Yalumba

Rare & Fine The Caley

Cabernet Sauvignon-based Blends

Yalumba The Caley Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz bottle image

Cabernet Sauvignon-based Blends

The Caley has been sourced from three outstanding vineyards of the Coonawarra and Barossa regions and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

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Wine Production

The Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz parcels were fermented separately in open fermenters. Indigenous or ‘wild’ yeasts, naturally present on the grape skins, initiated the fermentation to contribute complexity, richness and fine texture. Cultured winery yeasts were then added to complete fermentation. Gentle plunging and pulsing of the skins was undertaken to achieve the right balance of color, tannin and phenolic extraction. Matured for 22 months in a mix of 31% new French barriques and hogsheads, 22% one-year old French barriques and the balance in older French barriques and hogsheads. After bottling, the wine was cellared for a further 36 months and released in 2017.

Tasting Notes

Deep garnet red in color, fruit is at the core of the bouquet, all red and black currants – overlaid with savoury herbs, green spices, cedar and pipe tobacco. The palate is of sophisticated precision with a refined line. Long and textured it captures the concentrated flavours and presents them with a silken grace. Under all that supple, fleshy muscle, the wine has a strong spine, structured to last and last.

Food Pairing

Slow roasted rack of veal, rubbed with sea salt, rosemary and garlic, served with roast potatoes and chargrilled brussel sprouts.

The Caley has been sourced from three outstanding vineyards of the Coonawarra and Barossa regions and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

All Products →

Wine Production

Tasting Notes

Food Pairing

Slow roasted rack of veal, rubbed with sea salt, rosemary and garlic, served with roast potatoes and chargrilled brussel sprouts.

Brand Materials

Tech Sheet Bottle Shot Acclaim

POINTS

55/45% Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon/Barossa shiraz; this is a museum release of the Yalumba icon cabernet shiraz blend. Lovingly cellared in the marble cellars below the winery, it's made by Kevin Glastonbury and it is in a very fine place. It was a low yielding year with tiny berries; concentrated from the get-go. There's still a youthful sheen to its colour, with plush berry fruits, brown spice, licorice, dark chocolate, cedar, tobacco and a little leather. It's wonderfully harmonious, with a elegant flow of fruit, a tight, fine tannin array and a real sense of focus and precision to its passing. A very fine place indeed.

James Halliday

POINTS

"Stained/spongy cork. A beautiful wine in all respects, its heart soft and generous, its head stern and serious, the combination as complete as it is complex. It tastes of an assortment of red and black berries, tobacco and cloves, with tremendously well integrated smoky oak and plenty of tang, tannin, flavour and run through the finish. An exhibition in both power and elegance. Cork permitting, it will mature gloriously."

James Halliday

POINTS

Made only in high-quality vintages, this was the second release of The Caley, combining 55% Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra with 45% Shiraz from the Barossa and Eden Valleys. In this combination, the Cabernet enjoys an assertive role, guiding the texture and flavor notes, before Shiraz chimes in to add mid-palate heft. Matured for 20 months in 41% new French Barriques, with the rest in older French oak barrels, it’s an opulent, rich red symphony with plum supported by blackberry, wrapped in a seamless palate that strikes glorious harmonious notes. The nose remains particularly enticing, rich and assured but still dancing energetically, while the long, unwavering acid line draws flavors to a beautifully tapered finish, still bound by confident but unobtrusive tannins.

POINTS

"Saturated ruby. Displays powerful, smoke- and spice-accented aromas of ripe dark fruits, licorice, vanilla and potpourri. Sweet and expansive in the mouth, offering lush boysenberry, cassis, spicecake and floral pastille flavors plus suggestions of mocha and cola. The floral note echoes strongly on an extremely long, sweet finish that's framed by harmonious tannins."

POINTS

“This blend of Coonawarra cabernet and Barossa shiraz has performed well in 2013 with an array of cassis, blackcurrants, redcurrants, some richer blackberries, as well as leafy and gently herbal accents. The palate is the real story though, showing a bright, even-tempered and fleshy core of red plums and darker cherries. Silky and even-paced tannins and a lithe, juicy finish.”

James Suckling

POINTS

“A blend of 55% Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Barossa Valley Shiraz, Yalumba's 2013 The Caley is only the second vintage to be released. Aged in 40% new French oak, it features fine, aristocratic aromas of pencil shavings, mint and dark fruit. Cassis, baking spices and hints of meat and mint come forth on the palate. It's medium to full-bodied, with rich, velvety tannins that remain firm and lasting on the finish. I tasted this from a bottle that had been decanted the previous night, so you'll want to give it plenty of air, or ideally, just cellar it for another five years before broaching a bottle.”

POINTS

"This blend of Coonawarra cabernet and Barossa shiraz has performed well in 2013 with an array of cassis, blackcurrants, redcurrants, some richer blackberries, as well as leafy and gently herbal accents. The palate is the real story though, showing a bright, even-tempered and fleshy core of red plums and darker cherries. Silky and even-paced tannins and a lithe, juicy finish."

James Suckling

POINTS

James Suckling

“Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz blend. 20 months in a mix of 41% new French oak barriques and 59% older French barriques and hogsheads. Round and a bit minty for me, but certainly luscious. Rather dry acidity on the end.” ( 16 points out of 20 )

Jancis Robinson

Vineyard & Production Info

Vineyard name:

Multiple Vineyards

Soil composition:

Terra Rossa and Limestone/red brown loam

Elevation:

50-1,100 feet

Average Vine Age:

40 years

Certifying Organizations:

ISO14001; Entwine Australia

Sustainability Certification:

EPA Acredited Sustainability Licence

Winemaking & Aging

Prefermentation Technique:

1-3 days on skins pre fermentation before wild yeast start to ferment

Varietal composition:

79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Shiraz

Fermentation container:

Stainless steel tanks

Malolactic fermentation:

Yes

Fining agent:

Vegan

Type of aging container:

Barriques and Hogsheads

Type of oak:

French

Length of aging before bottling:

23 months

Age of Aging Container:

22 months

About the Vineyard

The Ming D block of the Yalumba Coonawarra vineyard provides 52% of the Cabernet Sauvignon of the blend. This 2.7ha plot planted in 1992 with two clones of Cabernet Sauvignon selected for structure and depth of flavour. The Shiraz is sourced from the Burgemeister “Linke Block” between Nuriootpa and Angaston. The soil is a red brown earth in the Light Pass loamy fine sand family. There is also a component that comes from the 1971 Yalumba Horseshoe Block in Eden Valley

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