2005 Yangarra Estate Grenache Old Vine

Type Red
Producer Yangarra Estate
Variety Grenache
Designation Old Vine
Country Australia
Region South Australia
SubRegion Fleurieu
Appellation McLaren Vale
Price $25.98



The Big Wooden Guy is not pleased. You don't turn Grenache into Aussie fruit-bomb Shiraz, even if you are from down under. How the heck did this get a 90+ rating?

Night One

The nose opens with some jammy dark fruit, mostly elderberry, with black pepper, earth and brambles. It also has an underlying lingering licorice aroma.

The palate is very true to the nose. The wine opens with jammy dark elderberry and black pepper. It has earth and brambles, giving it underlying depth and keeping it from qualifying as a "fruit bomb." Licorice is more pronounced on the palate than the nose. A bit of dried orange peel appears on the mid-palate. The finish is mid-length and trends away from the fruit and toward black pepper and orange peel.

Night Two

The nose is less complex than on Night One, opening with black fruit and black pepper, and not much else.

The palate, too, is less complex. It is mostly jammy fruit bomb sprinkled with some black pepper. A bit of coffee makes a quick appearance, and equally quick disappearance, on the mid-palate, then the finish reverts to big fruit plus vanilla. Tannins are slightly grainy.

This wine got great reviews from the commercial magazines, 90+. I don't get it. This is Grenache turned into Aussie Shiraz fruit bomb.





This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.