2021 Yalumba Steeple Vineyard Shiraz, Barossa Valley

Shiraz sourced from the 1919 plantings of the Steeple vineyard in Light Pass. A cracking vintage this one and a wine to match. Plush Doris plums and black cherry fruits; blackberry, too, with hints of fine spice, cedar, black strap licorice, olive tapenade, dried herbs and crushed rock. Plenty of structure in the form of crushed-stone-like tannins and a really distinct, febrile energy to the wine's travel. Certainly impressive drinking now but this one will improve with some quiet times in the cellar.

95 points Dave Brookes winecompanion.com.au

Yalumba Steeple Vineyard Shiraz from the Barossa Valley is a bold, deeply expressive single-vineyard wine that showcases the sheer power and purity of old vine Shiraz grown on Barossa’s red loam soils. This is a wine of place, history and quiet confidence — sourced from vines planted in the 1910s in the heart of the Kalimna subregion, just north of Nuriootpa. These gnarled, dry-grown vines produce low yields of small, intensely flavoured berries that deliver depth without excess and richness balanced by real structure.

Yalumba, one of Australia’s oldest family-owned wineries, handles this fruit with immense respect. Fermentation is wild, with hand plunging and gentle basket pressing. The wine is matured in a mix of new and seasoned French oak hogsheads and barriques for about 20 months, allowing the vineyard to shine while layering in complexity and texture.

In the glass, the wine is inky and dense with aromas of black plum, blueberry, dried herbs, dark chocolate, roasted meat and spice. The palate is full-bodied and structured, showing layers of black fruit, aniseed, cedar and crushed rock, framed by fine but persistent tannins. There’s both Barossa warmth and an unexpected mineral edge from the deep soils and vine age. It’s plush and commanding, but with a level of detail that makes it one of Yalumba’s most refined reds.

Food pairing: Perfect with slow-roasted beef rib, lamb shanks with rosemary and red wine jus, or mushroom and black garlic ragù. For cheese, try aged cheddar, Grana Padano or firm sheep’s milk styles.

Cellar potential: Built to go the distance. Will reward careful cellaring for 15 to 25 years, evolving into a savoury, layered, complex wine with spice, leather and earth notes.