Yalumba has released the latest vintage of its flagship wine The Caley 2016 – the fifth release of the Cabernet Shiraz since the inaugural 2012.
The $365 wine is available at yalumba.com and in fine wine retailers.
“Since its inaugural release in 2017, The Caley has relied on our own provenance, integrity and enthusiasm which we have built over the past 172 years,” fifth-generation proprietor Robert Hill-Smith says.
“Through consistent narrative and quality, we have recruited a loyal base of connoisseurs across the world, and we are buoyed by the exceptional feedback we receive.
“Having followed the ferments and the development of the wine since 2016 and worked alongside KG (Kevin Glastonbury) on the final blend, I cannot help but be excited about this release.
“It was an even ripening season, with clean bunches and exceptional balanced flavours.
“We had many options for our blend, but again our core sites were chosen, which happily continued the vineyard theme we started in 2012.”
This release of The Caley is 71 percent Coonawarra Cabernet and 29 percent Barossa Shiraz.
“Built to spend many years in the cellar and drink beautifully from release to 2036 and beyond,” Robert says.
Kevin Glastonbury described 2016 as “a magnificent vintage”.
“It gave us pristine fruit with richness and concentration,” he says.
“The Caley 2016 comes into its own as a very sleek, refined and focused wine.
“It is a wine that sets us on a clear trajectory which we are very excited about. Aromatic, plush, rich, inviting, with the hallmark palate drive of The Caley.”
The wine is named in honour of Fred Caley Smith, grandson of Yalumba’s founder Samuel Smith.
Fred was a horticulturist who had a profound impact on the development of Yalumba’s orchards and vineyards.
He is best remembered for a ground-breaking research journey he undertook in 1893 and 1894 to the USA, UK, Europe, the Middle East, Sri Lanka and India.
Fred’s detailed and poignant letters to his father, sent home every few days, were collected and kept in Yalumba’s archive.
Each release of The Caley celebrates a step in Fred’s journey, and for the 2016 vintage, the spotlight falls on January 1894 and his journey to visit his family in the UK.
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