2022 Kaesler Old Vine Shiraz

96 POINTS

Ken Gargett - Winepilot

Barossa Valley Shiraz from old vine vineyards from one of the better vintages in living memory – what is not to love? The fruit comes from a trio of vineyards, planted between 1961 and 1965, and spends time maturing in a mix of new and older French oak puncheons for sixteen months. Plenty of local wineries would love to present this as their prestige red, as it really is a cracker. 6,289 bottles made. Under cork. A vibrant purple hue, this is refined, poised, taut and concentrated, and yet offers generosity of flavour. The oak integration is immaculate, the intensity impressive and the balance knife-edge. It is seamless with abundant though slightly powdery tannins and has great length. The flavours move through dark chocolate, graphite, cassis, black fruits, coffee beans, soy and cloves. This is a twenty year proposition.

96 POINTS

Kasia Sobiesiak - The Wine Front

“Old Vines” planted in the 1960s, so not as old as the “Alte Reben”. Perhaps it sounds older in German. Richness and lifted aromas define this wine. It’s built with red fruit on the outside and a concentrated line of black fruit on the inside. The perfume holds the tension of cherry blossom, hazelnut oak and rose petal potpourri. The flavour is luscious but carries the same lift of red fruit as the aroma. The tannins are tense and spiked with iodine, that kind of earthy, salty nuance, balancing between dried fruit and dried blood. There’s something very pretty but a bit rusty about this wine, giving ethereal and umami at the same time and this combination is hard to resist.

95 POINTS

Ray Jordan - Winepilot

Sourced from estate vineyards planted in the sixties. And oh, how they deliver with their smooth, succulent and lavish fruit. The colour is bright red and slightly purple. Aromas of chocolate and plummy black fruits supplemented by some slightly charry oak. The palate is seamlessly structured, with the fine, bony, chalky tannins contributing structure and texture. A most refined example of Barossa Shiraz.

95 POINTS

David Sly - Decanter

The nose is opulent, a redolent bowl of fresh red and black berries, and the colour equally vivid, but the entry is smoother and more silken than you would expect for a powerful wine. It’s the seamless meld of red and black fruits and their joyous interplay that defines the pleasure of this wine. However, the finish ends with a tart rhubarb note that make you stop and consider the journey. There’s also a fierce acid line that will see these flavours last long into the future.

95 POINTS

Dave Brookes - Halliday Wine Companion

Bright crimson in the glass with a fair lick of creamy French oak leading the aromatic charge, bright, dark and red plum fruits lie below, sheathed in fine spice and hints of roasting meats, Christmas cake, dark chocolate and violet top notes. There's an elegant flow to the palate here. Fine of structure with the fruit stretched tautly over the frame of fine, sandy tannin and bright acidity, finishing long and savoury with some nice toothsome chew to its form.

94 POINTS

James Suckling

Robust aromas of blood plums, dark cherries, licorice, blueberries and sweet spices. The palate is full-bodied with a creamy texture, firmly framed tannins and bright acidity. A lot to like, with a supple and refined finish.