Kaesler 'The Bogan' Barossa Shiraz 2018
Grape Varietal: 100% Shiraz
Growing Region: Barossa Valley - Australia
CEO / Winemaker: Reid Bosward
5 Stars ★★★★★
I’m looking forward to getting back across the ditch and catch-up with Reid and enjoy a few yarns over some ancient dry-grown bush vine wines. As Reid and his team, work with some of the oldest vines in the world - which aid in crafting richly unique wine expressions.
These ancient dry-grown bush vines are fragile and need great care during the growing season and harvest time. Their Marananga vines were planted in 1899 and the other parcel from Nuriootpa was planted in 1965. These two mature vines play an influential role in both this wine and the invitingly rich wines of the Barossa. At Kaesler, they have learnt from history and meticulous winemaking, how to combine and get the best from these sites.
This colloquially named ‘The Bogan’ Shiraz over a number of years has developed an archetypal, full bodied style. The two vineyards used to make this wine perfectly complement each other. The Marananga old vine block provides intense, rich, small earthy berry characters. While the Nuriootpa vines offer riper, sweet fruit note, which add to the wine’s intensity.
Due to the fragile and natural irregular shaped vines, the fruit was hand harvested in early March and given around 8 days on skins, and then pressed off to oak barrels. This Shiraz was matured for up to 18 months in 25-30% new French oak and the remainder was a combination of 2 and 3 year old oak barrels. After tasting and blending, the wine was carefully racked-off, not filtered or fined before bottling. Again the Bogan does the Barossa proud.
• In your glass you will be greeted by a deep purple-red with a black-garnet hue. On the nose enticing aromas of dark plums, blackberries, peppercorns with hints of vanilla spice from the time in oak. On the medium-to-full palate your senses are fully engaged with those rich, spiced dark fruits, subtle mocha all supported by perfectly infused fruit tannins and a defined framework of oak. The richness of wild berries has a perceived sweetness from the front of the palate through to the captivating French oak which envelops the senses and the balanced tannins lead onto a long-robust finish.
This 2018 Kaesler ‘The Bogan’ Barossa Shiraz has 14.5% Alc./vol. Medium decanting of 35-45 minutes and serve in a generously shaped red wine glass at 16°- 18°C.
CELLARING POTENTIAL: *(Review 25/7/21)
With medium decanting, drinking this season; plus will age for another 8 - 10 years.
FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
Perfect wine pairing with grilled prime red meats, slow cooked, well-seasoned game dishes, rich pasta dishes, earthy vegetarian cuisine and aged, hard cheeses - enjoy.
