YALUMBA THE SIGNATURE CABERNET SAUVIGNON / SHIRAZ 2022

The 51th release of this Aussie Icon, this vintage named for Paul Midolo as the Signatory. This release continues a string of very good vintages. A classic blend of Barossa Cabernet and Shiraz. Undoubtedly age-worthy for many more years, this also has an approachability with super-smooth chocolate-berry vanillin oak, Christmas cake fruits and spices, a hint of smokiness and a sense of solidness on the palate. 

This is the kind of wine you need to have on hand to serve when you want to impress and you can have the confidence it will last in a good cellar for well over a decade if you forgot about it. Stunning value for a wine of its quality.

Winery notes (2022 Vintage)
"Each vintage of The Signature is named in honour of an individual who has made a significant contribution to the culture and traditions of Yalumba. We are delighted to present our 2022 vintage to Paul Midolo, Executive Director of Sales for Australia & New Zealand. Paul’s exceptional ability to foster strong relationships—within our sales teams, with our principal partners, and with our customers—reflects his outstanding character and dedication.

A beautiful, deep, dense red in colour. Well defined aromatics reflect the cool season. Perfumed red and purple berries, red licorice, blackcurrant and black cherries with cedar, mint and subtle herbaceous notes. Inviting and appealing freshness with hints of bay leaf and toasted spice layers along the palate. Full bodied, rich and concentrated with fine, flowing tannins and lovely texture in perfect harmony. Matured for 18 months in 21% new Hungarian hogsheads, French barriques and hogsheads, balance in older French and Hungarian barriques and hogsheads."

97/100 Erin Larkin, RobertParker.com, Wine Advocate, August 2025 (2022 Vintage)
"The 2022 The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz is so pretty—floral, red fruited and fine. This is a beautiful iteration of this wine. Ironically, there's a coastal freshness about it—kelp, brine, crushed shells—given it is nowhere near the coast. It's capacious and mineral and so fresh. The tannins are fine and neat, and the wine has incredible focus and line through the long finish. It's very impressive, potentially one of my favourite releases of this wine to date. It has wholly Barossa fruit this vintage."

96/100 QWine.com (2022 Vintage)
"And here I was thinking The Signature 2021 was one of the best releases to date, and then this 2022 comes around. Woah, this is something special. The talent of winemaker Kevin Glastonbury continues to overdeliver with this Cabernet Shiraz blend that never ceases to impress. The Signature carries a distinct cherry ripe character, and here we are again. That dark chocolate and cherry thing is absolutely delightful. A 51/49 blend of entirely Barossa fruit, blueberries and mulberries muse with raspberry rope, char and pan juices. Dried herbs, flashes of mint, some Bay leaf and an array of fine brown spices frame the palate with a plum density dripping from the mid-palate. Pillows of lacy tannins slowly melt away – brilliant! Slippery and incredibly delicious, this is another excellent release for a wine in the Yalumba range which I feel is very modestly priced. Go here."

96/100 Dave Brookes, James Halliday's Wine Companion, April 2025 (2022 Vintage)
"Yalumba's famous Signature cabernet sauvignon and shiraz blend has a strong pedigree when it comes to cellaring and the 2022 release will certainly carry on long into the future. The fruit density and purity here is impressive. Blackberry, Doris plum and black cherry tones, their flow elegant and graceful across the palate with hints of spice, cedar, tobacco, pencil shavings, roasting meats, dried herbs and olive tapenade. Fine-grained tannins are in abundance and there is an extended finish that rolls on and on. It's a super release."

5 Stars & 96/100 Aaron Brasher, The Real Review, June 2025 (2022 Vintage)
"Opaque, dark and a youthful plummy red in the glass. Lifted aromas of blackberry, mulberry, dark cherry, licorice, sweet nutty oak, bramble, dried herbs and spice. Full-bodied, generously flavoured, dark fruited, cedar, mocha and with plenty of shapely tannins and lively acidity. There's lovely power and balance here, very enjoyable drinking now, but will cellar for many years."

93/100 Dave Sly, Decanter, April 2025 (2022 Vintage)
"The remarkable consistency of The Signature over decades stands as a testament to Yalumba’s ability to keep finding superb Cabernet in the Barossa each year, even when this variety has a notoriously fickle temperament in dry vintages. The low-cropping 2022 vintage provided intense flavours, giving this wine rich character and a stern demeanour. Uncharacteristically, it shows more assertive Shiraz personality in its youth, offering dark power and deep, grinding bass notes through the mid-palate. The comforting warmth of savoury-edged Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon remains a significant contributor however. Its sturdy tannin profile suggests it will change with age in the cellar, when its Cabernet influence is likely to make a rich savoury mid-palate come into bloom."