Yalumba, The Octavius - Barossa Valley 2018

The Drink Business

95

byColin Haythe2/28/2024

The oak is more restrained than you might imagine – this is, after all, named after the wood in which the wine is matured for nearly 2 years. Bright, fresh, quite lifted and both spicy but also crisp and enticingly herb tinged. A little vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon stick, and clove, but also garrigue notes accompanying the baked plum, red cherry and plump red berry fruit. A second tasting reveals more black raspberry notes. Soft, fine-grained tannins and an immediately pleasing sense of tension between the richness and opulence of the fruit and the acidity and tannic grip which both contribute to draw the wine back to the spine as it evolves and stretches itself out over the palate. That gives this an impressive sense of structure, revealing its aging potential. Sapid and fresh on the finish.

Decanter.com

97

byGeorgina Hindlethe2/14/2024

Fragranced and aromatically complex on the nose - beguiling and totally captivating red berries, clove, vanilla, liquorice and wild herbs. This has an inky density to it, weighty and fully textured but with amazing purity of fruit. Bright and piercing acidity adds to the overall expression with tannins that are refined yet carry a sense of opulence and seduction. Clean and sleek, wide, full and mouthwatering with liquorice, cherry blossom and strawberry fruit all the way through. Delicious.

Wine Advocate

96

byErin Larkinthe8/24/2023

Coffee grounds, dark chocolate, mulberry compote and black olive tapenade lead the charge for this irrepressibly Australian Shiraz. Big bold forest berry flavors are effusive and almost gushing, held in check by the firm hand of tannic structure. Woodsy spices—sandalwood, particularly—punctuate the black cherry and salted licorice characters. This is really good, satisfying, mouthfilling, delicious. 14.5% alcohol, sealed under natural cork.
96+

The Wine Independent

96

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe8/21/2023

The 2018 The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz comes 69% from the Eden Valley and 31% from the Barossa Valley, with the vines more than 100 years old on average. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with exuberant notes of black cherries, warm plums, and fruitcake with hints of licorice, lilacs, peppered salami, and tar. The full-bodied palate offers fantastic freshness and vibrancy, with a racy backbone and velvety tannins, finishing very long and very spicy.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

97

byJane Ansonthe7/10/2023

Waves of charred sandalwood, white pepper, sage, liqourice root, juicy black fruits and balanced acidities giving plenty of freshness and a slow burn finish. You can already see just how slowly this wine ages, as even at 5 years old it is still very much in its primary phase, with muscular tannins that are confidently keeping everything in line. The fruit sourcing also reflects the drive towards fresher expression in what was a warm vintage, with 69% Eden Valley and 31% Barossa. Expertly navigated, picked a little earlier than many in the region. First vintage on the Place for this wonderful Shiraz. Ageing in 25% Yalumba coopered American octaves, 25% new French hogsheads, 6% Hungarian hogsheads. Winemaker Kevin Glastonbury, harvest February 15 to April 10.

matthewjukes.com

19

byMatthew Jukesthe6/28/2023

It is with great joy that I can reveal that 2018 The Octavius is a stellar wine, worthy of its name,nodding to the past but striding with the utmost confidence into the future. It is heroic but not showy,dramatic but not theatrical and profound but not introverted. The fruit is tempered, and the carpentry,from whence it derives its unusual name, is entirely harmonious serving to heighten the kaleidoscopeof flavours instead of straight-jacketing them. 2018 is a triumphant vintage of The Octavius, and itseems fitting that this wine announces Yalumba’s arrival on the world stage. I do not doubt that thiswine will receive a standing ovation when a worldwide audience has the chance to taste it.
19+

Jamessuckling.com

93

byJames Sucklingthe6/13/2023

Old vine Barossan shiraz from a stellar vintage, boasting a lilt of damson, violet and black olive. Rich and lustrous, with a carriage of well wrought tannins directing solid length. The caveat, the eucalyptus across the finish. For some, this is a mark of Australiana. For others, such as myself, it is a drying agent. Drinkable now, but best from 2025.

The Vintage Journal

99

byAndrew Caillard MWthe4/17/2023

Medium deep crimson. Magnificent pure blackberry blackberrydark chocolatearomas with vanilla roasted chestnut notes. Beautifully concentrated and inky deep with beautifulpure dark berry fruits fine slinky animated tannins and perfectly integrated new mocha, vanillaoak. Finishes classically firm with superb mineral length. Very seductive and impressive with abeautiful scent of place. Wonderful fruit definition, purity and precision with the density andtorque for long term aging. Almost perfect symmetry.

Decanter.com

95

byDavid Slythe4/4/2023

For so long a power-packed statement that celebrates the muscle of 100-year-old Barossa Shiraz, Octavius has dialled down the aggression in a vintage that provided fine tannins to support a more supple texture. It allows its big body to glide. With 69% of the fruit sourced from higher, cooler Eden Valley sites, there are bright blueberries among the Barossa Valley's blackberry grunt, rolling around a plush, velvety mid-palate. While oak is always a feature of this wine – after all, it’s named after eight-stave French oak barrels in which it matures (with other vessels) for 21 months – winemaker Kevin Glastonbury has calmed the meld so that a soft lick of vanilla adds finesse to a lush bed of luscious purple fruits with a hint of tobacco chew.

Vinous

95

byAngus Hughsonthe3/1/2023

This 2018 Shiraz The Octavius, made from 67% Barossa Valley and 33% Eden Valley fruit, is a powerhouse and bold edition of Octavius thanks to its lashings of black cherry, blackberry, and new leather with subtle touches of pepper and sage. Bold yet manicured, it displays punchy sweet-fruited flavors with some savory meat stocks in the background, which will build in time. Firm tannins are nicely balanced over a long but closed finish suggesting this wine will be best enjoyed after at least a decade’s rest.

Yalumba, one of Barossa’s original winemakers with a history stretching back to 1849, remains a regional leader on a number of levels and an international flag bearer for Barossa. Yet, the company makes wines across South Australia. While always offering a broad range of wines under the custodianship of Robert Hill-Smith, recent years have seen increasing focus at the top end of the quality spectrum. With their home at Angaston in the Eden Valley, Yalumba, more than any other winery, promotes the more savory and elegant side of Barossa. Their leading wines are benchmarks, particularly the uniquely Australian blends of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, with their Viognier efforts, particularly the oak-fermented and matured Virgilius also worthy of note.