2021 The Bogan Shiraz, Kaesler, Barossa Valley, South Australia
I have followed the Kaesler wines for decades, but this loyalty pales when you learn the oldest vines on this estate date back to the 1890s. Like many of the greatest wineries in Australia, the desire to improve year after year is all-consuming here, and the constant refinement of the wines is apparent in the glass. There is as much focus on vineyard health as there is on sensitive winemaking, and while historically, these were blockbuster creations, these days, the fruit integrity is unquestionable and yet the delivery on the palate is sensual, pervasive and all-encompassing as this ‘Bogan’ shows. Included in my as-yet-unpublished 100 Best Australian Wines Report 2025, this is a stellar Barossa Shiraz that is already charming and hypnotic in the glass, and the value for money here is simply staggering, bearing in mind the raw materials and talent in this operation. -Matthew Jukes
2021 The Bogan Shiraz, Kaesler, Barossa Valley, South Australia
I have followed the Kaesler wines for decades, but this loyalty pales when you learn the oldest vines on this estate date back to the 1890s. Like many of the greatest wineries in Australia, the desire to improve year after year is all-consuming here, and the constant refinement of the wines is apparent in the glass. There is as much focus on vineyard health as there is on sensitive winemaking, and while historically, these were blockbuster creations, these days, the fruit integrity is unquestionable and yet the delivery on the palate is sensual, pervasive and all-encompassing as this ‘Bogan’ shows. Included in my as-yet-unpublished 100 Best Australian Wines Report 2025, this is a stellar Barossa Shiraz that is already charming and hypnotic in the glass, and the value for money here is simply staggering, bearing in mind the raw materials and talent in this operation. -Matthew Jukes
Vinous
The 2021 Shiraz The Bogan lives up to its name, delivering punchy, heady, blackberry, chocolate, jam and tar aromas with the key ingredient: raw power. It is rich and chunky – firm, slightly rustic tannins support a rich core of bold dark fruits through to a chewy finish. A couple of years of cellaring is suggested to help it settle.
91 Points / Drinking 2025 - 2029
By Angus Hughson / June 2023