2018 Yalumba The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz

A refined, well fleshed Barossa Shiraz with admirable structure.

Pitch black heart with a deep dark red black tinged hue. Aromas of dark plum and liquorice mix with vanillin cedar, earth, fennel and subtle peppered leather notes. Rich blackberry, liquorice and dark plum fruits carry a refined, well fleshed feel across the medium to full bodied palate. Spicy vanillin cedar, earthy fennel and pepper elements extend across the back half. Polished yet sturdily built tannin structure with a long, finessed conclusion.
Drink over the next 8-10 years.
Alc. 14.5%

Other Reviews….
Yalumba's flagship offering is made from shiraz split across vineyards in the Barossa and Eden Valleys with an average age of 80 years. A portion is matured for 23 months in 30% new French oak barriques and hogsheads and the balance in one-year-old (and older) American octaves, French barriques and hogsheads. Deep crimson with ripe blackberry, black cherry, satsuma plum and blueberry fruits cut with baking spices, vanillin oak, cedar, licorice, dark chocolate, clove and violets. The fruit glistens on the palate, beautifully weighted and graceful in its shape, with ripe tannins melting into the wine and a shimmering acidity that provides cadence and shines a light on the pristine fruit. This will cellar beautifully, but my goodness it is lovely to drink at the moment. Another epic Octavius release. Drink by 2038.
97 Points
Dave Brookes – James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion

The first bottle of 2018 The Octavius was corked. I have opened the second bottle for review. Coffee grounds, dark chocolate, mulberry compote and black olive tapenade lead the charge for this irrepressibly Australian Shiraz. Big bold forest berry flavors are effusive and almost gushing, held in check by the firm hand of tannic structure. Woodsy spices—sandalwood, particularly—punctuate the black cherry and salted licorice characters. This is really good, satisfying, mouthfilling, delicious. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
96+ Points
Erin Larkin – Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate

A famous wine which, fortunately, does not receive quite the extended oak treatment it once did. From Barossa vines dating back to 1854, maturation is in Yalumba-coopered oak octaves – 21 months in a mix of 25% new French barriques and hogsheads and the remainder in one-year and older French octaves (which are 100-litre oak barrels), barriques and hogsheads. It is now one of the few wines to be available through the La Place de Bordeaux system, reserved for the world’s finest. Black cherry hue. This is still very young and needs a good four to six years before it is likely to come into its own. Then it should offer fifteen to twenty years of pleasure, for the patient. There is still plenty of oak evident at this early stage, but it is integrating well, if slowly, showing good concentration, power and intensity. At this early stage, it is still a bit of a bruiser but a finely balanced one and a wine which shows every sign that the transformation, when it comes, will be very exciting. Seamless and with fine tannins, there is excellent length and it unfurls blackcurrants, raspberries, cranberries, mocha, hot chocolate, beefstock and floral notes on the palate. Drink 2023-2043.
96 Points
Ken Gargett – WinePilot.com

Fragranced and aromatically complex on the nose - beguiling and totally captivating red berries, clove, vanilla, liquorice and wild herbs. This has an inky density to it, weighty and fully textured but with amazing purity of fruit. Bright and piercing acidity adds to the overall expression with tannins that are refined yet carry a sense of opulence and seduction. Clean and sleek, wide, full and mouthwatering with liquorice, cherry blossom and strawberry fruit all the way through. Delicious.
97 Points
Decanter.com