Yalumba ‘The Signature’ Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz 2018

The Yalumba Wine Company is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery. Currently run by Robert and Sam Hill Smith, the winery is situated in the Barossa Valley where there are plantings of some of the world’s oldest vines. Yalumba was founded by a British brewer, Samuel Smith, who emigrated to Australia with his family from Dorset in 1847. In 1849, Smith purchased a 30 acre block of land on the edge of a settlement and planted his first vineyards. He named his property ‘Yalumba’, an indigenous Australian word meaning ‘all the land around.’ Yalumba now owns over 1000 acres of vineyards in the Barossa, Clare and Eden valleys, as well owning vines in Coonawarra and as buying in grapes from selected growers, some of whom they have been working with for four or more generations.

This property is a beacon of hands-on winemaking. No aspect of the process is left to chance, as evidenced by the master coopers crafting oak barrels on site and a vine nursery where both new and established varieties are propagated. Yalumba is quite unusual in making wines at all price levels from entry level to fine and sought-after and The Society regularly follows premium labels Signature, The Menzies and Mesh labels, as well as everyday classics including Heggies Chardonnay.

Robert Hill-Smith, the fifth generation, has led Yalumba forward, innovating and inventing nto the 21st century without compromise, cementing Yalumba’s reputation for high-quality wines, authenticity, and integrity. Robert pioneered viognier in Australia, which in turn has led to Yalumba being widely recognised as one of the most distinguished producers of the grape in the world.