Awards and Accolades

2013 Vintage: 90 Points - James Halliday, Wine Companion
"A strapping wine indeed, providing a kaleidoscope of red and black fruits with an earthy crown and tannic backbone. Will canter through the next decade or more, protected against any cork god evil."

From the Winery

Yalumba’s Samuel’s Garden collection celebrates the direct lineage to Australia’s first vine plantings, some of which could be found in Samuel Smith’s garden 166 years ago. Since those humble beginnings Yalumba have turning wine marking into a finely honed craft and using three seperate varieties have produced a wine which embodies all the finest qualities of the Barossa region.

The season began with above average temperatures, coupled with a very windy Spring during flowering, which led to lower crop loads. The warm, dry January and February was suddenly halted by 100mm of rain in 24 hours. The rain was followed by moderate temperatures that caused ripening to slow down, resulting in a long ripening period that helped to deliver strong varietal flavours in Barossa Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro.

The three GSM varieties are picked separately for this wine and wild fermented in small batches – some in oak and some in stainless steel. The subsequent wines are aged in a mixture of large oak vats, small oak vats, puncheons and smaller oak barrels to allow the wines to develop without the influence of too much oak flavour and to increase textures and complexity.