The 2023 vintage of Yalumba The Virgilius Viognier from Eden Valley is a true representation of Yalumba's commitment to producing exceptional wines. This expressive Viognier boasts a pale golden colour with glistening hues. The nose is filled with fragrant aromas of ripe apricots, white peaches, and nectarines, layered with hints of orange blossom and subtle vanilla notes. On the palate, the wine offers a rich and full-bodied experience, with flavours of freshly picked stone fruits, zesty citrus, and a touch of toasted almonds. The addition of oak barrel fermentation adds a beautiful depth and complexity to the wine, while the natural acidity balances the richness, creating a harmonious and elegant finish. A true gem from South Australia, this Viognier will continue to evolve and delight with every sip.
Critic Reviews
96 POINTS
Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion
Yalumba's Virgilius Viognier remains a benchmark for the variety in Australia. Expressive but so finely focused and precise, nothing blown out of proportion, no mean feat with this persnickety variety. Tautly stretched citrus fruits with a whiff of apricot kernel and hints of white flowers, crushed stone, almond meal, white flowers, some distant marzipan and clover blossom. Stony-pure on the palate with a lovely bright mineral cadence and a dry, enduring finish.
95 POINTS
James Suckling
Attractive aromas of lavender, white nectarines, orange blossoms, fresh apricots and talcum powder. The palate is full-bodied with finely balanced phenolics and bright acidity that carry powerful flavors of lemon curd, rosewater, kaffir limes and peaches. Well balanced and powerful, with underlying tension.
94 POINTS
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
The 2023 The Virgilius Viognier leads with lemon verbena, clary sage, green apricots and almonds. The wine is tight, and there's an apricot marmalade character on the back palate, but texturally, the wine has both phenolic structure (lean, this year) and an oily slick commensurate with the variety. There's an almondine character on the back palate, and the wine feels very tightly coiled right now. It's a wine with a long and proud history. It matured for 10 months in French oak. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
94 POINTS
Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate
"2023 was a cooler year, and the season presented good opportunity for aromatic whites," says winemaker Louisa Rose. "The Virgilius that was produced this season is a classic iteration. The wine is not from one single vineyard, although it does predominantly come from one vineyard planted in 1980 in Angaston, which is around 380 meters in elevation. The Viognier loves the extra fertility in the soils here. The part of Angaston—Eden Valley—that the vineyard is in is old orchard country." The fruit is picked and pressed directly to mature oak puncheons. The wine sits on its full lees for around nine or 10 months, unless a barrel selection reveals the more tightly wound and focused examples. This is refined and driven by fine phenolics, with emerging width through the finish that is most attractive and very smart. Although I first tasted and reviewed this wine only a month ago, I subsequently had the opportunity to taste the Yalumba wines with winemaker Louisa Rose in Perth, so I decided to write a new review for this wine based on that tasting. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
94 POINTS
Christina Pickard - Wine Enthusiast
An oh-so-Viognier perfume lures the senses with heady notes of honeysuckle, cherry blossom, a white peach, lemon curd and white pepper. One you manage to pry your nostrils from the glass to take a sip, you're met with a fulsome, mouth-filling palate that's creamy but never heavy or syrupy, those floral and fruit notes flowing more subtly to the finish. Pair with buttered chicken or a Thai curry.
91 POINTS
Angus Hughson - Vinous
The 2023 Viognier The Virgilius is a more understated vintage with its controlled musky peach, apricot and blossom aromas and French oak sitting comfortably behind. This is linear in texture with vibrant yet balanced acidity, while elegant flavors are more in pithy/peach stone territory, punctuated by subtle nutty oak tones. The 2023 is attractive but early drinking.
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Tasting Notes
The 2023 vintage of Yalumba The Virgilius Viognier from Eden Valley is a true representation of Yalumba's commitment to producing exceptional wines. This expressive Viognier boasts a pale golden colour with glistening hues. The nose is filled with fragrant aromas of ripe apricots, white peaches, and nectarines, layered with hints of orange blossom and subtle vanilla notes. On the palate, the wine offers a rich and full-bodied experience, with flavours of freshly picked stone fruits, zesty citrus, and a touch of toasted almonds. The addition of oak barrel fermentation adds a beautiful depth and complexity to the wine, while the natural acidity balances the richness, creating a harmonious and elegant finish. A true gem from South Australia, this Viognier will continue to evolve and delight with every sip.
