Review: Yangarra Ovitelli Blanc 2022. Is it too serious?

The great thing about all the Yangarra wines is how much thought and detail there is in every bottle. They’re contemplation wines, intellectual wines, and challenging wines. That doesn’t always translate into deliciousness, but I have endless admiration for the complexity of expression.

This Yangarra Ovitelli Blanc is an ideal example of what I’m banging on about. It’s a blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Grenache Gris, Bourbolenc, and Clairette, all sourced from the Yangarra Vineyard. We’re talking about ‘I love Chateauneuf du Pape blanc’ white wine, fermented in ceramic eggs, and portions of it spend 120 days on skins, just for some next-level texture.

It works, too, with all these different layers—phenolic pithy bits, preserved lemon tang, some creamy lines, and then a sort of grapefruity fullness. It’s intriguing, pushy, firm, wound up in the mid-palate white wine that could be red wine (but with more lemons). It’s quality, but also kind of uncompromising.

My brain says ‘yes, yes,’ and so does my score. But I wonder how many people this intriguing McLaren Vale white wine scare off?

THE VERDICT

• Best drinking: probably better in another year, although you risk it just becoming more tannic and less accessible
• Score (out of 20): 18
• Score (out of 100): 93
• Alcohol %: 12.5
• RRP (in $AUD): 70
• Winery website: https://www.yangarra.com/
• Would I buy it?: worth a glass or two to contemplate over