Mission Codename It's a sign!
“a serious payload of intense fruit… I have consistently found them to be polished and finely detailed with a highly appealing tannin/fruit interplay… the value that they deliver from top to bottom is awfully impressive.” - Vinous
Collectors! Big red lovers!
Do you like big, lush Cabernet blends that drop A SERIOUS PAYLOAD OF FRUIT right onto your taste buds?
You need this flagship offering from an icon. A wine made only in top vintages - with a gang of scores 2x 96 points – and then some, a total of SEVEN glowing reviews with big scores. That includes FOUR 94 point scores, ONE 95 rating, and the aforementioned double 96ers.
For a mere $46?? Sheeeeesh!
While this is our first Yalumba feature, they are Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, dating back to 1849. They obviously have stunning vineyards to work with for their exceptional wines, consistently churning out one press darling after another. We’ve been yearning to get you a killer deal from them for a while now so here it is!
Made since 1962, The Signature is driven by Cab and backed by Shiraz, the two superstar reds Down Under. That “signature” part is super cool as every vintage is a tribute to a champion who helped make Yalumba wines great, with 2016 celebrates top winemaker Louisa Rose, who proudly says “This is an incredible honour that will forever link me with the icons and mentors that I have long looked up to and revered. I know it is not meant to make me feel old, but it does. Old, grateful and amazingly happy.”
What’s in the bottle? Pure class. The superb reviews don’t leave much else to say, but a gorgeous ruby deep and dark, with a perfume of top Bordeaux meets a Heidi Barrett hybrid feel. The palate is where a ‘signature’ feel arises with a sublime balance of lively juiciness, supple fruit, and subtle oak nuances. It’s long and decidedly noble on the finish too, making it both a marathon runner way into the 2030s and a great candidate to pop and breathe for hours for a lavish celebration of life and the senses this winter. It will warm your heart and still be kind to your pocketbook.
If Aussie legends like Pendolds, Henchke, or Torbreck rock your boat, do not miss out on this!
Did we say this is the best price in the US?!
Won’t last the day…
96 Points – Decanter
“Cool summer and autumn nights tempered warm days in 2016, producing great intensity to the iodine and espresso-edged nose and palate here. With silky blackberry and currant, fleshier mulberry and refreshing blood plum, the palate is motile, its juicy persistence a foil to the creamy, savoury oak (French barriques, Hungarian and American hogsheads, 28% new) and dynamic snare of ripe but present tannins. A fitting tribute to Yalumba’s chief winemaker, Louisa Rose.”
96 Points – James Suckling
“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.”
95 Points – Bob Campbell MW
“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.”
94 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“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.”
94 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
“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 2024-2034.”
94 Points, Cellar Selection – Wine Enthusiast
“The latest release of this wine honors the company’s chief winemaker of 30 years, Louisa Rose. This is a lucid, multilayered wine that shows notes of dark cherry, currant, chocolate, mint, bay and peppery spices smudged with graphite. The palate is big and rich but tempered by fine, chalky tannins, with a tang to the fruit and an underbelly of roast meat. Drink 2022-2036.”
94 Points – James Halliday
“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.”
Tasting Profile
Sublime balance of juiciness, fruit, and subtle oak
Look | A gorgeous ruby deep and dark |
---|---|
Smell | Top Bordeaux meets a Heidi Barrett kinda hybrid |
Taste | A sublime balance of lively juiciness, supple fruit, and subtle oak |
Finish | Pure class, long and decidedly noble |
Pairing | Breathe for hours for a lavish celebration of life and the senses |
What the Winery Says
2016 'The Signature' Barossa Valley Cabernet Blend
- Winemaker
- Kevin Glastonbury
- Varietals
- 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Shiraz
- Vintage
- 2016
- Alcohol
- 14.5%
- Appellation
- Barossa Valley, Southeastern Australia
- Harvest dates
- February 16 - March 17, 2016
- Vine age
- Back to 1925
- Soils
- Sandy loam, yellow sand & ochre clay over red clay
- Total acidity
- 6.6 g/L
- pH
- 3.53
- Aging
- 21 months
- Barrels
- 28% new French oak