Yalumba's latest release includes nine flagship wines aged for between 10 and 15 years

There’s no straight formula for when Australian wines are released. Depending on the variety, style, vintage, and not least, the winery’s business model, some will be made, bottled and released very quickly, whereas others will spend years in barrel or bottle before they hit the market.

Some wineries may even choose to hold back a portion of their best wines for 10 or more years. These ‘museum’ wines are usually kept so the winery can track and demonstrate the ageing potential of certain wines and vintages, however, they can also serve as a cellaring 'shortcut' for consumers and retailers who don’t have the means or the patience to do it themselves.

Seven of the nine wines included in Yalumba's 2025 Museum Collection.

In 2024, to coincide with its 175th anniversary, Yalumba released its first Museum Collection. The project was engineered by Jessica Hill-Smith, sixth-generation family member and general manager of PR and communications, who recognised the desire of restaurants in particular to access aged wines. With the Angaston winery’s cellar already stacked with wines from previous vintages, it made sense to make them available beyond the intimate tastings sometimes hosted by Yalumba for select members of the industry.

Yalumba’s second Museum Collection, released on May 1, features nine flagship wines from the 2010, 2013 and 2015 vintages, aged under cork for 15, 12 and 10 years, respectively. Alongside limited quantities of The Caley, The Octavius, The Menzies, and The Signature, the 2025 Museum Collection also includes The Tri-Centenary Grenache for the first time. Because there are such minuscule quantities of the 2010 The Caley and 2010 The Signature, these two will only be available at the winery's cellar door.

“I love these wines at that 10- to 15-year mark,” says Louisa Rose, Yalumba winemaker and head of sustainability. “You still see some primary fruit at this point, but you also have that beautiful complexity that comes with bottle ageing.”

As well as the 2025 Museum Collection, May 1 also saw the release of the 2022 The Signature. Outgoing executive sales director Paul Midolo has been named signatory of what is the 51st vintage of this iconic wine, in acknowledgment of the contributions he’s made to both the winery and the Hill-Smith family since he joined in 1995. 

Read on to discover what Dave Brookes thinks of Yalumba's latest releases, or try them in person at a special launch event Yalumba is hosting at its Angaston winery on Saturday 14 June, 2025.

2022 The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz

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. – Dave Brookes, 96 points

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