2008 Yalumba Shiraz The Octavius

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 91.7 points

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  3/13/2022 - ChateauDutremble Likes this wine: 95 Points

  A success given the poor vintage and happy to have opened it now and not later. Ever evolving throughout the evening...at first, quite vegetal with celery spices and some floral notes. Followed by sandalwood, sawdust, candied orange and ripe dark fruit. Complexe and layered...and fruity: flavours of dark berries, tomato stems, celery salt. Round texture with a long finish. Always a treat...delicious!

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  12/9/2019 - kostaslonis Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Random drinking night out (Chez VagFak): The wine was decanted 4.5 hours
  The wine shows pitch black colour.
  The wine shows high intensity and density in the nose, its very ripe with red and black fruit, sweet oak, earthy and spicy, fruit filled chocolate, fruit liquor, prunes, very powerful.
  In the palate, the wine is quite powerful again, showing raisins, prunes, earth and spices, dense sweet oak, smooth but strong tannins, medium to full body, medium to long finish.
  The wine shows outstanding quality, looks great now but can also hold

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  1/19/2019 - Binkey wrote: 88 Points

  Decant for 1 hour at least,at start a lot of tannins and very strong nose.we compare it with the vintage of 2001,at start the nose was better and smoother of the 2001 and 2008 was strong with fresh fuits aromas.the taste was a bit strong and not balanced but improving during drinking.hold,needs for sure ageing

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  11/5/2016 - SlimShaney wrote: 90 Points

  Initial taste after opening was disappointing; monolithic and fiery. A decade ago I always thought of Octavius as a 'go to' great wine that was sure to impress.
  
  Redemption starts after breathing for half an hour and then there's continuous improvement. Juicy fruit comes through with an angular merlot like sourness around the edges fortunately offset by a firm but not overwhelming tannin, with an inconsistently weak finish that leaves you feeling short changed for a big wine. After nearly 3 hours the finish improves with a more convincing note of bitter chocolate, but Im feeling indifferent about having another bottle.

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  10/21/2016 - BigfootPMH Likes this wine: 92 Points

  We had this at a CI4 catch up at Hurricanes. Aside from the fact that the waitress doesn't know how to pour wine into a decanter (she emptied the entire bottle in a swashbuckling manner and ensured every last bit of sediment was transferred to the decanter) this wine impresses.
  
  Beautifully balanced with indetectable tannins, the fruit, structure and nose of this wine doesn't dissapoint from what was a great vintage year.
  
  This is my first tasting of Yalumba's flagship wine and I doubt it will be my last.
  
  Highly recommend and suggest this could improve with age, but is drinking wonderfully now.

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