Yalumba Rare & Fine The Caley Cabernet & Shiraz

The Caley exists only when Yalumba's winemaking team declares a vintage worthy — a deliberate scarcity decision that has defined this inter-regional blend since its inception, continuing the house's tradition of Cabernet–Shiraz blending that stretches back to 1962. Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (~55–69%) is drawn from the Menzies Vineyard, where terra rossa topsoil over limestone delivers the variety's characteristic graphite-edged structure and precise cassis fruit; the limestone drainage keeps vine stress calibrated, concentrating flavour without sacrificing freshness. That structural chassis is then fleshed out by Barossa Valley and/or Eden Valley Shiraz (~23–45%), sourced from warm, alluvial valley floor sites that contribute mid-palate density and dark-fruited amplitude. In the cellar, wild fermentation in open-top vessels initiates complexity before the wine moves to ~20–21 months in French oak, approximately 41% new barriques — a higher new-oak proportion than The Signature, calibrated to absorb the Coonawarra Cabernet's firm tannin architecture. What sets The Caley apart categorically is that every barrel is sourced through or crafted at Yalumba's on-site cooperage — the only operational winery cooperage in the Southern Hemisphere — giving the team oak-grain control no Australian peer can replicate. The 2017 vintage, not individually noted in the brand library, falls between two documented stellar years (2016 and 2018), suggesting a wine of genuine structural integrity; expect firm tannin and primary dark fruit now, with a cellaring window extending well into the 2030s.