sauces that lean on herbs, citrus peel or warm spices.

Try matching this wine with →

Roast duck with cherries — Find a Recipe
Kangaroo (or venison) with spice & herbs — Find a Recipe
Lamb shanks — Find a Recipe

Mood or occasion to match this wine…

A milestone bottle — the kind you open when you want the whole table to go quiet for a second. Give it air (decant if you can), serve it in generous glasses, and let it unfold through the meal. It’s dramatic, detailed and completely worth slowing down for.

Cellaring

Built for the long haul. Drink now with a decant for power and perfume, or cellar 10–20 years for more savoury complexity, dried florals and tertiary spice as the tannins melt into an even silkier finish.

Producer

Yangarra is a single-vineyard estate in Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale, renowned for biodynamic farming and Rhône-variety mastery. High Sands is their flagship Grenache, drawn from the estate’s highest, deepest-sand section of the 1946 bush vines. The result is a house style defined by perfume, mineral drive and fine structure — and High Sands is the most intense, detailed expression of that site.

Related Wines To Try →

From the same producer, old-vine perfume and structure — Yangarra Old Vine Grenache 2024
From Yangarra, aromatic Grenache with earlier-drinking charm — Yangarra Circle Grenache 2024
Another top-tier Grenache with depth — Ochota Barrels Syrah

FAQ

What makes “High Sands” different from other Grenache?

It’s sourced from Block 31 — the highest part of Yangarra’s 1946 bush-vine Grenache, with the deepest sandy soil. That combination delivers perfume and mineral line, while the old vines bring concentration and serious tannin structure.

Do I need to decant it?

Highly recommended. Give it 1–2 hours if you can, especially when young — it opens the florals, deepens the spice, and makes the tannins feel even more seamless.

What does “no pressings used” mean?

Only free-run juice/wine is used; pressed fractions are excluded. It’s one of the ways Yangarra keeps tannins refined and the palate pristine, even at high intensity.

Is it more “perfumed” or more “powerful”?

Both — that’s the magic here. It’s powerful in concentration and structure, but it stays floral, detailed and mineral, rather than heavy or jammy.

How long will it cellar?

Very comfortably 10–20 years in a good cellar. Expect the fruit to move toward dried berries and blood orange, with more savoury spice, earth and dried flowers over time.

Who will love it most?

Collectors, Grenache devotees, and anyone who loves structured reds with perfume and mineral drive — especially if you enjoy Rhône icons and want the Australian equivalent.

(SKU: YG_HSG_CV)

The Specs

Wine Type	Red Wine
Vintage	2019
Grapes	Grenache
Region	McLaren Vale, SA
Volume	750ml
Packaging	Glass Bottle
Closure	Screwcap
Country of Origin	Australia
Alcohol %	14.5
Alcohol Level	High [14-16%]
Vegan Suitable	Yes
Certified Biodynamic	Yes
Certified Organic	Yes
pH	3.37
Total Acidity (g/L)	6.4

Expert Reviews & Media

100 points: Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com (2019 vintage)

So plush with a mix of red and blue-fruit aromas on the nose, as well as blood-orange and almost violet-like floral notes. The palate is very plush and juicy with such a long, seamless and silky feel. Super intense and very, very plush with deep, deep rich fruit. Mouthwatering. Super long. Super rich.

97 points: Ned Goodwin, Halliday Wine Companion (2019 vintage)

Sourced from a propitiously sited plot within the oldest realm of 1946 plantings, all on deep sands. Destemmed to whole berries and fermented wild for 21 days on skins. Matured 11 months in older, large-format French wood and eggs. This is the benchmark of the region on many levels, made in a denser fashion, perhaps, than its siblings. Yet this vintage feels more elegant. The fruit, crunchy and of the red spectrum. The acidity, salty. The tannins, lithe and slinky with the embellishment of oak an accent of intrigue, rather than a jarring dialect. Resinous. Powerful. Yet pixelated of detail as it strides to a long finish clad with thyme, orange verbena and a whiff of cedar.

96 points: Gabrielle Poy, The Real Review (2019 vintage)

Bright ruby colour. A composed nose of raspberries, rosehip, fennel and sweet spice leads into a velvety core. Its harmonious flow is a standout feature of the wine, alongside its elegant composition of flavours. The palate features vibrant red fruits—raspberries and redcurrant and some savoury tones of fresh earth and bitter chocolate. It glides across with fine yet pliant tannins. Its presence could almost be called ethereal.

2017 VINTAGE
97 POINTS – "This is so very complex and detailed and has an array of fine-ground brown spices with bright red berries and a gently herbal kick. The palate has drive and power with dynamic tannins whisking raspberry, strawberry and red-cherry flavors along in streamlined, linear mode. Excellent grenache. Drink or hold. Screw cap". Nick Stock, JamesSuckling.com

2016 VINTAGE
99 Points - WINE OF THE YEAR 2020 Halliday WIne Companion 2020: This is the king of Australian Grenache and not to be undertaken lightly. Deep, although clear, in colour, it has a rainbow of flavours, its deep roots probing the soil nearby for sustenance that will provide tannins and all things needed for the grapes to reveal the magic evolution of the red flowers and spices of this wine.

96 points Campbell Mattinson The Wine Front: Bush vine grenache, planted 1946. Hand picked, wild fermented, 50% whole berries, cold soaked, open fermenters, matured in French oak but none of it was new. Certified organic/biodynamic. A remarkable wine. Sheer fruit power, lakes of tannin, character in spades. Game, black cherry, saltbush, gum leaves and pure fresh plum. Tight through the finish, almost too much so, but as it ages it will unfurl and expand. Serious grenache. Imposing.

95 Points Toni Paterson The Real Review: A highly rich and concentrated wine with gorgeous aromatic appeal. Alluring dried cherry fruit enhanced by some fine sweet-oak. Although the palate is concentrated, there is appealing background savouriness. The tannins are intricate, fine and plentiful, and the finish is long and delicious

2015 VINTAGE
98 points Halliday Wine Companion 2019: From Block 31, the highest section of the vineyard at 210m planted '46, 50% whole berries, 50% destemmed, wild yeast open-fermented, matured for 10 months in used French oak. For many devotees of McLaren Vale grenache, Yangarra Estate High Sands is the king. It's not for idle dalliance as is young grenache that is focused on freshness and purity of red fruit flavours, this has power and depth, the oak simply softening an edge or two here and there, most assuredly not about imparting oak flavour. Red and black fruits both contribute without cutting across the power of the other. Drink to 2045.

96 points Christina Pickard Wine Enthusiast: From Yangarra’s highest blocks of 1946 bush vines, planted on soils so sandy they resemble a beach, this biodynamic Grenache is remarkably complex and ageworthy. Driven by minerals, the hot stone and iodine aromas weave seamlessly into softer ones like drying violets, crunchy red fruits, ground pepper and a basket of freshly picked herbs from the garden. The palate has focus, structure and finesse, the signature of a sensitive and highly experienced winemaker (Pete Fraser). Tannins are chalky and fine, pinning in the crunchy high-toned fruit, corset-like, and allowing more terroirs-driven elements to shine through. A berry and wild herb finish lingers on the close. Drink now–2029. Editors’ Choice. —C.P.

95 points Huon Hooke The Real Review: Deep red/purple colour. The bouquet holds smoky, charry, savoury aromas with some dry spice notes, and has depth and gravity which mirrors the deep colour and is more profound than usual in pure grenache wines. Clove, pepper, mixed-spice aromas, full body and powerful flavour. The tannins are fine and soft and nicely balanced, providing impressive structure to the wine. An outstanding grenache. Drink 2020 - 2040

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