In this pack, you’ll receive one bottle each of the Kaesler Old Vine Barossa Valley Shiraz from each vintage of 2012-2017.
The Old Vine is a blend of parcels of 45-year-old Shiraz from Kaesler vineyards. Sitting on the higher end of alcohol by volume spectrum, the Kaesler Old Vine is actually quite an elegant wine. It’s not that iron fist in a velvet glove because it doesn’t push to extremes. It’s more like a firm handshake, honest and assured. It spends about a year-and-a-half in new French oak and you may find some sediment in the bottle when you pull it out of the cellar. And the wine is all the better for it, developing as it does over time.
Comes from the three estate blocks at Marananga and Nuriootpa aged 53, 49 and 29yo; it spends 10 days on skins with twice daily pump overs, then 23 months in French oak (30% new). A very different mouthfeel to Alte Reben and Old Bastard, unequivocally full-bodied, built on a scaffold of tannins, with layers of black fruits and tannins. This needs more time in bottle, but has the balance to repay patience.
95 points, Wine Companion (November 2014)
From two vineyard blocks at Nuriootpa 43 and 63yo; hand-picked in the early morning, 8 days on skins, 19 months in French oak (30% new). Said to be produced as an elegant wine, yet its high octane alcohol speaks of berries well and truly dimpled, if not raisined. You have to acknowledge that Reid Bosward knows these vineyards very well, and that the style is no accident. Regular buyers will not be disappointed.
94 points, Wine Companion (June 2016)
Deep, dense, dark colour. Very rich aromas of dark chocolate, mocha, and blackberries galore. The wine is very full-bodied, ample and lavishly-flavoured, with great volume in the mouth and an abundance of supple, mouth-coating tannins. Sweet fruit middle. A lovely big Barossa red. (From two estate vineyards aged 46 and 66 years)
96 points, The Real Review (May 2019)
Black fruit, curry spices, vanilla, liquorice. Purple flavour and good depth, smooth grained tannin, chocolate and spice, and a liquorice infused finish of good length, though slightly drying. Stylish.
94 points, The Wine Front (June 2019)
An abundance of flavour with all manner of ripe fruit, compote and baking spices. While the sweet oak needs to settle, everything else is kept in shape by refreshing raspberry-sorbet like acidity.
94 points, Wine Companion (January 2020)
Pure silk. Bold, ripe, dark-berried fruit is served both warm and smooth. Tar, aniseed, blueberry and kirsch, with cedarwood as highlights. Alcohol intrudes only a touch; flavour and softness are the keys here.
93 points, The Wine Front (November 2020)
Colonel William Light, the South Australian colony’s Surveyor-General, named the Barossa in 1837 after the site of an English victory over the French in the Spanish Peninsular War. In the mid-1800’s Silesian and English immigrants settled in the area. The Barossa itself comprises two distinct sub-regions: Eden Valley and the warmer Barossa Valley floor at 270m.The Barossa Valley enjoys a warm Mediterranean climate characterised by hot dry summers and relatively low rainfall. Cool sea breezes from the Gulf of St Vincent modify the temperature, however hot northerly winds can occasionally dominate creating considerable vine stress. Many older established vineyards are dry-grown, but supplementary irrigation is also extensively used. The valley is comprised of rich brown soils and alluvial sands. A long history of uninterrupted viticulture in the area means the Barossa valley is home to Australia’s largest concentration of old-vine Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre with many over 100 years old. Although most famous for Shiraz, the Barossa can also produce fragrant and deliciously fruity Grenache blends and beautifully rich, chocolatey Cabernet Sauvignons.