2020 Kaesler Old Vine Shiraz

Variety:  100% Shiraz.

Region of Origin: Barossa Valley, SA

 Tasting Notes - 95 points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion

 Deep crimson with aromas of super-ripe blackberry, blood plum and black cherry fruits. Densely packed with hints of baking spices, liquorice and dark chocolate, a dark earthy resonance, some roasting meats and graphite for good measure. Full bodied and intense, a surging tide of black berry fruits, spice and dark chocolate on the palate; some oak-derived wood spice, tight, fine tannin grip and a serious, broody finish.

Winemaker and Winemaking

 Entrepreneur Ed Peter is the owner of Kaesler and Yarra Yering. Tim Dolan, dux of the prestigious 2018 Len Evans Tutorial, was appointed Chief Winemaker in September 2022 after spending 10 years at Peter Lehmann Wines. Stephen Dew is the assistant winemaker responsible for this cuvee, having been at Kaesler since 2002. He is an expert in old vine and single-vineyard wines, with 30 years of experience, including time at Lindemans, Penfolds, and Charles Melto. The grapes were hand-picked and destemmed, then fermented in small open fermenters. The must was hand-plunged and pumped over twice daily to ensure good colour and tannin extraction. Fermentation was in French oak barrels with early malolactic fermentation. Some 25% of the French oak was new. The wine is unfined and unfiltered. 

 The Vineyards

 Kaesler is a family-owned winery established in 1893, making it one of the oldest continuously farmed vineyard sites in the Barossa. The first owners of the Kaesler vineyards were Silesian pioneers who came to the Barossa Valley in the 1840s and took up 96 acres in 1891. By 1893 they had planted the entire acreage with Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro (Mourvedre) and White Hermitage vines. Some of the gnarled dry-grown Shiraz remains and provides the backbone of the intense wines we produce. The vineyards are dry grown and managed with a focus on low yields and vine health, producing small berries with concentration and intensity. Soils are predominantly red clay loam over limestone, contributing structure, richness and savoury depth to the wine. No irrigation, sustainable viticulture, and minimal chemical use are central to their philosophy. The yield is extremely low.