Yalumba The Caley Cabernet Shiraz 2018 - QWine Reviews

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Yalumba The Caley Cabernet Shiraz 2018


Strap yourself in for a sublime red wine! Here we have the sixth release of Yalumba's The Caley and it is an absolutely refined and elegant Cabernet Shiraz. Just wow! Above all, it's a brilliant example of first-class fruit and astute winemaking. Drop everything and embrace the elegance and purity.

This release coincides with the date Fred Caley Smith left Australia in 1893. A horticulturist by trade, he ventured on a two-year global trip to discover pruning and packaging techniques.  

It was in 1999 that a box of back-to-back letters was found tucked away on the Yalumba property. As a result, Yalumba now has six bound journals telling the story through the eyes of a 27-year-old from Angaston - a town at the time with a population of 200. 

Seen as Yalumba's first international personality, Caley Smith took Yalumba to the world so naming the brand's flagship after him was more than fitting and a tribute to a man who had a great impact on the business.

Yalumba produced its first multi-regional red wine in 1932 and winemaker Kevin Glastonbury has maintained that tradition during his 24 vintages with the company. Vigneron/Proprietor Rober Hill-Smith refers to Glastonbury as, "A pillar of our rare and fine wines."

As for The Caley 2018... Incredible! An 80/20 blend with 15% of the Shiraz coming from the Eden Valley and the remaining 5% from the Barossa Valley. Medium to full-bodied, it spent 20 months in French oak and then another 39 months in bottle prior to release. 

Plush and silky, cool and seductive blackcurrants and blackberries draw you in along with some red currants. Some leafiness and roasted capsicum muse with a fleeting choc-mint cameo. A wine that seemingly floats on a cloud, dark plums add depth with a shimmer of red currants riding on the flank.  The structure and balance are supreme. The words grace and elegance keep popping into my mind on tasting. There is a concentration yet it's not dense nor weighty. At the same time, it possesses an easy flow, composed and laid back, but you know there is that complexity to embrace. Watch this unfurl and you are on the doorstep of heaven. 

Drink to fifteen years+

98/100 

Region: Coonawarra & Barossa
RRP: $365
Source: Sample

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