Yalumba’s wines, both old and new, have shown what quality you can get out of shiraz and cabernet.
Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, Yalumba, has adhered to historically conservative values across much of its range and that is testament to many things, not least the personal philosophy of Chairman Robert Hill-Smith. “Yalumba’s journey has been characterized to a large degree by humility and modesty about our many achievements,” he said. “But in this modern wine world, we need to stand up and be counted.”
Having dominated Australia’s cabernet shiraz category for a good half century, principally via their excellent Barossa cabernet shiraz blend The Signature, Yalumba then entered the league of ultra-premium releases with The Caley. In 2017 they released the inaugural 2012 vintage, named after Yalumba founder Samuel Hill-Smith’s grandson Fred Caley Smith. The new 2015 vintage marks the fourth release, and one that really marks this wine’s true arrival as the company’s flagship.
The inaugural 2012 The Caley made a bold statement in all respects, with Yalumba flexing its muscle in two regions, blending Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon with Barossa Shiraz. “The Caley is about making the best Coonawarra and Barossa blend and a play towards making a modern ‘super claret’ style,” says sixth-generation family member Jessica Hill-Smith.
The Caley 2015 (98 points) is a wine that really shows the full potential of both the cabernet sand shiraz components, also reminding us that the sum is greater than its parts. The tobacco and purple olive characters of the Coonawarra cabernet shine through and the delivery of genuinely fresh, full-bodied style is a real coup. Regal cabernet tannin structure is framed and filled with such intense blackberry and plum shiraz fruits.
This 2015 is a blend of 74 percent Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon and 26 percent Barossa shiraz, 23 percent of which comes from a 1901 shiraz parcel in the heart of the Barossa Valley and 3 percent from the 1971 Mexican Vale Vineyard adjacent to the winery in the Eden Valley. “The Caley will always wear the colors of vintage,” explains winemaker Kevin Glastonbury. “But the style has really settled into its own place and we see that taking shape strongly in the 2015 vintage release.”
Yalumba’s sixth generation member Jessica Hill-Smith says The Caley is a play for “a modern ‘super claret’ style.”
The Australian fondness for blending shiraz into cabernet sauvignon has a long tradition and is often credited to winemakers taking inspiration from the Bordeaux Left Bank model of adding small amounts of other grapes like cabernet franc, merlot, petit verdot and malbec to cabernet. Ripeness is rarely an issue in South Australian vineyards, so the game in Australia is really one of style. The round flesh and bright intensity of Barossa shiraz fits the long and composed straight-line style of Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon.
But Yalumba’s other ‘super claret’ is a cabernet sauvignon shiraz blend that stays within the Barossa region and has amassed an enviable record as one of Australia’s most consistent true-to-region full-bodied red wines. The Signature 2016 (96 points) is an exceptional new release in a long line of great Signatures dating back to the first release 1962. It remains a wine of exceptional value. It has a taut and youthful style with blackberry and tar aromas leading to a long, spicy red plum fruit palate. We have a super long-aging Signature in this 2016 edition.
A tasting of a 1939 Yalumba Special Claret from the winery museum showed this cabernet shiraz style has incredible aging potential and other bottles from the early 1960s reinforced the point. The 1961 and 1962 Yalumba Special Reserve Stock Galway Vintage Claret are a pair of rare older wines that proffer a long track record for cabernet shiraz blends that drink well for many decades. You can cellar these wines with total confidence. As the below notes demonstrate, these age and improve in a very reliable fashion.
That both new releases of Yalumba’s cabernet shiraz “super clarets” are in such show-stopping form is a good moment for the winery and all lovers of powerful and complex Australian red wine. “It is great that many current Australian wines are getting attention as the quick drinkers at wine bars,” Jessica Hill-Smith adds. “But the wines that come in on the aged level are our real hero wines, our fanciest wines and the wines that deliver over a very long time. The Caley’s peers are 50 or 60 years in the game and we are not in a rush. We’ve always valued time and patience and we know the kind of trust and deep respect that comes with the proof of cellaring.”
– Nick Stock, executive editor
