NV Yalumba Museum Reserve 21 Years Old Antique Tawny

Like Manna From Heaven Itself

Yummy wine

I mentioned in my previous Yalumba reviews that I experienced these wines as a bit of a happenstance, as Jane Ferrari of Yalumba happened to be in town, just happened to be at my favorite wine shop while that shop just happened to be hosting another exemplary winemaker (Mike Dunn of Dunn Howell Mountain) for a tasting.

Jane had a lot of wine with her, including the aforementioned Scribbler and Signature, but apparently, that wasn’t enough. One of my fellow tasters-slash-revelers mentioned to Jane that he’d had a Yalumba dessert wine he claimed had received “something like 99 or 100 points” (the best I could find was a RP 93 for this wine, still excellent), and while she wasn’t sure about the review (I’m betting people in the business of making wine would remember a mainstream review score that high) she did know the wine he was talking about, but didn’t have any on her.

However, Prima Vini, the shop in which we all stood at that very moment, did have it for sale. (They still do.) So what did Jane do? She bought the half-bottle and shared some with each of us. A remarkable move, but after tasting the wine, I knew immediately why she’d done it.

We were now, all of us, irrevocably hooked. This shit is good.

Before I get into the tasting notes, I want to quote this wine’s varietal makeup from the Yalumba website:

Original old vine Shiraz, Grenache, Dolcetto, Mourvèdre, Muscadelle, with a small percentage of Touriga, Tinta Cao and Tinta Molle contributing complexity to the blend.

Whew! Now, on to the wine itself.

The wine is a clean tawny tan in the glass. I wouldn’t use the word “brown” to describe it. It fades from a rich almost-golden tan, to basically clear at the edges.

On the nose is one of the most enticing bouquets I’ve come across: raisins, honey, and caramel. All sweet (this is, after all, a dessert wine) but not at all sticky, or saccharine/sickly “sweet.” Rather, the nose is rich and lustrous.

Take a sip and you won’t be disappointed. The wine is very full bodied, it covers the inside of your mouth like velvet. The honey from the nose is here, but with a rustic, robust heat that reminded me of drinking mead. The wine is sweet but not overly so, hot (at a good 20% ABV) but not off-putting, with hints of candies and sugar.

In short, it’s exactly what dessert wine should be.

Verdict: A

(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/delphaber/ / CC BY 2.0)

The Scribbler’s Big Brother Leads The Way

2004 Yalumba Signature Cabernet Sauvignon / Shiraz

Yalumba Winery in the Barossa Valley, Australia

Earlier in the week, I regaled you (if that’s what you want to call it (Ed note: I do)) with my first taste of Yalumba’s young, exciting “The Scribbler”. While it is a better than average wine, it’s not really a write-home-about-it, cancel-your-plans-to-drink-some wine.

This gets a lot closer.

Yalumba, again, graces us with a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from their native Barossa Valley. In addition to being four years older, the big difference between the Signature and the Scribbler is that the Scribbler is made with declassified grapes. Not so here, the Signature wine is made from Yalumba’s very best fruitstock.

And really, it shows. The wine is a dark purple in the glass, lightening to ruby at the edges. The nose is smooth and cool, with none of the alcohol heat that Cabs and Syrahs from California often suffer from. Whispers of blueberry and plum appear first, with just a hint of ripe red fruit (raspberry?) near the end. While fruit-forward, none of this comes off as sweet.

The fruit on the palate is soft, and mostly red. There is a slight hint of a tobacco earthiness, but it’s barely a mention, nothing more. There is real tannin structure here. The Signature has the slight roughness I would expect from a six-year-old wine that could stand to be laid down for much, much longer.

I don’t even think this wine is 100% ready to drink yet, but even so, it is impressive. I might have to get a bottle myself and test the theory!

Verdict: A-

(photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/svetaz/ / CC BY-ND 2.0)

Yalumba: From Down Unda

2008 Yalumba “The Scribbler” Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz

Last Friday I had a nice surprise when I walked into my favorite wine shop: Jane Ferrari from Yalumba was in town, talking shop and pouring wine.

Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, based in the Barossa Valley. They’ve been doing the Cabernet blend thing for ages, and The Scribbler is their “youthful embodiment” of their famous Signature line.

It’s still impressive on its own. The wine is a bright ruby red in the glass, and on the nose you get some of that same brightness, with some definite cherry and blackberry elements coupled with a soft, subtle leather note.

The Scribbler is a medium-to-full bodied wine. It’s not quite as big as, say, a California Cab, but it’s still there punching its weight. There is some good tannin structure here, but it takes a back seat to a friendly, approachable fruitiness that is neither too big or too subtle.

In some ways, I wish The Scribbler would make up its mind. It feels “in between” in so many ways. But as an introduction to traditionally-made Australian Cab/Shiraz blends, this wine will more than satisfy.

Verdict: B

P.S. Follow Jane’s travels and travails at Yalumba Stories.