2021 Yangarra Single Block Ovitelli Grenache Magnum 1.5L, McLaren Vale

Among the finest wines in Australia. Destemmed fruit, crushed and extracted across a whopping 133-day window in eggs. Blood plum, sappy raspberry, licorice root, bergamot and pepper grind. Clove, tamarind and mint. Gorgeous. Pinosité aplenty, yet beautifully extracted with skittish, long-limbed and gritty tannins corralling the fray. Tear-inducing stuff. Levity, transparency and intensity, all in one.

The 2021 Ovitelli Grenache is sourced from Block 30—a two-hectare adjacent to the High Sands block, planted in 1946. Sorted on the fancy sorting table at Yangarra and fully destemmed, it fermented in ceramic egg and spent 133 days on the skins. It matured exclusively in ceramic egg (13 months' elevage, no pressings in the final wine), so we know the texture and structure inherent in this glass is vineyard- and berry-derived rather than from the vessel. Already, we are in cool territory. On the nose, there is fresh tobacco leaf, graphite, raspberry leaf, lavender, turmeric/saffron, matcha, licorice and a hint of dehydrated orange peel (moving onto the negroni/Camari end of the spectrum here). In the mouth, the tannins are super fine, milled into compressed powder that plumes through the fruit, like blood in the water. This is mineral, detailed, exciting, febrile, ethereal and lacy, even. Wowee. Strong statement about McLaren Vale Grenache here. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.

96+ points Erin Larkin robertparker.com