2021 Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz 3000ml

98 POINTS

Ray Jordan - Winepilot.com

One of Australia’s greatest wines that consistently showcases the virtues of this classically Australian blend of Cabernet and Shiraz. And from the first in 1962 it has been adorned by the signature of an individual who has made a significant contribution to Yalumba. In this case it is Packaging and Development Manager Chris Gerhardy. It is a wine that captures all that was good about this spectacular Barossa vintage. Effortlessly smooth and elegant with such seamless integration. Powerful yet refined fruit intensity with dark flavours of blackcurrant and tobacco leaf with a rich hit of dark plum. There’s a defining chalkiness that overlays, holding a keen focus to the long finish. Ranks among the very best of these releases over more than half a century.

98 POINTS

Ray Jordan - Winepilot.com

One of Australia’s greatest wines that consistently showcases the virtues of this classically Australian blend of Cabernet and Shiraz. And from the first in 1962 it has been adorned by the signature of an individual who has made a significant contribution to Yalumba. In this case it is Packaging and Development Manager Chris Gerhardy. It is a wine that captures all that was good about this spectacular Barossa vintage. Effortlessly smooth and elegant with such seamless integration. Powerful yet refined fruit intensity with dark flavours of blackcurrant and tobacco leaf with a rich hit of dark plum. There’s a defining chalkiness that overlays, holding a keen focus to the long finish. Ranks among the very best of these releases over more than half a century.

97 POINTS

Dave Brookes - Halliday's Wine Companion

This wine could easily be in the running for one of the best 2021 wines from the region. Deep in colour with stunning purity across the spectrum of blackberry, black cherry and dark plum fruits. Fragrant with citrus and almond blossom notes, aniseed, cedar, new leather, tobacco, panforte, bay leaf, wood spice and Christmas cake. Sporting a stunning fruit density and tension, it glides, thick with fine, billowing tannin, with a pitch-perfect cadence across the palate, lacy acidity playing its part in focusing the wine's intrinsic elements with aplomb. Pure, vital and beautifully composed. It's sure to be a classic.

96 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Wine Advocate

There was no 2020 Signature made. The year was very hot, and the Cabernet Sauvignon wasn't in the condition that the winemaking team wanted for the Signature; that decision was made early-on in the season. The 2021 The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz is vibrant and fresh on the nose, and it leads with cassis, raspberry and pink peppercorns. It's alive and electric with flavor. 2021 was a lovely season in the Barossa: cool, mild and long, with very little climatic pressure to pick prior to when producers deemed the fruit ready. There are hints of strawberry, scraped vanilla pod, coffee grounds and star anise. I really like the aperture of this wine, with its definition, focus and freshness. 14.5% alcohol, total acidity 6.06, pH 3.63, sealed under natural cork.

96 POINTS

Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast

With a little aeration, evocative notes of chocolate covered cherries and blueberries, wound in savory spice and graphite, reveal a complex wine with depth and fabulous aging potential. It's powerful with polish and balance, tightly wound for now, ready to uncoil slowly as the years go by. An excellent wine to release in this iconic producer's 175th anniversary year, that should age well over a decade.

94 POINTS

James Suckling

This full-bodied, firm and well-framed red has aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, tobacco, bark and iodine. It’s balanced and agile, without any fat or extra padding. I like the focus and savory intensity. Try from 2025.

94 POINTS

David Sly - Decanter

Each year, The Signature is dedicated to a significant Yalumba person, and the signatory of this new release is Chris Gerhardy, former packaging and development manager. It yet again strikes the winning, comfortable blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (53%) with Shiraz from the Barossa, capturing vivid red colour and plush plum flavours, while also accommodating dark notes of liquorice, blackcurrant and black cherries. While it’s a complete package in its youth, a long tannin profile shows it’s ready for cellaring, with the promise of complex secondary flavour development to follow.