97 points – “’22 was a cool year that produced some reticent but excellent grenache, while shiraz seemed to sail through untroubled. This is an infant, of course, but there’s a ready appeal not always seen at this stage, a meshing of red, blue and black fruits – ripe raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, tart boysenberry, red plum, black olive – with an overlay of baking spices, iodine, coffee grounds and beef bouillon. And iron, yes. It’s on the label. In the ground. In the wine. Here, the wine benefits from that soil transfer being elegant, filigreed, not rugged. It needs a little time to be its best, but it’s a superb release.” – Marcus Ellis (Halliday Wine Companion)

97 points - "Deep, bright purple colour leads into a slightly subdued but rich nose of dark and red fruits, blackberry uppermost, with charcoal, mixed spice and sweet floral high-notes. The wine is tremendously deep and concentrated on the palate but at the same time elegant and spritely. There are flecks of dark chocolate and bitumen, too. The wine is long and the tannins supple and fine, resulting in a remarkably more-ish finish—it drinks so well now, yet the wine is destined for a long future." - Huon Hooke (The Real Review)

96 points – “The expressive 2022 Shiraz Ironheart is rich yet measured with a powerfully expressive core of bloody ferrous aromas lifted by dark earth and crushed spice tones. There is a finer side—touches of dried violet, white pepper and coal fire—with significant underlying tension as it tightens up on the long, enthralling close.” – Angus Hughson (Vinous)

96 points – “Deep ruby with a hint of purple in the light. Blood plum, lavender bush, nori and blackberry pastille aromatics. Deep and powerful, dense black and blue fruits fill the senses, equally balanced by anise, blood, nori and black pepper spices. It builds and builds to a crescendo of flavour intensity, but remains unwavering and driven by powerful fine gravelly tannins. The length is prodigious, carrying the harmony long and lingering, eventually fading with a drying flourish.” – Stuart Knox (The Real Review)

96 points – “Floral and perfumed with an underlying power, showing notes of mulberries, wild blackberries, Damson plums and cured meat. The palate is full-bodied with seamless tannins and bright acidity, giving robust notes of dark cherries, iodine, mocha, violets and ferric earth. Well balanced and structured. Very serious. Drink or hold. Screw cap.” – Ryan Montgomery (JamesSuckling.com)

96 points - "The colour is deep and bright. Intense and concentrated aromas of dark plum and blackberry augmented with a slightly savoury dried herb influence topped by a little fruit cake richness. A powerful and concentrated palate that delivers with typical finesse that comes from the mix of larger format oaks and just a small amount of light pressings. A most attractive wine." - Ray Jordan (Wine Pilot)

96 points - "The 2022 release of Yangarra’s top Shiraz states its position and makes you listen to it. A brooding iodine and, dare I say, ‘iron-like’ minerality sits deep and restrained first off before an unfurling of charred herbs, woodsmoke, nutmeg, cassia bark and a glimmer of menthol. Black cherry, blackberry pastille and damson plum make an appearance following some aeration, alongside earth, gentle mocha, clove and dark chocolate. This has a dramatic sensibility – it’s deep and dark with excellent restraint and control. The palate runs a dichotomy of a cooling, ferrous mineral feel alongside dark, febrile power. It strides through the mouth with unabated assurance and lashings of dark cherry, mocha, earth, dark chocolate, blackberry, cassia and dried herbs. The tannins are vertical, stacked and grainy providing a funnel for the complex power to coil within. There’s seemingly endless length to this wine. It’s powerful and of course youthful, but any risk of heftiness is cut up and lifted by mineral detail and pulled into focus and precision by architectural structure. All of this paired with kaleidoscopic complexity makes for a wine of incontrovertible brilliance." - Tom Kline (Wine Pilot)

Ironheart is the flagship Shiraz from our single vineyard estate in Blewitt Springs at the northern edge of McLaren Vale. The vineyard’s northern aspect, higher elevation and sandy ironstone soils produce Shiraz with immense concentration and finesse

VINTAGE SUMMARY

The 2022 growing season followed very similar conditions to 2021, though slightly cooler. There were favourable winter rains and a mild flowering and fruit set period. The cool ripening period took place between late January through to harvest in March. Yields were well balanced, and we were pleased with the fruit ripeness, intensity, freshness, and natural acidity.

WINEMAKING SUMMARY

Hand-picked (24th March), 25% whole bunches, and the remainder destemmed, mechanically berry sorted, and crushed. Open fermenters and on skins for approximately 21 days. A gentle maceration principle of wetting the cap and only draining and returning as required. Wild yeast ferment. No pressings are used in this wine. Matured in French oak for a total of 19 months. Kept on lees for 12 months in French oak puncheons (35% new) and then blended to a 2 year old Austrian and French oak foudre and further matured for 7 months. Bottled November 2023. Certified Organic/Biodynamic.