Yalumba, The Octavius, 2021
Yalumba, The Octavius, 2021
- 75cl
- 14.5%
- Red Still
- Shiraz
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Drinking window: 2026 - 2046
Est. delivery in 2027
Yalumba Octavius is a magical old vine Shiraz from Eden & Barossa that is something really rather special. One of Barossa's oldest and most hallowed producers, the Octavius has an incredible average vine age of 111 years (!) with the oldest vines going back to 1854, pre-dating even the introduction of the Bordeaux classification system.
The resultant wine is a beautifully svelte Shiraz that stylistically combines the elegance of Henschke with the power of Penfolds, with a focus on old vine expression and freshness.
What the critics say:
"Spiced raspberry, silky tannins, savoury with an expansive burst of sweet crushed blackberry and cassis through the mid palate. This remains a baby at five years old, although ready to sink into with a few hours in a carafe. 24% new French oak hogsheads and barrels, and a touch of American oak, mix of Eden Valley and Barossa Valley Shiraz. New release."
"The 2021 The Octavius comes from a superb growing season in South Australia. I wouldn't normally be so broad-brush with a vintage overview, especially given the diversity of terroirs in South Australia, however it brought with it overly favorable conditions from Clare Valley to Coonawarra and everywhere in between. So here, the old vines that serviced the 2021 The Octavius lead with notes of dark fruit and cocoa, game, cassis and bramble. The tannins are profuse yet fine, firmly stamped into the fruit and seamlessly integrated at that. This is excellent, and it has a long future ahead. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork."
The old-vine Shiraz sourced for The Octavius grows on the Barossa Valley floor, where ancient sandy loam and clay soils force deep root systems and naturally restrict yields. The vines — many over 100 years old — are dry-grown without irrigation, which concentrates both flavour and structure. The Barossa's warm, dry continental climate delivers reliable ripeness, but the region's diurnal temperature swings help retain the acidity that gives wines like this their backbone.
The Barossa Valley is arguably Australia's most storied red wine region, built on Shiraz and German settler heritage, with vines dating back to the 1840s. There is no formal appellation system in Australia equivalent to French AOC, but Barossa Valley GI wines must be made from fruit grown within the defined geographic boundary. What makes Barossa Shiraz distinct from, say, McLaren Vale or Clare Valley is its combination of deep, warm soils, old vine age, and a flavour profile that skews towards plum, dark spice, and leather rather than the cooler-climate pepper and blue fruit you find further south or at elevation.
The 2021 vintage in Barossa played out as a tale of two halves, starting with a soggy winter and spring that had growers fretting about disease pressure, then pivoting to a remarkably benign harvest period. La Niña delivered the rain early, filling dams and giving vines the deep drink they needed, but by February the weather gods had seemingly sobered up and delivered one of the most stress-free picking seasons in recent memory. Cool nights, warm days, and crucially, no late heat spikes meant fruit could hang longer without the usual panic about sugar accumulation racing ahead of flavour development.
What emerged from the cellars shows a vintage with both power and poise, the extended hang time delivering Shiraz with real depth of flavour rather than just alcoholic grunt, whilst Grenache and old-vine Mourvèdre show a spiciness that feels vibrant rather than brooding. The Cabernets have a lovely freshness that we rarely see in this warm valley, and even the Rieslings from Eden Valley's cooler sites have more tension than usual. Most 2021s are drinking beautifully now, offering immediate pleasure whilst having the structure to cellar until 2035 for the serious stuff.
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