Description / Reviews
"The Old Bastard Shiraz is the essence of the Barossa Valley and is a true testament to the history, soils and place that is the Barossa. The oldest vineyards in the Old Vine Trio, with planted in 1893, the Kaesler Old Bastard Shiraz is one of Australia’s most collected wines and is considered a benchmark for premium Barossa Shiraz around the world. Lifted plum aromas, redcurrant, some earth and a hint of charry oak in the background. On the palate, incredibly intense and rich with black fruits, so youthful. This will be an Old Bastard for the ages." - Winemaker Notes
"This is a single vineyard wine from a block of vines that was planted to shiraz in 1893. This is a superb release. Simply superb. It’s a bold, powerful, black-fruited wine but it’s laced with graphite and rust-like notes and it runs on forever through the finish. The web of tannin running through the back half of the wine is elite in itself; it’s the perfect anchor to the shipload of fruit flavour. Peppercorn, saltbush, cedarwood, earth and smoked olive notes play minor roles; everything else is major. This is an epic Barossa shiraz." - 98 Points, Campbell Mattinson
"I am certain that arguments will rumble on as to whether the 2021 or the 2022 is the finer of the two wines! I know my thoughts, and you will see from my score that I think there is nothing that could be added or rearranged to make this 2022 a more perfect Old Bastard. It is extraordinarily long, very clean and stunningly appointed. Interestingly, no Alte Reben was made in 2022. In addition, this is a superbly refreshing wine with gently scouring tannins and epic length. The fruit profile is blue, red, and black, loaded with discreet florals, incredibly complex and massively seductive. And the oak is simply incredible as it is super-fine-grained, like phenomenal marquetry which augments the class of this wine immeasurably. There are only a handful of wines that I have tasted this year which use oak to such mesmerising effect. This is the finest Old Bastard I have ever tasted, and while it is grand in the glass, it is also startlingly elegant. At the end of my scribbled tasting note, I wrote a word I have never used for a Barossa Shiraz before: Musigny. Yes, this wine, despite the fact it comes from the other side of the world and is made from a wholly different grape variety, has Musigny-like qualities. As I edit this note a couple of weeks after tasting the wine, I can still remember every detail of its flavour." - 20/20 Points, Matthew Jukes
