97 POINTS
Ray Jordan - Winepilot
Love to see this classic Aussie blend of cabernet and shiraz reminding us of how good it can be. This is one of Australia’s most famous blended reds that says so much about our wines and wine styles in this country. It’s the 48th release and the signatory is the recently retired MD Nick Waterman. I think Nick would be happy with this one, as it’s clearly one of the finest yet in this distinguished long line. Lovely perfumed spicy cedary notes on the nose, while the palate is supremely structured with power and finesse. Lovely with the slightly grainy textured tannins supporting the beautiful, concentrated fruit. Winemaker Kevin Glastonbury has done ya proud Nick.
96 POINTS
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 2018 The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz (the 48th vintage) is named for Nick Waterman (managing director and CEO of Yalumba 2015 - 2022). The 2018 vintage in South Australia (and specifically here, Barossa) was an excellent one: ripe/warm, even and long and produced wines with density, energy and gravitas. This is exactly that: plush and powerful. The fruit forms a perfect dovetail: the enveloping, mouth-filling abundance of the Shiraz, neatly wedged into the folds of the structuring and shapely Cabernet. Very impressive. This is one of the more impressive Signatures in recent times. It will cellar with grace and ease.
96 POINTS
Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion
Since its first release in 1962, The Signature has been Yalumba's deep dive into the classic Australian blend from the Barossa and one that honors the people who have enhanced the traditions and culture of Yalumba. There is a resonance and depth to this release that I really like. Wonderfully pure and concentrated blackberry and plum fruits, layered with spice, dark chocolate, earth, cedar and oak nuance. Succulent and sinewy in the mouth, it flexes considerable muscle, yet remains purely fruited and approachable even at this stage of its evolution. Rich and balanced with fine, ripe tannin and plenty of energy for such depth of fruit. Lovely.
95 POINTS
Campbell Mattinson - The Wine Front
Yalumba has been making its ‘Signature’ red since the early 1960s.
This release is an exercise in richness. It’s thick with flavour, smooth-skinned, intense and creamy. Blackberry and saturated plum, blackcurrant and vanilla, a mere semblance of dried herbs and some toasted cedar. There’s a lot of oak here, more than I was expecting, but then there’s more fruit too, and enough tannin to lock it all into place. This is a substantial red in every way, built to last, sweet-accented, full-bodied, commanding.
95 POINTS
Angus Hughson - Winepilot
The origins of The Signature is one of the great, rarely told stories in the wine trade, a wine that is dedicated to individuals who have given much to Yalumba over their career. Arguably this year’s signatory, Nick Waterman, deserves it more than most, after helping Yalumba to steer its way through the challenges that are many in the modern international wine trade, including the last two years. It’s a wine that is unashamedly traditional in style – it’s not showy or made to jump out of the glass – the best years of Signature are generally between ten and twenty years down the track after release and this is no exception. Deep crimson in colour, the aromas are stoic and dense – blackcurrant, mulberry, earth, iron and old oak, all generous but understated. Dry, quite juicy and firm too, the palate is powerful with great impact of leathery/blackberry fruits underscored by a firm bed of solid tannins. Very young, it needs at least a decade to show its best.
Inviting aromas of blackcurrant, sliced plum, graphite, crushed stone and bark. Full-bodied with silky tannins. Structured and elegant, with a bevy of red and black fruit washing over the palate with steady intensity. Subtle baking-spice complexity and some oak is laced into the solid core of fruit. Long. Best after 2024.
91 POINTS
2022 - Decanter World Wine Awards
Intense black fruit nose, with a fresh palate of blackberry and blackcurrant. Abundant tannins add structure to the intense fruit richness.
Award: Silver - DWWA 2022
