Yalumba The Virgilius Eden Valley Viognier 2018
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Winemaker Notes
Pale gold with green highlights. Intense aromas of apricots, cardamom, white pepper and fresh ginger. Lifted ginger spice is layered on the palate with mineral, sourdough-like texture, apricots and almond savoriness. It is complex while at the same time shows purity and restraint, that will unwind slowly in the glass and take the imbiber on a sensory journey.
At its best with food, The Virgilius complements a wide range of flavors, particularly dishes with spice and richness. Try with beef rendang, pan fried herb mushrooms, or fresh gnocchi with olive oil and shaved truffles.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Harvested during a balmy Indian summer, where cool nights preserved acidity. With just 13% alcohol, this Viognier is fleet of foot, with restrained fruit and spicy lift and drive. Lively fresh ginger leads the way, with pops of candied fennel and pastis to its subtle poached pear, white nectarine and honeysuckle-edged apricot flavours. Wild yeast and lees-ageing bring a touch of funk (and texture) to nose and palate.
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James Suckling
A very direct, apricot, pear and white-peach nose with a strong, stone-fruit focus and some nutty notes. The palate has a very succulent feel with boldly fleshy, mouth-filling presence. Creamy and long. Flamboyant.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Yalumba pioneered this rare Rhône variety in Australia, and its 2018 The Virgilius Viognier boasts copious apricot aromas and flavors. It's not overly floral but delivers lovely stone fruit notes, perhaps with a touch of cantaloupe. Medium to full-bodied, this classic expression of the variety is gently silky-creamy in texture, with a long, silky finish. Compared to early versions of this wine (first made in 1998), the oaking is really subtle these days, which Chief Winemaker Louisa Rose attributes to the increased use of puncheons (500-liter barrels) instead of barriques.
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Wine Enthusiast
Yalumba’s and Australia’s best known Viognier is a medium-bodied, food-friendly number, if currently a bit jangly. The nose is bright and appealing with notes of lime blossom, ground ginger, and apple and peach still on the tree. The palate carries these flavors through to the finish, but the acidity and oak never quite knit together, nor is the texture interesting enough to get past it. Nevertheless, Viognier fans should enjoy the honeyed complexity this will gain with time. Drink 2022–2028.
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Established in 1849, Yalumba is Australia’s most historic family-owned wine company showcasing the best of the Barossa and South Australian wine regions. Fiercely independent and extremely progressive through the generational ownership by the Hill-Smith family, their longevity and success are a result of patience, collaboration, and forward-thinking. Yalumba is a leader in the industry with the foresight to embrace the natural terroir to craft wines with individual character and a sense of purpose, as well as a spirit to reinvest in the land upon which it operates. Yalumba is committed to sharing stories of provenance gathered over 175 years of history of family winemaking.
Arguably the single most famous wine region in Australia, the Barossa includes both Barossa Valley and Eden Valley, making it one of the only areas in Australia to have neighboring warm and cool climate growing conditions. Yalumba is privileged to have access to some of the oldest vineyards in the world in Barossa Valley, including 1889 bush vine Grenache and 1908 Shiraz. They are committed to growing premium quality fruit reflecting distinctive varietal characters of the region.
Yalumba also operates the Southern Hemisphere's only fully operational Cooperage, crafting bespoke oak barrels that elevate the wines aged within them. While the beginnings of the Yalumba Cooperage remain a mystery lost in time, coopering has been a proud tradition at the winery for more than a century. Their coopers have been performing and perfecting their craft since around 1890. In the Nursery, Yalumba is a global leader in wine innovation, growing, evaluating, and supplying quality grape vines to the Australian wine industry. Yalumba has developed strong relationships with leading grapevine programs from around the world and have exclusive access to certain new varietals in Australia. This gives the Yalumba viticulturists and winemakers the unique opportunity to evaluate and develop new or emerging varieties before they are sold.
Yalumba continually strives to reduce their impact on the environment, stay involved in the community, and make great wine with minimal intervention in the vineyard and in the winery. They are committed to sustainable practices, with the belief that the healthier and more biodiverse the vineyards are, the better the wines will be. Yalumba has been developing its own sustainable viticulture program since the mid-1990s, promoting the economic production of quality grapes. For every acre of vineyard Yalumba own, they have at least one acre of native vegetation. All Yalumba wines are crafted with wild yeast, are 100% vegan, and are made with the least intervention possible but with as much knowledge, confidence, and expertise as possible.
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
Higher in elevation and topographically more dramatic than the Barossa Valley floor, Eden Valley abuts it to its south and east. While it is a bit of an extension of Barossa, Eden Valley is topographically different than the pastoral Barossa Valley, and is composed of rocky hills and eucalyptus groves.
Recognizing Eden Valley’s potential with Riesling in the 1960s and 70s, producers started to move their Riesling production from Barossa to these better sites where schist soils on hilltops would produce more steely, tart and age-worthy examples. A most famous site, planted by Colin Gramp, called Steingarten, today produces one of the most outstanding Australian Rieslings. Youthful Eden Valley Rieslings express floral, grapefruit and mineral, while with time in the bottle, they become increasingly toasty and complex.
Riesling isn’t the only grape the region can grow; undeniably at lower altitudes Shiraz does very well. Mount Edelstone is a notable vineyard as well as the Hill of Grace, which boasts healthy Shiraz vines well over 100 years old. This is the only Australian region where Merlot has a made a name for itself and Chardonnay can be spectacular, particularly from the High Eden subregion in the southern valley.