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YALUMBA The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa 2016 Bottle
yalumba
YALUMBA The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz, Barossa 2016 Bottle
About this wine
The remarkably individual and generous The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz is made from a selection of aged Shiraz vineyards scattered across the Barossa region. It combines the perfume and pure fruit aromas of the Eden Valley region and the concentration, texture and ripeness of Barossa Valley Shiraz. The Octavius has a compelling freshness and vinosity with superb dark chocolate, brambly, mocha aromas, silky, chalky tannins, underlying savoury oak and sustained dark chocolate, roasted chestnut, mocha flavours. Vinification takes place in six to eight tonne open top stainless steel fermenters. Indigenous or 'wild' yeasts initiate the fermentation and contribute to the individual complexities, richness and fine textures of the wine. Maturation takes place in Yalumba-coopered French and American octaves, barriques and hogsheads for around 22 months.
Wine Details
Classification and Scores
Taste Profile
Winery and Region
Delivery and Returns
All wine bought and sold through LANGTONS is held securely in our state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled National Warehouse, just outside of Melbourne, ensuring fast and efficient shipping to your nominated address Australia-wide.
Shipping Charges Within Australia
All orders placed are subject to a flat shipping fee as outlined below:
Metro Areas | Regional Areas |
$18.50 | $23 |
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Expert Review
Bob Campbell MW
From old vines back to 1854. Barossa. Incredibly intense, dense shiraz with cassis, dark berries, chocolate-mocha, dried fruits and mixed spices. The wine gradually unfolds in the mouth revealing many subtle nuances. It will certainly reward cellaring. It has the texture of cocoa powder.
97 points, Bob Campbell MW, realreview.com
Expert Review
Angus Hughson
In the 2016 vintage, a great one for the Barossa, the wine was made with a combination of Barossa and Eden Valley fruit with an average age of 80 years, although some vines go back to 1854. That is some serious pedigree and it shows in a wine that has both great power and high complexity, despite its young age. The colour is deep as you’d expect and followed by an array of dark and blue perfectly ripened fruits – everything is in its place as is the oak. The palate is then bright and seamless with a powerful fruit core wrapped up in a blanket of oak and tannins before a long and fleshy finish. The balance is the key here, and it is impeccable. Drink now or wait twenty years – either way you are in for a treat.
95 points, Wine Pilot (June2021)
Expert Review
Josh Raynolds
Saturated ruby. Heady aromas of ripe dark berries, cherry liqueur, vanilla and incense, with smoky mineral and exotic spice accents building in the glass. Seamless in texture and deeply concentrated, offering palate-staining black and blue fruit, floral pastille and mocha flavors that turn sweeter with air. At once plush and lively, finishing extremely long and smoky, with repeating dark berry and floral notes and velvety tannins.
96 points, Vinous (January 2021)
Expert Review
James Suckling
There’s a stronger Barossa Valley expression in 2016 with ripe blackberry and dark-plum flavors delivering a very pure, focused fruit impression. Vibrant fruit purity here. The palate has gently grainy tannins and good weight. Fresh, succulent dark berries and an impressive, deep, driving finish. A blend of Barossa Valley 67% and Eden Valley 33 shiraz from very old vines. Drink or hold.
95 points, JamesSuckling.com (September 2020)
Expert Review
Campbell Mattinson
Toast, resin and coffee-ground characters flash through pure, rich plum and redcurrant. It's ripe, velvety smooth, complex by iodine notes and firm through the finish. Importantly, for all its might, it feels both fresh and well balanced.
95 points, Wine Companion (February 2019)
Expert Review
Joe Czerwinski
For a wine named for the 90-liter barrels it was originally matured in, Yalumba's 2016 The Octavius displays relatively restrained oak. This vintage, only 50% of the volume aged in those small octaves for 20 months, with the rest in a mix of barriques and hogsheads (a mix of French and American), all of which were coopered at the winery—but only 28% of which were new. Cedar and vanilla notes accent mixed berries on the nose of this full-bodied effort, which comes from the Barossa (two-thirds) and Eden Valleys (one-third). Rich and velvety on the palate, it adds hints of dried spices, juniper berries and bay leaves on the long finish. The youngest vines were planted in 1951, the oldest in 1854.
94 points, Wine Advocate (February 2021)
Expert Review
Mike Bennie
Scents of booze-soaked forest berries, dark chocolate, pot pourri, clove and faint coconut. Powerful and deep flavours, dark-chocolate-coconut flavours with palate-staining blackberry, fig and date flavours, cinnamon spice. Lush but long wine, intense and yet shows good energy. Slippery and full. Warmth and wood a thing here, but in its style the integration and charisma works in its favour. Intense. Powerful. Hold onto your hats. Done well.
93+ points, The Wine Front (May 2021)
Samuel Smith established Yalumba in 1849 and 165 years later descendant Robert Hill Smith now presides over Australia's oldest family owned wine company. Yalumba owns vineyards and sources fruit primarily in the Barossa and Coonawarra. Robert Hill-Smith manages to combine conservatism and tradition with up-to-date winemaking technology and thinking. Yalumba produces a considerable number of different wines across the price-point spectrum from a multitude of varieties, all with a focus on quality, varietal and regional expression. The strong winemaking team is headed up by Louisa Rose, a brilliantly intuitive winemaker whose white wines are some of the best in the country.
