When my forebears landed in Australia 154 years ago from Dorset in England, I assume there was little in their favour bar optimism. My great great Grandfather Samuel Smith was a law abiding and God fearing man who plied his art as a Master Brewer in the small village of Wareham, where 5 breweries and 10 pubs were in enthusiastic operation!

History shows that coincidence and planning resulted in him befriending the local pastoralist George Fife Angas who employed him as a gardener and later leased him the site on which now stands the magnificent Yalumba Winery. Another unusual twist of the time shows an Englishman named this site after an aboriginal word “Yalumba”, meaning “All the land around”.

In 150 plus years of continuous family ownership, Yalumba has consistently stood as a leader in the industry. Experimentation, innovation and hard work have been the sustained elements of this continuum. Loyalty from growers and workers has also stood the company in good stead in trying times, particularly in the Depression of the 1930’s and extremely difficult times in the 1980’s.

Today as an owner of vineyards in three specific viticultural regions, Yalumba continues its quest for innovation and excellence. It retains the only privately run winery cooperage in the southern hemisphere and exercises controls over purchasing of oak and its seasoning before their two master coopers and three apprentices take on their annual challenge of producing exceptional barriques and puncheons for the new vintage wines. Yalumba likes to control the “ controllables”.

Robert Hill Smith, Yalumba Winery

---

Since Robert Hill Smith became involved in the wine game as a fifth generation member of the family, a number of significant changes have taken place. His purchasing with his father’s guidance of specific vineyard sites for style-defined outcomes have ensured the birth of new brands and the management of estates along the lines of the domains of Burgundy. As such, their leadership in Riesling and latterly Viognier and Shiraz /Viognier winemaking, has maintained its reputation of courage, innovation and excellence. Though Hill Smith has relied upon his training in a non-academic environment, his quest is to ensure anything that Yalumba does, is taken seriously, but above all, enjoyed rather than collected.

As an innovator in the vineyards, Yalumba has recently been appointed by ENTAV, the French government viticultural entity which has the largest clonal collection of virus free quality varietals in the world. This adds to the formidable reputation of the Yalumba nursery, who are at the leading edge of viticultural knowledge and enthusiasm in the Australian market. Though they do not hide behind the fact that they are a medium sized producer, recent initiatives have been aimed at small batch winemaking and production philosophies along artisanal lines. Such focus has produced a stunning new “hand-picked” family of wines which include Shiraz Viognier, Mataro/ Grenache and Shiraz blend (m/g/s), Single Spur Chardonnay and in the Vinnovations family, the wines have extended to Tempranillo (personal favourite), Marsanne and a Botrytis Viognier.

Working with his experienced friends, Brian Walsh and Kevin Glastonbury, one of the pointers to this artisanal quest in a wine that expresses true terroir of site, the sensational Vinnovations 2002 Reserve Shiraz from Hahns Block D will titillate and excite every serious wine person who comes across it in a glass. Whilst there may be more exciting things to do, Barossa has more old vine Shiraz and clonal variety than any other viticultural region in the world. Whilst it has at times been the workhorse of the Australian industry, now it is the King and it is this small batch focus which will on one hand differentiate but on the other hand, excite.