production

YALUMBA, Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, will in May launch a landmark wine that has been 168 years in the making – The Caley Coonawarra & Barossa Cabernet & Shiraz.
“The Caley is the pinnacle of a long winemaking journey seeking excellence – a ‘super claret’ that rightfully honours one of Yalumba’s most adventurous sons,” vigneron Robert Hill-Smith said. “It is the result of an unwavering commitment by Yalumba to Australia’s own unique red wine style – cabernet and shiraz – from the Galway Clarets of the 1940s, through to the Signature and FDR 1A that started in the ’60s and ’70s and The Reserve that was created in the 1990s. I see it as a symbol of Yalumba’s perseverance and patience, an acknowledgment of the importance of time in crafting great wine.”
Sourced from Yalumba’s own Menzies cabernet sauvignon estates in Coonawarra and two old vine shiraz vineyards in Barossa (Yalumba’s Horseshoe vineyard and the Burgemeister Linke Block), The Caley is designed for longevity and collectability.
“The Caley brings together the linear elegance, firm tannins and persistent acid structure of Coonawarra cabernet with the voluptuous, textural richness of Barossa shiraz,” Hill-Smith said. “I felt that given our long history in the making of this quirky blend of cabernet and shiraz, a Coonawarra-Barossa creation may yet become our ultimate achievement. Our very Australian-ness is captured in the pragmatism of so many of Australia’s early wines – lyrical creations that were about the wine, not the rules – and The Caley is such a wine. It is a great example of our rich wine culture of experimentation and a willingness to give it a go.”
The wine has been named in honour of Fred Caley Smith, grandson of Yalumba’s founder Samuel Smith. Fred was a horticulturist who had a profound impact on the development of Yalumba’s orchards and vineyards.
He is best remembered for an 18-month ground-breaking research journey that he undertook in 1893 and 1894 to the US, UK, Europe, the Middle East, Sri Lanka and India. The then 29-year-old’s detailed and poignant letters to his father, sent home every few days, were collected and kept in the Yalumba archive. Over subsequent generations they have provided inspiration and encouragement for the winery’s outward looking international handshake.
“Australian wine is at an exciting time in its evolution,” Hill-Smith said. “It can use an authentic story of aspiration, struggle and persistence. The Caley is that story – of a long journey that is a long way from over.”
The Caley will retail for $349 for a gift-packed 750m and the wine’s international release will take place in May – the 124th anniversary of Fred Caley Smith’s arrival in San Francisco.