Pre-Order: This item will be fulfilled and dispatched within one week after your order is placed. Vintage may vary.
Overview
High Sands Grenache is the pinnacle of Yangarra Estate, produced exclusively from a 1.7-hectare parcel of prized bush vines planted in 1946. Awarded 99 points by Erin Larkin, this profound single-block Grenache combines old-vine intensity and complexity with remarkable fragrance, mineral freshness and finely controlled power.
Yangarra Estate is a biodynamic vineyard and winery in Blewitt Springs, specialising in southern Rhône varieties. Its elevated position, ancient geology, deep sandy soils and maritime influence produce wines of distinctive clarity and site expression.
Vineyard
The fruit was sourced exclusively from Block 31, the highest section of Yangarra’s historic 1946 Grenache planting. Situated at approximately 210 metres above sea level, this 1.7-hectare block contains the vineyard’s deepest sandy soils. The old, unirrigated bush vines extend their roots deep into the sand, producing fruit with concentration, fragrance and natural tannin complexity.
Vintage
A normally wet winter was followed by a dry spring. Unexpected rainfall during December and January encouraged larger bunches and berry development, while warm conditions through February and early March promoted flavour ripeness and concentration. The 2024 season is regarded as an exceptional vintage for the estate.
Winemaking
The fruit was hand-picked on 8 March. For the first time, a parcel fermented entirely as whole bunches contributed 15% of the producer’s final blend. The remaining fruit was selectively sorted and destemmed, with 50% retained as whole berries.
Wild fermentation took place in ceramic eggs and small one-tonne open-top stainless-steel fermenters. Gentle maceration continued for at least 30 days, with a portion remaining on skins for approximately 45 days after fermentation. No pressings were included.
The wine matured on lees in seasoned, thick-stave Austrian oak puncheons and ceramic eggs. Following final blending, maturation continued predominantly in ceramic eggs before bottling in February 2025.
Tasting Profile
Producer Tasting Note
High Sands Grenache is the pinnacle of our estate. Reaching deep within the sandy soil, our prized 1946 old vines produce wines that balance intense power and complexity with fragrance and beauty.
Critic Reviews
99 Points — Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Published 01 September 2025
For me, the nose is fresher and more fragrant, the palate has more capaciousness, and the perfume translates with seamlessness and eloquence on the palate… This is an important evolution in the history of this great wine… This is an unbelievable wine. This is inherently McLaren Vale, which is emerging as a unique proposition in the global realm of fine Grenache.
Drinking Window: 2025–2054
98+ Points — Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
Published 01 July 2026
High Sands is the Yangarra polestar… A thing I admire is the incremental shift to more elegance… the detail, definition and finesse are constants… It’s another seamless wine, resounding echoes of place the key, and so patiently cared for, so lovingly articulated, so finely but commandingly structured, and with such a long time ahead of it.
95+ Points — Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
Published 02 August 2026
Crisp in its fringes, juicy at its core, a restraint in shale and slate-like rocky minerality, dark cherry, rose hip jam, black tea and a dusting of cocoa powder. It all fits together in a sleek, compact frame and zooms off to infinity with a mouth-watering comet trail of briny freshness.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
Tasted August 2025
Fresh and vibrant with fruit-driven aromas of wild red and black berries, pomegranate, red-apple skin and dark cherries alongside spices, red licorice, rose petals, violets and dried strawberries. The pure, refined palate has generous texture brought together by firmly framed tannins and a bright line of acidity… Drink or hold.
Specifications
-
Vintage: 2024
-
Producer: Yangarra Estate Vineyard
-
Variety: 100% Grenache Noir
-
Vineyard: High Sands, Block 31
-
Region: Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale
-
Country: Australia
-
Vineyard Size: 1.7 hectares
-
Original Planting: 1946
-
Vineyard Style: Old, unirrigated bush vines
-
Elevation: 210 metres above sea level
-
Soil: Deep sand
-
Farming: Certified Organic and Biodynamic
-
Harvest Date: 8 March 2024
-
Whole Bunch: 15% of the producer’s final blend
-
Fermentation: Wild fermentation in ceramic eggs and open-top stainless-steel fermenters
-
Maceration: Minimum 30 days, with selected fruit retained on skins for approximately 45 additional days
-
Maturation: Seasoned Austrian oak puncheons and predominantly ceramic eggs
-
Alcohol: 14.0%
-
pH: 3.45
-
Total Acidity: 5.9 g/L
-
Drinking Window: 2025–2054
