2022 Yalumba Shiraz Samuel's Collection Barossa 750 ml

When Samuel Smith planted his first vines in the Barossa, he knew the region had incredible winemaking promise. But even he couldn’t have imagined the vintage that his descendants at Yalumba would experience over 170 years later.

“Is there such a thing as a perfect vintage? Where the sun shines brightly but not too brightly, and the gods deliver just the right amount of rainfall at the perfect time?” mused Vinous in their report on 2022 Barossa wines. 

That article, titled “Barossa 2022: Run, Don’t Walk,” sums up our view on the year quite nicely.

In great vintages, it’s nearly impossible to make bad wine, but the great producers always outperform the lofty expectations. Yalumba is one of Australia’s most historic family-owned wineries, crowned with a rare “red” 5-star rating from Australia’s most eminent wine critic, James Halliday—and their 2022 Samuel’s Collection Shiraz is an absolute home run. 

It’s drawn from a collection of sites across the Barossa, using the region’s variations in climate and soil (fully 33 different soil types, more than half the different soils in South Australia) to build complexity and intrigue. Like Lafite-Rothschild, Yalumba owns their own cooperage, and they use a variety of sizes of barrels—from tiny octaves (about 50 liters) to large hogsheads—to draw out the quality of the different terroirs.

The result absolutely sings in the glass, with bold aromas of blackberry compote, dark chocolate, crushed violets, and exotic spices. The palate is lush, with the full-bodied richness and lavish fruit we love about Aussie Shiraz. Packed with dark plums, blueberries, a hint of licorice, and a seductive oak smokiness, this is an outstanding bottle, and an epic value.