2008 Yalumba, The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia (£26.99, Waitrose Wine Direct and 2 stores). This is an awesome wine. It is one of Australia’s greatest reds and yet is commands a very reasonable price indeed. While Penfolds Grange tops £350 per bottle, you can buy a case of twelve bottles of The Signature for the same price. I am a Grange fan, but this ratio is preposterous. The Signature is made from my favourite Aussie blend of Cabernet and Shiraz – in this wine’s case 56% Cab and 44 % Shiraz, seasoned with the perfect mix of French, American and Hungarian oak. The 2006 vintage has made my 100 Best Australian Wines list this year and this newly released 2008 is sublime, too, having won a Silver medal in last November’s The Great Australian Red competition. I would expect it to perform very well again in this year’s TGAR on 8th November. I will publish the results on my website as soon as I have collated them. With more exuberance than the 2006, thanks to the heat spikes in 2008, this is a luxurious, intense, wholly enjoyable wine and you should make it your mission to own some bottles because it is sensational in every way.
