Winemaker Notes
Pale gold in color with a vibrant green hue. An elegant bouquet of grilled white peaches, ginger, star anise and white pepper are complemented by aromas of white flowers and lime zest. Subtle notes of almond meal and a hint of vanilla add complexity. The palate is rich, precise and refreshing with fine acidity and serious length. Seamlessly integrated oak provides depth and balance.
Professional Ratings
-
Australian Wine Companion
Yalumba's Virgilius Viognier remains a benchmark for the variety in Australia. Expressive but so finely focused and precise, nothing blown out of proportion, no mean feat with this persnickety variety. Tautly stretched citrus fruits with a whiff of apricot kernel and hints of white flowers, crushed stone, almond meal, white flowers, some distant marzipan and clover blossom. Stony-pure on the palate with a lovely bright mineral cadence and a dry, enduring finish.
-
James Suckling
Attractive aromas of lavender, white nectarines, orange blossoms, fresh apricots and talcum powder. The palate is full-bodied with finely balanced phenolics and bright acidity that carry powerful flavors of lemon curd, rosewater, kaffir limes and peaches. Well balanced and powerful, with underlying tension.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"2023 was a cooler year, and the season presented good opportunity for aromatic whites," says winemaker Louisa Rose. "The Virgilius that was produced this season is a classic iteration. The wine is not from one single vineyard, although it does predominantly come from one vineyard planted in 1980 in Angaston, which is around 380 meters in elevation. The Viognier loves the extra fertility in the soils here. The part of Angaston—Eden Valley—that the vineyard is in is old orchard country." The fruit is picked and pressed directly to mature oak puncheons. The wine sits on its full lees for around nine or 10 months, unless a barrel selection reveals the more tightly wound and focused examples. This is refined and driven by fine phenolics, with emerging width through the finish that is most attractive and very smart. Although I first tasted and reviewed this wine only a month ago, I subsequently had the opportunity to taste the Yalumba wines with winemaker Louisa Rose in Perth, so I decided to write a new review for this wine based on that tasting. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
-
Vinous
The 2023 Viognier The Virgilius is a more understated vintage with its controlled musky peach, apricot and blossom aromas and French oak sitting comfortably behind. This is linear in texture with vibrant yet balanced acidity, while elegant flavors are more in pithy/peach stone territory, punctuated by subtle nutty oak tones. The 2023 is attractive but early drinking.
-
Wine Spectator
An effusive white, with orange blossom, apple, peach and fresh ginger flavors that are generous, plump and juicy. A firm backbone of acidity and spices leaves plenty of room for the flavors to expand on the generous finish.
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.
Full-figured and charmingly floral, Viognier is one of the most important white grapes of the northern Rhône where it is used both to produce single varietal wines and as an important blending grape. Look for great New World examples from California, Oregon, Washington and cooler parts of Australia. Somm Secret—Viognier plays a surprisingly important role in the red wines of Côte Rôtie in the northern Rhône. About 5% Viognier is typically co-fermented with the Syrah in order to stabilize the color, and as an added benefit, add a subtle perfume.
Higher in elevation and topographically more dramatic than the Barossa Valley floor, Eden Valley abuts it to its south and east. While it is a bit of an extension of Barossa, Eden Valley is topographically different than the pastoral Barossa Valley, and is composed of rocky hills and eucalyptus groves.
Recognizing Eden Valley’s potential with Riesling in the 1960s and 70s, producers started to move their Riesling production from Barossa to these better sites where schist soils on hilltops would produce more steely, tart and age-worthy examples. A most famous site, planted by Colin Gramp, called Steingarten, today produces one of the most outstanding Australian Rieslings. Youthful Eden Valley Rieslings express floral, grapefruit and mineral, while with time in the bottle, they become increasingly toasty and complex.
Riesling isn’t the only grape the region can grow; undeniably at lower altitudes Shiraz does very well. Mount Edelstone is a notable vineyard as well as the Hill of Grace, which boasts healthy Shiraz vines well over 100 years old. This is the only Australian region where Merlot has a made a name for itself and Chardonnay can be spectacular, particularly from the High Eden subregion in the southern valley.