2021 Barossa Valley Vintage Report
Following two particularly dry seasons, many were hoping for Mother Nature to be much kinder, and mostly she was. Winter rainfall in 2020 recorded 148mm, the same as winter 2019, (22% below average). The majority of this rainfall was in the latter half of August, with the rain continuing into September and October. This was ideal timing to replenish soil profiles to field capacity moving into budburst in O...
Yalumba The Steeple Single Vineyard Barossa Shiraz 2021 97 points -Anyone who ever saw Darren Lockyer or David Campese slice through an opposition backline, Wayne Gretzky on ice or Michael Jordan on a basketball court, will understand the concept of gliding. This supple and sleek texture, with its silky tannins, is the vinous equivalent, gliding effortlessly to a very long finish. From a stellar vintage, this is a single vineyard wine hailing from the sub-region of Light Pass. The vines, biodynamically grown, were planted back in 1919. Fair to say, much can be expected. And much is delivered. A wild ferment before the wine spent sixteen months in oak, 15% of which knew, termed the Tonnellerie Sylvain ‘Artistic Series’ barriques. They were made from a 365 year old oak tree (not completely sure that if I was the marketing team, I'd be promoting chopping up such a venerable old oak tree, but we can say that its demise was not in vain).
The wine has a black cherry hue, with a wonderfully enticing nose, which just screams first class Barossa Shiraz. Full of dark berries, chocolate, roast meats, cassis, bay leaves, sage and mocha, the texture is plush in the extreme. Excellent oak integration (thankfully), there is a supple texture here and immaculate balance. Silky tannins, seriously good length and intensity maintained for the full journey, this is simply delicious, although it surely has at least fifteen years ahead of it. Notes of graphite are more prevalent on the palate. It seems that this wine often takes a backseat to some of the others in the portfolio, which seems criminally unfair. This is a gem. 97.
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