Alte Reben, meaning ‘Old Vines’’ in German, demonstrates the power and flavour of the older vines from the Kaesler estate. This wine is produced entirely from grapes grown in our Marananga vineyard planted in 1899. Not many can boast custody of a nine-acre, single vineyard of Shiraz planted in the nineteenth century – we make the most of it.
VINTAGE CONDITIONS
It was a great start to winter with regular rainfall starting in late May. Bud burst occurred in late August, which is fairly consistent for our vineyards. The rains and cooler than normal conditions continued throughout the year. With a smaller canopy we adjusted the crop load by thinning – this helped create the ideal fruit balance. Overall, while a slightly challenging year, the techniques deployed and the late cool vintage produced fruit with optimal ripeness and extraordinary quality.
WINEMAKING
The fruit for Alte Reben was handpicked and was left for 7 days on skins. During this time, the wine was pumped over gently twice per day. This wine has been matured in 35% new and 65% 1 and 2-year-old French oak puncheons for 19 months.
APPEARANCE: Deep and brooding arterial red – incredibly inviting
BOUQUET: Brilliant complexity on the nose, showing dark skinned fruit, blood plum, beetroot and berries. Deep in the glass is ripe boysenberry, blackberry. with hints of roasted coffee, dark chocolate and flint.
PALATE: Full bodied and intriguing, with warm chocolate soufflé and plum confit finishing with perfectly integrated mineral tannins. This wine is rich, elegant, demanding and rewarding.
FOOD MATCH: Beef fillet steak and slow roasted root vegetables.
