MMAD Chenin Blanc 2022

Producer Profile

There are very few producers with 100 hectares of vineyards that are capable of such a startling level of detail and finesse as Yangarra. Based in the sandy soils of McLaren Vale’s Blewitt Springs, Yangarra is certified biodynamic, teasing out the enormous possibilities of Rhone varietals.

This is not your typical McLaren Vale producer of old, they are the shape shifters – marrying authenticity and great regional expression with a verve and suavity unrivalled in the region. The enormous resources, talents of winemaker Pete Fraser, terrific sites and prodigious experimentation have created a cast of wines whose influence has gone beyond the pan-regional to global. Not only are they some of the best wines in South Australia, they are amongst the most influential.

Biodynamics has played a crucial part in all this, with grapes ripening earlier, with lower potential alcohols, higher natural acidities and pure flavours. Even in the hottest, driest vintages the wines maintain a remarkable degree of freshness and weightless power, unimaginable 20 years ago. Whole bunch use is pragmatic, but the detail lies in the ferments. Vessels range from Amphorae, oak to concrete egg. Whole berry or traditional fermentation, with variations in ferment temperatures.

Never full bodied, not even the immensely powerful Ironheart shiraz. Intense vivid aromatics. Compact, coiled and bright palates, pure mouthfeel even-flow fluidity. Yangarra’s wines have an effortlessness and poise, only possible from the greatest attention to detail – they embody the notion of an iron fist in a velvet glove. The estate bottlings of shiraz, grenache and blends are capable of long ageing as evidenced by Yangarra’s museum release program. As we progress to the single vineyards, the palates become evermore detailed and fine. The tannins, intricate and lacy are structural. How wines of such presence can be framed by such fine tannins is a mystery to me, and they need to be tasted and savoured to be believed.