Wine of the week: a simply perfect Australian red
Every vintage of this Australian red has been nothing short of epic, says Matthew Jukes.
2016 Yalumba, The Caley, Coonawarra & Barossa, Cabernet & Shiraz, South Australia
About £501 for three bottles in bond, frw.co.uk, bordeauxindex.com, bgvintners.co.uk, vinquinn.com, nickollsandperks.co.uk, uk.cruworldwine.com
I am so passionate about the blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz that, back in 2006, I started an annual competition in Australia to determine the finest wine that is made from what I call “the blend that defines Australia”. I believe that this partnership makes some of the most legendary red wines on earth. Penfolds Bin 389, Wolf Blass Black Label and Yalumba’s own Signature are three awe-inspiring interpretations of this historic style of fine red wine.
Back in 2014, an unlabelled 2012 vintage wine from Yalumba won my award and the next year the very same wine won the title again. The chances of this happening are akin to a lottery win. This wine was eventually released as 2012 Yalumba The Caley – Yalumba’s inaugural, super-premium, flagship red wine. Each release since has been nothing short of epic. I tasted the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and my featured and soon to be released 2016 the other day and declared it the finest five consecutive vintage “vertical” I have ever tasted. I awarded the 2012 a perfect 20/20 score and this wine’s subsequent vintages have never dipped below 19/20.
The 2016 arrives in the autumn and you can reserve your stock now. A maximum of 250 cases are made so it is one of the rarest great red wines on earth. I awarded this 2016 another perfect 20/20 in my notes. You can see detailed tasting notes of each wine on my website.
Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition’s Communicator of the Year (matthewjukes.com)