Yalumba announces launch of 2026 Rare & Fine Collection

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 05 August, 2026

Barossa-based winery Yalumba has announced the global launch of its 2026 Rare & Fine Collection, led by The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2023, which will be available exclusively through The Wine Society in the UK from 19 August.

As Australia’s oldest family winery, tracing its roots back to its first vines planted in 1849, the well-known producer only releases wines in its Rare & Fine selection, featuring Barossa and Coonawarra, from the best years.

This 2026 collection also includes: The Caley Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz 2021; The Octavius Old Vine Shiraz 2021; The Tri-Centenary Grenache 2024; The Menzies Cabernet Sauvignon 2022; and The Steeple Shiraz 2022.

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These additional wines will be available through selected retailers, to be confirmed, with staggered releases throughout August and September.

“It is not a given that we make each Rare & Fine wine every year – only when all elements of viticulture and winemaking align to deliver something special. The 2026 Collection is an outstanding example of Yalumba’s regional and varietal expertise, and a true testament to the Hill-Smith family’s fine wine legacy,” said Sam Wigan, head winemaker at Yalumba.

“The 2026 release wines span four vintages from 2021 to 2024. That breadth is the hallmark of Yalumba’s regional expertise and fine wine philosophy, from Grenache that shines in its youth to Cabernet and Shiraz blends that benefit from time in bottle… designed to reflect the rhythm of our vineyards and the diversity of our craft.”

Yalumba’s fifth generation chair, Robert Hill-Smith, added: “Our Rare & Fine wines remind us that legacy is written one season at a time – every bottle a new chapter in the Yalumba story. Each vintage captures our heritage and our responsibility to the future, crafting wines that endure, from vines that have endured.”

The estate has long championed both quality and Australia’s vinous heritage, most memorably with its 175th anniversary tour in 2024, which showed Museum and aged wines stretching back to a 1974 FDR (Fine Dry Red) 1A Claret in London and elsewhere.

Old vines very much play their part in Yalumba’s fine wine offer, contributing to the legacy that this go-ahead producer continues to celebrate today.

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