Winemaker Notes
Kaesler Old Bastard is one of Australia’s most highly regarded Shiraz wines, is consistently rated as one of the Barossa’s benchmark Shiraz wines and is highly sought after by wine collectors around the world.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Old Bastard Shiraz, from vines planted in 1893, boasts ethereal aromas of menthol, licorice, blueberries and roasted meat. It's a big, full-bodied wine, yet it comes across as lighter than expected, with a fluid, silky feel on the palate and a bright, peppery finish. A wine of seeming contradictions, it's concentrated but lively, ripe yet crisp, savory and fruity, and loaded up front while being long on the finish. It should drink well for over a decade.
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James Suckling
This has a very dense and deep-set core of blackberries and blood plums, which are delivered in seamless ribbons of ripe and dense tannins. Really taps the essence of classic Barossa. The density is staggering, and the ripeness is being dialed-in to deliver more composure and conviction.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Historically and presently the most important wine-producing region of Australia, the Barossa Valley is set in the Barossa zone of South Australia, where more than half of the country’s wine is made. Because the climate is very hot and dry, vineyard managers work diligently to ensure grapes reach the perfect levels of phenolic ripeness.
The intense heat is ideal for plush, bold reds, particularly Shiraz on its own or Rhône Blends. Often Shiraz and Cabernet partner up for plump and powerful reds.
While much less prevalent, light-skinned varieties such as Riesling, Viognier or Semillon produce vibrant Barossa Valley whites.
Most of Australia’s largest wine producers are based here and Shiraz plantings date back as far as the 1850s or before. Many of them are dry farmed and bush trained, still offering less than one ton per acre of inky, intense, purple juice.