2018 Yalumba The Caley Cabernet Shiraz

Yalumba's The Caley is one of Australia's great cabernet shiraz blends — a tribute to Fred Caley Smith, drawing cabernet sauvignon from Coonawarra and shiraz from the Barossa, two of the country's most iconic regions. The 2018 is an 80% Coonawarra cabernet / 20% Barossa shiraz blend, matured for 20 months in French oak barriques (38% new). From a celebrated vintage, it is deep and purple-tinted: a fresh, bold bouquet of cassis, dark plum and choc-cherry fruit lifted by forest floor, mint, dried herbs, roasted chestnut and aniseed. The palate is full-bodied, concentrated and firmly structured, with abundant fine tannins and a tremendously long finish. Beautifully balanced and built to reward decades in the cellar. Huon Hooke awarded it 99 points, calling it "a magnificent wine," with Andrew Caillard MW (98+) and Ken Gargett (98) equally enthralled.