Yalumba The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz 2015
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Winemaker Notes
This wine exhibits savory notes of red currants followed by dried herb aromatics, leading into almost sweet and sour plums. The palate depth is all Barossa Valley, with a dark bitter chocolate roundness and medium to the full depth of ironstone tannins through to the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2015 Yalumba Octavius Old Vine Shiraz is an incredible red wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine impresses from start to finish. Its formidable aromas and flavors of red and black fruit blast through and own the palate. Pair with a rare steak and a blue-veined cheese. (Tasted: September 24, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Enthusiast
This vintage of one of Yalumba’s most premium wines is back up to the level of the 2013. It’s a rich and heady combo of dark chocolate, brambly berries, licorice and earthy herbs. Tannins are integrated neatly within a silky texture of pure, tangy fruit and vibrant acidity. It’s so likable now, it may not age as long as other Shiraz in this price point, but should still progress well for another decade or so.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made in a deliberately oaky style, with the vanilla and wood tannins an integral part of the experience, Yalumba's 2015 The Octavius has the potent mulberry fruit to support those oaky overtones. Scents of cedar, vanilla, menthol and mocha join dark berries on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is pliant yet structured. Imagine how a barrel contains liquid? That's the impression The Octavius makes on the palate, its fruit power and breadth contained by wood, channeled into a long, velvety finish.
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Wine Spectator
Dense, toothsome huckleberry and blackberry flavors show touches of Earl Grey tea, black licorice and sandalwood, adding distinctive spiciness. Savory details of saline and dried herb linger, as do the tannins, which firm up on the finish. Drink now through 2035.
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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.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The Barossa Zone encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Some of the oldest vines in Australia can be found here.
Barossa Valley of course is the most important and famous wine growing region in all of Australia where 140+ year-old, dry-farmed Shiraz vines still produce inky, purple and dense juice for some of Australia's best wines.
In the cooler, wetter Eden Valley sub-region, the Hill of Grace vineyard is home to famous Shiraz vines from the 1800s but the region produces also some of Australia’s very best and age-worthy Rieslings.