Sales manager Chris Greening has the honour of being the 2014 Signatory. A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon and 43% Shiraz matured for 21 months in 32% new French barriques and Hungarian hogsheads, the balance in older French, Hungarian and American barriques and hogsheads.
Impenetrable black as night heart with a deep dark red black tinged hue. Heady cassis and liquorice aromas are intermeshed with toasty vanillin oak, hints of dark chocolate, earth, dried herbs and spice. Exceptionally rich, concentrated and opulent in its texture this is a weighter version of Signature. Dense blackcurrant, liquorice and dark chocolate flavours coat the sumptuous palate with vanillin oak, scorched earth, tobacco and dried herb elements in the background. The plush fruit largely concealing a solid tannin structure. Outstanding power concluding long, lush and quite exuberant for Signature.
Drink over the next 5-6 years.
Alc. 14%
Other Reviews….
Cabernet Sauvignon and shiraz, matured for 21 months in French, Hungarian and American oak, 32% new (though none of the American oak was new). You’d imagine, given Yalumba’s history and facilities, that all the oak was Australian coopered.
Pitch perfect on the nose, palate and finish. This is in superb form. Berried, chocolatey, laced with licorice, scattered with dry, fragrant herbs and topped with pure coffee-like flavour. It feels both alive and dense, it’s scaffolded by an assertive range of tannin, it’s lifted by mint-like tips, and it reaches far through the finish/aftertaste. Perfect red for the cellar.
96 points
Campbell Mattinson – The Wine Front
Matured for 20 months in French, Hungarian and American oak. This ticks all the boxes, a rock of ages in the storm of Yalumba reds coming onto the market, led by The Cayley, but numerous others seeking your company. The blackcurrant and blackberry fruit are in total harmony, and the overall texture is of a high order thanks to the oak management, as well as that of the tannins. A standout from a vintage that had its challenges. Drink by 2040.
96 points
James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion
This generously proportioned 2014 The Signature (Cabernet/Shiraz) retains its youthful vitality with tarry, chocolate and blackberry aromas with some aged earthy, tobacco tones starting to emerge. Bold and brooding, with a chewy, tannic frame and lashings of chocolate/blackberry flavors building to a strong, gravel infused finish. Great character and aging potential. Drink 2026-2030.
95 points
Angus Hughson - Vinous
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