Agricola Kalimna Sands Shiraz 2022

Incredibly complex aromatics. The flavours seem to be ducking and weaving, always something different or vanished whenever I plunge my nose to the glass. Blackberry, sweet raspberry, blueberry, cassis, potpourri, Japanese soy sauce, Chinese five spice, dark chocolate, kalamata olive and fresh compost. For all that, the whole bunch element dissipates somewhat overtime, but of course is a constant presence. Very pure mouthfeel. Texturally, the bunches have had a real impact. Super slick, cutting through the fruit like greased sheers. Packed with flavour, it’s nevertheless medium bodied, yet there’s plenty of mid palate depth and stuffing. The tannins glide, are on point and shape the wine heavily. It has a somewhat serpentine shape; sensual, curvaceaous and seemingly in constant motion. Beautiful flavours. Stunning, but still very young. Wait, just wait, the best is yet to come. Waters Wine Co 

Asbroek ‘Ancient’ circa 1864 vines. 1,841 bottles produced.

This 2021- 22 growing season will be remembered for its spring hail event in Flaxman Valley that led to painstakingly low crops at harvest and for a cool and mild growing season allowing for plenty of dark and savoury flavour development.

This is the first season that I have been able to secure a small section of the Hoffmann family’s famed ‘Dallwitz Old’ plantings in Ebenezer, as well as beginning to work with the Asbroek’s ‘Ancient’ circa 1864 vines in the Kalimna Sands. Due to the low yields in Flaxman Valley, this has become a very neighbourly wine of small picks from Chris Ringland’s ‘Three Rivers’ vineyard to the left of us, Nathan Burley’s ‘Hill’ vineyard to our right and ‘Naimanya’ a little further up the hill.

Theel’s Handfibel is a blend of the same sites that went into this year’s Ebenezer and Kalimna Sands, featuring the 19th century alphabet chart ‘Theel’s Handfibel’ which was unearthed some years ago at the Barossa Archives and its font has since been used to communicate place on the other labels. Winemaker’s Notes

 

95 Points – Mike Bennie, The Winefront

 

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