2016 Yalumba The Signature Museum Release, Barossa

The classic Australian blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz is almost an endangered species, as blends on the whole have become seriously uncool. But the simple fact is that there is a hell of a lot of blending going on behind closed doors. Plenty of well known shiraz have a dash of something, just to provide a bit of interest. Viognier, grenache and mataro are all popular but for local conditions, many of the greatest are a blend of cabernet and shiraz – cabernet providing the backbone and shiraz the flashy fruits. And when top notch fruit is expertly blended you can get not only blindingly impressive wines, but also some of the greatest and most unique expressions of what Australia has to offer on a global scale, which brings us to the 2016 Yalumba The Signature.

The Signature is dedicated every year to a single individual in the wider Yalumba family and reflects just how important that extended family is within the business. It is a tribute that is unique in the wider world of wine. In 2016 the Yalumba signatory is long-time Yalumba Chief Winemaker Louisa Rose.

The wine is deeply coloured and actually a little peculiar in that the individual characters of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz are initially hard to find – it more shows aromas of the baked red earths and Terracotta of the Barossa before some leafy cassis slowly awakens matched by youthful oak influence. The palate is then reserved but does show significant mouth-coating tannins seamlessly interwoven with outstanding fruit plus an almost never-ending finish. The overall experience is truly seamless, the wine even and unforced, and is just a great drink showing superb balance; exceptional winemaking from Kevin Glastonbury and his team with fruit in true harmony. I don’t buy much wine, but I am absolutely grabbing a case of this when it comes out in March 2021. Drink to 2040.

98 points Angus Hughson for Wine Pilot, November 2020

A very youthful vintage, this is taut and will age very well. Aromas of blackcurrants, tar, blackberries and baking spices lead to a palate that has such an intense, gently smoky thread with a succulent, juicy red-plum, berry and spice finish. Light espresso. Super long-aging Signature here. A blend of Barossa cabernet sauvignon and shiraz. Try from 2024.

96 points James Suckling, May 2020

Very deep, dark colour with a good tinge of purple. The bouquet is very rich and ripe, laced with smoky oak, the very ripe blackberry aromas of warm-grown cabernet shining through strongly. It's very full-bodied and lavishly-endowed with supple tannins, sweet fruit and chocolaty density. The finish lingers long. Oak is evident but in good harmony with the bouquet and palate. A powerful, concentrated, very ripe wine for this label, and high-class. Both shiraz and cabernet are clearly perceptible. A long-term wine that is already approachable. Drink to 2041.

95 points Huon Hooke for The Real Review, October 2020

The first impression is that of an ethereal nose: floral scents, bitter chocolate, graphite and iodine. Beguiling. While each of these traits is true to form, they float across the organoleptics like a carpet ride. Segueing to the palate, there is little seemingly heavy about this wine despite its obvious weight and vinosity. The tannins are very finely managed: granular and precise; almost pixelated. The finish, long. A bit tangy but I'll turn a blind eye. Drink to 2031.

94 points Ned Goodwin for Halliday Wine Companion, June 2021

Yalumba's 2016 The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz is a Barossa-based blend of 53% Cab and 47% Shiraz. Aged in a mix of barriques and hogsheads (28% new), it offers up scents of cherry, cassis and tobacco, with grace notes of cedar and vanilla. Medium to full-bodied, it's concentrated, silky, streamlined and long on the finish—very much a classic claret style despite the high proportion of Shiraz. Each year's edition of the wine is dedicated to a notable Yalumba employee; the 2016 is dedicated to Chief Winemaker Louisa Rose. Drink to 2035.

94 points Joe Czerwinski for The Wine Advocate, February 2021

Inky ruby. Highly perfumed cherry, cassis, tobacco, vanilla and exotic spice scents take on a spicy nuance with air. Pliant and expansive in the mouth, offering concentrated red and dark fruit, floral pastille, allspice and mocha flavors that show impressive depth as well as energy. Closes broad, smooth and extremely long, with polished tannins and resonating spiciness and florality. Drink to 2034.

94 points Josh Reynolds for Vinous, January 2021

(Ed. The above reviews were published for the original release of this wine. Our stock is Museum Release, and has been matured at Yalumba's own cellars in the Barossa.)

The 2016 The Signature is a 53/47 blend of Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz with the vines on average 60 years old.

The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were sourced from the Brooks vineyard near Gomersal, the Roenfeldt vineyard near Greenock, the Cowham Light Pass vineyard and the Crown Village vineyard in the Krondorf foothills.

The majority of the Shiraz comes from the Schiller family vineyard, located north of Nuriootpa on the Barossa Valley floor, the oldest of which was planted in 1925. Other vineyard sources included were from near Truro, the Penrice area and around the winery at Angaston.

The fruit was fermented in open stainless steel fermenters with a combination of indigenous and cultivated yeasts. The pressed wine was matured for 21 months in various Yalumba coopered barrels: most were well-seasoned French, Hungarian and American barriques and hogsheads, while 28% new-for-the-season French barriques, and Hungarian and American hogsheads.