The 2016 Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Museum Release is the forty-seventh Signature, dedicated to Louisa Rose, Yalumba's long-serving head of winemaking. The Signature has been made since 1962 and each vintage honours one person who shaped the company; this bottling was held back in Yalumba's own cellar and released ten years after the vintage.
The 2016 growing season gave a moderate winter, a warm, dry spring, timely rain at the end of January and warm days with cool nights through ripening. The wine was matured in French barriques and Hungarian and American hogsheads, 28% new. Cassis, blackberry and ripe plum sit over cedar, mint and dark chocolate, with mouth-coating tannin and a very long finish; at ten years the fruit is intact and the oak has folded into it.
Angus Hughson (Wine Pilot) 98 points, drink 2020 to 2040. Decanter 96. James Suckling 96. Cameron Douglas MS 95, drink to 2032 and beyond.
Ben's Recommendation:
Of the three Signature museum releases we hold, this is the most complete. Decant for an hour and serve with beef tenderloin, lamb rack or a mushroom bourguignon. It will hold comfortably to 2040.
