Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier

Five generations and 167 years later Yalumba, Australia's most historic family owned winery, has grown in size and stature, embodying all that has made the Australian wine success story the envy of winemakers the world over.

Located near the town of Angaston, South Australia in the Barossa Valley wine region. Yalumba was founded by a British brewer, Samuel Smith, who emigrated to Australia with his family from Wareham, Dorset in August 1847 aboard the ship 'China'. Upon arriving in Australia in December, Smith built a small house on the banks of the River Torrens. He lived there less than a year before moving north to Angaston where he purchased a 30-acre (120,000 m2) block of land on the settlement's south eastern boundary. He named his property "Yalumba" after an indigenous Australian word for "all the land around". In 1849 Samuel Smith, along with his son Sidney, planted Yalumba's first vineyards, beginning the Yalumba dynasty. Today Yalumba is Australia's oldest family-owned winery.

Sustainability is nothing new to Yalumba – it is simply a way of life. With more than 168 years of winemaking behind them, Yalumba understand the need to make the right choices for the environment, the local community and the wines. In the vineyard, Yalumba have a holistic approach to growing grapes. This is embodied in their ‘Vitis Programme’, which states a commitment to having minimal reliance on pesticides and maximum attention to environmental improvement.

Viogner,

Yalumba has pioneered the growing and making of Viognier in Australia since 1980. With over 30 years of viticultural and winemaking experience working with this alluring variety. This wine is the essence of what Viognier is all about.

After harvest about 60% of the fruit was gently pressed directly to barrels, the rest to stainless steel tanks. The juice was allowed to passively interact with the air, oxidising out any bitter phenolics and creating a perfect environment for the indigenous yeasts, natural to the vineyard, to ferment. The wine was left on lees with regular batonnage for 10 months which increased the complexity and creaminess of the wine and further heightened the palate weight.

Pure aromas are reminiscent of fresh apricots, lifted ginger, saffron and fresh white flowers. The palate is long, rich and luscious, with intense and expressive stone fruit flavours and hints of orange peel, finishing with an alluring freshness. This wine will continue to grow and develop in the bottle, firstly showing enhanced apricots and spice, then after a couple of years developing honey flavours and toast complexity. A wonderful food wine that complements spiced dishes.

Try it with Moroccan tajine and spiced cous cous or pork dumplings with ginger and chilli oil dipping sauce.