Yalumba The Caley Cabernet & Shiraz Museum Release 2016

96 POINTS

Mike Bennie - The Wine Front

“I know this fits in this line up. I think 2016 was a great vintage. The blend is put together in November, then set aside for the rest of their time in barrel, a full 12 months as a single wine. So when we look at this, it’s the knowledge of the fruit, style of wine, what sort of tannin, the mid palate, that ends up making this wine. The blend comes together based on structure, tannin profile, direction you want the palate to flow in. The vintage determines so much of this of course”. So says winemaker Kevin Glastonbury. Magnificent in every sense. Perfume, poise, tension, length, detail. Fruit, spice, savouriness. Strong elements of Coonawarra so evident with the seasoning of Barossa lending judicious character. Scents of cassis, kirsch, a booze-soaked berry experience, fennel, brown spice, turned earth and herbs. Superb. Slippery and long, seamless flow, tannins fine and spreading in a web that draws the wine into long distance mode even as they draw the wine to very, almost uncomfortably tight. Finishes lifted and fresh. Wow stuff, with best to come.

96 POINTS

Josh Raynolds - Vinous

Inky ruby. Highly expressive, spice-accented black and blue fruit preserves, incense, vanilla and pipe tobacco qualities on the nose, with cedary oak and spice note emerging with aeration. Offers palate-staining cherry liqueur, blackcurrant and fruitcake flavors that are braced and sharpened by a spine of smoky minerality. Gains weight with air while retaining vivacity and finishes gently sweet and extremely long, with slow-mounting, polished tannins adding framework and final grip.

96 POINTS

Joe Czerwinski - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Yalumba's 2016 The Caley Cabernet & Shiraz is a blend of 71% Cabernet (from Coonawarra) and 29% Shiraz (from Barossa—Lightpass and Eden Valley) aged 21 months in French oak barriques and hogsheads (25% new). Marked by hints of menthol and sage, it also offers up deep cassis and blackberry fruit, plus notes of cedar and vanilla. In the mouth, it's medium to full-bodied and amply concentrated but tightly wound, with plush tannins wrapped around a ripe core of fruit—this needs time to relax and unfurl. Hints of licorice appear on the finish, speaking of ripe Syrah and joining persistent notes of dark fruit. Clearly this has a lot going for it, so give it several years in the cellar before trying a bottle.

96 POINTS

Erin Larkin - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2016 The Caley Cabernet & Shiraz is sourced from both Coonawarra and the Barossa (Cabernet from Coonawarra, Shiraz from Barossa), and is an elegant if old-school rendition of the classic Australian blend. Cassis, milk chocolate, licorice, raspberry, black olive brine, bramble and spice combine to bring about a harmonious, tranquil wine. The tannins are fully entrenched into the fruit, cushioned and disguised from view from all angles. This is a satisfying, plush wine with layers of fruit and velvety tannin. It will age very well.