Colour:
2021 Johann Georg Shiraz is deep opaque purple-black in colour.
Aroma:
The aroma is a beautiful lift of blackberries, dark chocolate, liquorice, spiced fruit cake and ripe cherry with notes of roasted nuts and smoked smallgoods; very potent, superbly expressive.
Palate:
The palate is dense and uber concentrated in classic old vine traits. Saturated dark inky fruits prevail with stylish supportive oak giving a mesh of blackcurrant, anise, malt, cedar and graphite. Approachable now with its glossy fruit, solid natural tannins arrive giving structure and a dry lingering finish with assurance of a long-lived wine. This is a glorious Shiraz of rich flavours and impeccable balance perfectly manifesting ancient Barossa vines.
Recommended Drinking:
Johann is a superb wine that will ultimately benefit from a decade or two in the cellar.
The ancient Shiraz vines were hand-picked on March 11th and the grapes destemmed into a small open top fermenter. The grapes were fermented for eight days where a heading down screen was employed to submerge the skins throughout the fermentation ensuring gentle colour and flavour extraction. The must was pressed and filled to new and seasoned French oak hogsheads. The wine was matured for two years prior to bottling
Certified Organic & Biodynamic | Vegan Friendly | Alc 15.0% | Contains 8.9 Standard Drinks | Contains Minimum Sulphites
Vintage 2021 was an exemplary year with fine wines and good yields. Growing season rainfall was marginally below average and temperatures were mild ensuring vine canopies remained healthy. Vintage weather was perfect throughout, with dry mild-warm days and cool nights ensuring even and steady ripening across all varieties. There is strong colour and flavour across all the reds along with excellent structure and balance whilst the whites are bright, fresh and elegant
The Johann Georg vineyard is the flagship of the Kalleske farm. It is the oldest vineyard on the Kalleske property and is fittingly named after the first Kalleske ancestor to migrate to Australia.
Variety: Shiraz
Age: Vines planted 1875 (146 years in vintage 2021)
Location: Moppa
Area: 2 acres
Yield: 0.5-1 tonnes/acre
Vineyard Management: Certified Organic & Biodynamic and Dry Grown
Soil: The topsoil is sandy with excellent clay subsoil.
Barossa Classification: Ancestor vines (>125 years old)
96 Points
“Shiraz sourced from a vineyard that was planted in 1875; matured in new and seasoned French oak for 24 months. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the release of this wine from the excellent ’21 vintage. It doesn’t disappoint. Deep blackberry pastille, blackcurrant and black cherry jam with hints of dark chocolate bullets, blackberry fruit straps, olive tapenade, créme de cassis, vanillin oak, earth, cherry ripe and rock. Opulent and rich with a dark, clove-y spice presence, heady fruit weight, oak-derived wood spice, toothsome, ferrous tannins and a sustained, powerful finish. Big and bold”
Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion, 19 June 2025
95 Points
“There is real depth and and complexity coming from vines planted in 1875. Aromas of blackberries, bitter chocolate, ink, ironstone, cured meat and blood plums. The palate is full-bodied with seamlessly integrated tannins, balanced acidity and a densely packed mouthfeel. A robust yet high-toned old-vine shiraz. Drink or hold.”
Ryan Montgomery, jamessuckling.com, 25 March 2025
“Kalleske Johann Georg Shiraz is one of the oldest surviving vineyards in the Barossa and Australia and is a full-flavoured, rich, structured and textured style of wine whilst maintaining poise and elegance. It is the oldest certified organic/biodynamic vineyard in the Barossa and perhaps Australia. This natural way of farming these ancient vines, combined with dry-growing, hand-pruning and traditional minimalist techniques in the winery including native yeast fermentation means this wine is genuinely unique. It truly represents the time (vintage) and place (soil/location) where it is grown as well as expressing a living history of Barossa and Australian wine growing. We aim for the wine to continue to be enjoyed for the living history it is and continue to be regarded as one of the Barossa’s and Australia’s finest reds as well as one of the best biodynamic wines in the world.”
Troy Kalleske, Winemaker & Co-Owner
