Winemaker Notes
Try with slow roasted lamb shank, roasted parsnips and kipfler potatoes.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Octavius has always been oaky, but over the years the fruit has come into better balance, and the 2009 may be one of the most successful editions yet released. It's dense and impenetrable at first, only slowly yielding hints of plum, mocha and vanilla.
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James Suckling
Aromas of blackberries, blueberries and dried cherries. Full body, silky tannins and a fresh, clean finish. Pretty wine. Shows depth and refinement. Old vine wine. Drink now.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 The Octavius hails from old vines in the Barossa. The oldest vineyard is in the Eden Valley, which was planted in 1854. In the mouth, the wine is showing its charry élevage, but the fruit emerges triumphant through the finish, where we see blackberry and dark chocolate, crushed quartz and pressed flowers. To give some more detail on the oak, it was 39% new octaves (100-liter barrels, both French and American oak). While the octave is still important to the current vintages, they are usually second-use/seasoned. This is heading in a direction I like, and the intensity of the fruit through the finish is both pleasurable and heartening. 13.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork, 6.5 total acidity, 3.45 pH. Rating: 92+
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Wine Spectator
Rich and ripe, with dense blueberry and dark plum fruit, shaded with cinnamon and white pepper hints as the finish sails on against refined tannins. Drink now through 2021. 100 cases imported.
Established in 1849, Yalumba is Australia’s most historic family-owned wine company showcasing the best of the Barossa and South Australian wine regions. Fiercely independent and extremely progressive through the generational ownership by the Hill-Smith family, their longevity and success are a result of patience, collaboration, and forward-thinking. Yalumba is a leader in the industry with the foresight to embrace the natural terroir to craft wines with individual character and a sense of purpose, as well as a spirit to reinvest in the land upon which it operates. Yalumba is committed to sharing stories of provenance gathered over 175 years of history of family winemaking.
Arguably the single most famous wine region in Australia, the Barossa includes both Barossa Valley and Eden Valley, making it one of the only areas in Australia to have neighboring warm and cool climate growing conditions. Yalumba is privileged to have access to some of the oldest vineyards in the world in Barossa Valley, including 1889 bush vine Grenache and 1908 Shiraz. They are committed to growing premium quality fruit reflecting distinctive varietal characters of the region.
Yalumba also operates the Southern Hemisphere's only fully operational Cooperage, crafting bespoke oak barrels that elevate the wines aged within them. While the beginnings of the Yalumba Cooperage remain a mystery lost in time, coopering has been a proud tradition at the winery for more than a century. Their coopers have been performing and perfecting their craft since around 1890. In the Nursery, Yalumba is a global leader in wine innovation, growing, evaluating, and supplying quality grape vines to the Australian wine industry. Yalumba has developed strong relationships with leading grapevine programs from around the world and have exclusive access to certain new varietals in Australia. This gives the Yalumba viticulturists and winemakers the unique opportunity to evaluate and develop new or emerging varieties before they are sold.
Yalumba continually strives to reduce their impact on the environment, stay involved in the community, and make great wine with minimal intervention in the vineyard and in the winery. They are committed to sustainable practices, with the belief that the healthier and more biodiverse the vineyards are, the better the wines will be. Yalumba has been developing its own sustainable viticulture program since the mid-1990s, promoting the economic production of quality grapes. For every acre of vineyard Yalumba own, they have at least one acre of native vegetation. All Yalumba wines are crafted with wild yeast, are 100% vegan, and are made with the least intervention possible but with as much knowledge, confidence, and expertise as possible.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The Barossa Zone encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Some of the oldest vines in Australia can be found here.
Barossa Valley of course is the most important and famous wine growing region in all of Australia where 140+ year-old, dry-farmed Shiraz vines still produce inky, purple and dense juice for some of Australia's best wines.
In the cooler, wetter Eden Valley sub-region, the Hill of Grace vineyard is home to famous Shiraz vines from the 1800s but the region produces also some of Australia’s very best and age-worthy Rieslings.