Yalumba, 'The Virgilius' Viognier, 2023
Yalumba, 'The Virgilius' Viognier, 2023
- 75cl
- 12.5%
- White Still
- Viognier
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Optimal drinking window: Now - 2038
Fragrant and composed, this is Viognier with polish rather than excess. Aromas of apricot, white peach and honeysuckle lead into a textured, gently rounded palate, lifted by fresh acidity and a subtle savoury edge. Generous, but never heavy, with real balance and a long, elegant finish.
Founded in 1849, Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery and a quiet pioneer of Viognier. Virgilius sits at the top of their white range, reflecting the house style perfectly: expressive, thoughtful and built on fruit purity rather than overt winemaking.
Right now, in 2026, this is in a wonderfully expressive primary phase — the apricot and peach fruit vivid, the texture plush but precise. Over the next two to three years, that primary exuberance will settle and integrate, and a richer, nuttier, more honeyed character will begin to emerge from the lees influence.
What the critics say:
""2023 was a cooler year, and the season presented good opportunity for aromatic whites," says winemaker Louisa Rose. "The Virgilius that was produced this season is a classic iteration. The wine is not from one single vineyard, although it does predominantly come from one vineyard planted in 1980 in Angaston, which is around 380 meters in elevation. The Viognier loves the extra fertility in the soils here. The part of Angaston—Eden Valley—that the vineyard is in is old orchard country." The fruit is picked and pressed directly to mature oak puncheons. The wine sits on its full lees for around nine or 10 months, unless a barrel selection reveals the more tightly wound and focused examples. This is refined and driven by fine phenolics, with emerging width through the finish that is most attractive and very smart. Although I first tasted and reviewed this wine only a month ago, I subsequently had the opportunity to taste the Yalumba wines with winemaker Louisa Rose in Perth, so I decided to write a new review for this wine based on that tasting. 12.5% alcohol, sealed under screw cap."
"The 2023 Yalumba Virgilius Viognier is Yalumba’s flagship white and as fine a Viognier as you’ll find outside or even – dare I whisper it? – inside Condrieu, the grape’s spiritual home. It’s so light on its feet and where many a Viognier is flabby and cloying, it’s restrained and elegant with delicate wafts of peach and apricot rather than overwhelming gusts."
Tasting Notes
AppearancePale gold with a faint green tinge, bright and clear in the glass.
NoseRipe apricot and white peach are right up front, lifted by honeysuckle and a faint suggestion of ginger. There is a composed, almost classical quality to it — this is Viognier at full aromatic volume without tipping into excess.
PalateTextured and gently rounded from lees ageing in older oak puncheons, but the acidity keeps everything lively and focused. A savoury, slightly phenolic edge arrives through the mid-palate, giving it more grip and interest than you typically expect from the grape. The width through the finish — as Erin Larkin noted — is particularly attractive.
FinishLong and clean, with the orchard fruit fading gradually into something drier and more mineral.
Overall impressionThe rare Viognier that earns its reputation without leaning on its perfume.
Food Pairings
In the Barossa and Eden Valley, this style of wine tends to find its way to the table alongside roast chicken with preserved lemon, or slow-cooked pork with stone fruit. Viognier's natural affinity for spice makes it a natural partner for South Australian multicultural cooking — think Thai green curry or Vietnamese pho, both of which play off the wine's aromatic lift without being overwhelmed by it. A rich, saffron-spiked seafood dish, brodetto style, would be particularly good. Alternatively, keep it simple: a ripe piece of washed-rind cheese and some good bread is all this needs on a warm afternoon.
We think this wine would go well with
Serve at around 10-12°C — cold enough to keep the aromatics composed, but not so cold that you lose the texture the lees ageing has built in. No need to decant; just give it a few minutes in the glass after pouring. A wider-bowled white wine glass suits it well, something with enough room to let the nose open up without concentrating it to the point of headiness.
The fruit for Virgilius comes predominantly from a single vineyard planted in 1980 in Angaston, at around 380 metres elevation in the Eden Valley portion of that district. The altitude gives the site a significantly cooler growing season than the Barossa floor, which is precisely what keeps Viognier's natural exuberance in check and preserves the fine acidity that makes this wine tick. The old orchard soils here are relatively fertile, which suits Viognier well, encouraging the grape to develop aromatic depth without sacrificing structure. The 2023 vintage was notably cool, and that extra hang time comes through clearly in the wine's focus and composure.
Eden Valley sits in the elevated ranges east of the Barossa Valley, sharing a postcode but not a character with its famous neighbour. Where the Barossa floor is warm and generous, Eden Valley runs cooler and more austere, shaped by altitude and diurnal temperature swings that coax detail and acidity from white varieties in particular. It has long been Riesling country, but Viognier has found a natural home here too, especially in the hands of producers willing to let the site speak rather than amplify. There is no strict appellation system in Australia equivalent to European AOC rules, but Eden Valley carries a reputation built entirely on the quality of what goes in the bottle.
Eden Valley's 2023 growing season was shaped by the sort of climatic whiplash that keeps growers honest. A cool, wet spring pushed budbreak later than ideal, but the Barossa Ranges rewarded patience — the altitude that makes Eden Valley so distinctive meant that when the warmth finally arrived through summer, it built gradually rather than arriving in a single punishing wave. Yields were modest in places, but the canopy management improvements that have quietly transformed this region over the past decade meant that most growers were better placed than ever to handle the conditions.
The result is a vintage that plays to Eden Valley's strengths: Riesling with real spine and cut, the kind of steely, citrus-driven intensity that ages with purpose rather than just persistence. Shiraz, too, is showing the cooler-site character this region does so well — tighter, more detailed, and less obviously extracted than warmer-vintage examples. These are wines that reward a little patience. Most Rieslings are drinking well now but have the structure to develop until 2030 and beyond; the better Shiraz is worth setting aside until at least 2027.
FAQs
What does the Virgilius Viognier taste like?
Apricot and white peach on the nose, with honeysuckle lift and a gently spiced edge. On the palate it is textured and rounded from lees ageing, but fresh acidity keeps it lively, and a savoury, slightly phenolic quality through the mid-palate sets it apart from flabbier examples of the grape. The finish is long, clean, and dry.
Is this Viognier heavy or light?
It sits in an interesting middle ground. The aromatics are generous and distinctly Viognier, but at 12.5% alcohol and with the natural acidity that Eden Valley's elevation provides, it is far more composed and restrained than many. Jonathan Ray of The Spectator compared it favourably to Condrieu, the grape's spiritual home in the northern Rhône — and praised precisely this lightness of touch.
When should I drink this wine?
It is drinking very well right now, in 2026, with the primary fruit in full voice. We would happily open a bottle tonight, but it will continue to develop nicely until around 2036.
What food works well with this wine?
Viognier's perfume and texture make it brilliant with gently spiced dishes — Thai green curry, Vietnamese pho, or a saffron-rich fish stew all work beautifully. Closer to home, roast chicken with preserved lemon or a ripe washed-rind cheese are equally good matches. It has enough presence to hold its own against rich flavours without needing to compete with them.
How should I serve it?
Around 10-12°C is ideal. Too cold and you lose the texture; too warm and the aromatics tip into heaviness. Use a wider-bowled white wine glass to give the nose some room. No decanting needed — just let it breathe in the glass for a few minutes after pouring.
Is Yalumba's Virgilius worth the price?
For a Viognier at this level of quality and precision, we think yes, comfortably. It is the benchmark expression of the grape in Australia, made by a family winery with nearly 175 years of experience and a winemaker in Louisa Rose who has spent her career understanding exactly what this site can do. Wine Advocate awarded the 2023 vintage 94 points. At that quality, it competes with Condrieus that cost considerably more.
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