97 points - "Very old vines and a wine that is still very young. However, with time in the glass, it starts to shed its perfume gradually and gives detail one by one, layer by layer, showing the complexity that it carries. It’s not all quite merged yet, but time should do its job. First come the blue fruit, vanilla bean and braised meat. It has minty spice, liquorice, star anise, and tarragon family of aromas. The texture is this thick fabric of fruit that rolls out in a velvety manner in the mid-palate and tenses up on the sides. It keeps a long line of flavour, and sends iodine-bloody electric shock waves through your taste buds. Spice and perfumed cherry wood smoke flesh out in the back palate. Tannins are shaped in long slabs of graphite—shiny, smooth and fine to feel. It’s very much a moving and living wine that has a long life ahead. Funnily, the old bastard on the label doesn’t seem to age like the fine wine it has in the bottle." - Kasia Sobiesiak (The Wine Front)

96 points - "I dragged a bottle of this wine over to New Zealand to drink with my father on his 70th birthday. He loved both the wine and the sentiment and the empty bottle still sits in his workshop. He's 87 now and still a magnificent old bastard, as is this wine. It's classic Barossa. Ancient vines planted 1893. It feels wise, like its parent vines have seen it all in their lifetimes, and I'm sure they have. Blackberry, black cherry and plum, layers of spice, pressed flowers, chocolate, earth, panforte and pan juices. It's full bodied but there's a loose-knit spaciousness to its form; all grace and latent power; tannins powdery fine and finish long and true. I love it." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "Bold and complex aromas of blackberries, blood plums, mocha, mulberries and violets. The palate is full-bodied with a densely packed, creamy and generous mouthfeel, giving flavors of cured game meat, cassis, licorice and spices. Nicely constructed, with good tension and balance. Drink or hold." - JamesSuckling.com

95 points - "Dark, inky red and opaque in the glass. Heady and opulent aroma of mulberry, satsuma plum, dried herbs, pot-pourri, Asian spice, boysenberry, sweet oak and cola. Big, bold and concentrated in flavour. Lashings of brooding dark fruits, along with bitter chocolate, spice and a cranberry-like acid crunch. Big-time wine with balance and a long future ahead of it." - Aaron Brasher (The Wine Front)

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.

Grape Variety: Shiraz

Region: Barossa Valley

Growing Conditions: The 2021 vintage was in a word ‘Brilliant’. Barossa saw cool and dry conditions which has produced excellent quality reds and whites. Great growing conditions combined with good yields created a memorable harvest, with all wines showing a wide array of aromas and flavours. Soft supple tannins are in abundance in the reds which has ensured easy drinking in their youth, with careful cellaring also reaping rewards. The highlight for 2021 was the overall quality, a genuine 10/10 season.

Vineyard Soils: Loam over clay

Vine Age: Shiraz vines planted in 1893

Alcohol: 14.5%

pH: 3.39

Acidity: 6.54 g/l

Hand harvested in the early morning of March 9th after a “perfect” ripening season. The grapes were then immediately destemmed and fermented on skins for 7 days, with twice daily remontage. After pressing and subsequent settling, the wine was aged in 50% New French oak for 18 months, prior to bottling in March of 2023.

Eyes: Dense deep purple, with vibrant youthful hues.

Appearance: Bright medium-deep crimson with a purple hue.

Palate: Incredibly intense and rich with black fruits, so youthful. This will be an Old Bastard for the ages.

Body: Full