Long and luscious

96 Points

After 24 years at Yalumba, it is great to see Kevin Glastonbury as a co-signatory on this Yalumba The Signature 2019. Perhaps the best producer of the famed Cabernet/Shiraz blend in the country, the impeccable consistency he has achieved with labels such as The Caley and The Signature deserves nothing but praise. This 2019 is another superb release. Following on from 2017 and 2018, Glastonbury says, "It continues the style where we have been working really hard to make The Signature as approachable on release as we can." That said, those who have had the wine in years gone by know full well that it cellars well too. Previous releases have demonstrated it keeps its depth, tannin and structure for over a decade. Spend some time with this in the glass and every box is ticked. Be it the aromatics, structure, balance and finesse, lovers of the Cabernet Shiraz (52/48) blend are in for a treat once again. The 2019 is a typical Signature blend and once again made from 100% Barossa Valley fruit. One of the highlights for me is the structure. It walks tall without varietal characteristics standing out - classy winemaking and blending indeed. Take a sip and it's all Shiraz before it then chisels to a Cabernet focus. Long and luscious black fruit and black currants frame a mid-palate showing exuberant blueberry and mulberry fruit. Some dried herbs, vanilla and mocha play supporting roles but the fluency through the mouth delivers a yin and yang factor. Gentle ripples of fruit bun spices seemingly reach out forever on a persistent finish.

Q Wine, 20 Apr 2023

It's got Aussie classic written all over it

95 Points

Winemaker Kevin Glastonbury is (finally!) the signatory on the bottle. What a great and long-standing person he has been at Yalumba, so affable, shifting the dial gradually, open minded and a strong ambassador for the wines. It’s 52% cabernet, 48% shiraz. Good year for it, KG explains. It’s heady in its perfume, thick scents of ripe raspberry, vanilla coffee, boysenberry and cedar with whiffs of green herb. The palate is impossibly rich and soft, smooth and velvety, voluptuous but with great freshness and a minty lift. Hedonistic style, but the brightness is really appealing, and the wine has veered well away from its past dry, firm, somewhat taxing-in-youth structural styles. A light squeeze of tannin. It’s got Aussie classic written all over it. Delicious drinking for the bolder red lover, or others!

The Wine Front, 28 Mar 2023

A big, solid and well-structured wine

95 Points

Deep, dark, red-purple colour with aromas of cedar, spices, wood-oil and blackberry. A very full-bodied wine with lashings of tannin and very ripe, rich flavour. There's a core of sweet almost prune-like fruit. A big, solid and well-structured wine with a promising future. It's obviously been built to last.

The Real Review, 05 Feb 2023