Troy Kalleske - Baron of Barossa

It is with great pleasure we report, that Sunday,  November 4th saw Troy Kalleske inducted as a 'Baron of Barossa'. This is a tremendous honour and one which Troy and the team at Kalleske are immensely proud of.

"The Wine Fraternity, Barons of Barossa was founded in 1974 by a group of influential Barossa winemakers. George Kolarovich of the Barossa Co-operative [Kaiser Stuhl] was elected as the first Grand Master. Other founding Barons were the late Wyndham Hill-Smith [Yalumba], Colin Gramp [Orlando], the late Bill Seppelt [Seppelts], the late Sir Condor Laucke, Bruce Hoffmann, Peter Lehmann and the late Cyril Henschke.

The Fraternity was modelled on similar organisations which exist in Europe whose aims are to promote wines of the regions and also carry out philanthropic and charitable works.

The Barons of Barossa are a recognised part of the fabric of Barossa culture and continue to play a colourful and symbolic role. The Fraternity’s motto is “Glory to Barossa”

For more information on the ‘Barons of Barossa’ please visit their website: http://baronsofbarossa.com

Photo: Barons of Barossa inductees Bill Gransbury, Prue Henschke & Troy Kalleske.

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Kalleske honoured with Sustainability Award

2012 Regional Awards - Barossa

Last Tuesday night we were honoured in receiving the ‘InterContinental Sustainability Award’ at the 2012 Advantage SA Regional Awards night.

“This award aims to recognise the outstanding achievements of regional South Australians for their adoption of sustainable measures and minimising their environmental footprint”.

We are extremely proud to have received this award and to be acknowledged in such a significant field, which epitomises what Kalleske are about.

Tony Kalleske accepting the award with Brian Hurn (Barossa Mayor)

For 159 years our Kalleske family has been living and working on our Greenock farm.   Throughout this time each generation has been vigilant in looking after the property for the next generation.  Today, genuine sustainability and careful environmental practices continue to be at the core of our Kalleske farming, grape growing and winemaking.  

Certified organic and biodynamic practices in the vineyard and winery not only result in top quality grapes and wine but ensure the soil, air and waterways are not polluted with synthetic chemicals and fertilisers.  Organic viticulture also results in more carbon being retained in the soil, (making it healthier), rather than in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

A few years ago our winery installed a substantial solar electricity system on the winery roof that can generate enough electricity to run the entire winery.  Excess electricity is then used by other buildings on the farm or fed back into the grid, ensuing a little less coal is burnt.  The solar installation was a major project and we acknowledge the assistance of AusIndustry through the ‘Retooling for Climate Change’ project. 

Not only are we now generating our own electricity but we are also self sufficient in the winery with water.  With a 250,000 litre rainwater tank capturing valuable water from the winery and farm sheds.  Capturing our own water means more of this precious resource can stay where it’s needed In the River Murray.

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Vintage 2011 - A Few Words

In our Autumn/Winter Newsletter (via our website) we highlighted an article from Wine Enthusiast praising the value of vintage variation: “Let’s honour each wine’s terroir by allowing a new vintage to express itself as naturally as possible”.  As a natural organic/biodynamic producer that is entirely our philosophy.

In many parts of Australia, including the Barossa, Vintage 2011 was extremely wet and much cooler than normal.  Many vineyards were affected with mildew and botrytis rot and much fruit was left unharvested.  The different weather resulted in an atypical year with many producers and journalists writing 2011 off as an inferior vintage.

However, you cannot paint an entire region with the same brush and the diversity of the Barossa has meant that some brilliant wines have still come out of 2011.  Our vineyard location in the North-Western Barossa (most North-Westerly vineyard & winery in the Barossa) combined with our organic/biodynamic farming techniques meant we could harvest all of our fruit, at optimum maturity and make very good wines.  The wines certainly display the coolness of the vintage with more pepper, spice and florals than normal but they are still weighty, mouthfilling, flavoursome and well structured.

We are certainly pleased with our 2011 wines that have been released to date, including the reds we are currently releasing now as well as the old vine wines still maturing in barrel.

We have had some excellent third party endorsements of our 2011 wines from wine shows and critics.

Highlights include the 2011 Clarry’s GSM gaining three major trophies at the International Wine Challenge in London, as well as a Gold Medal in Canada and at the Barossa Wine Show.

James Halliday gave it 5 stars and had this to say: "It is a real surprise packet, its energy and fresh red fruit drive coming from the low alcohol; if ever there was proof that biodynamics can help vines weather the storm of incessant rain, this is it".

Tyson Stelzer also thought highly of it saying" “this blend has every right to a much higher price tag. The cool 2011 season makes for a particularly sophisticated Clarry’s, accented with fresh rhubarb, pepper and bay leaf. A fine, savoury tannin chassis promises unusual longevity”.

The 2011 Moppa Shiraz, just getting released was acknowledged highly with a Gold Medal at the recent New Zealand International Wine Show.

Nick Stock rated the 2011 Rosina as a ‘Best Value Wine’ in the Good Wine Guide 2012 and described it as “terrific”.  He also rated the 2011 Florentine at 91 points and thought it was “bright, really tidy and composed”.

Our 2011 Buckboard Durif was chosen as the ‘People’s Choice Award’ for the Marananga Wine Show.

Louise Radman loved the 2011 Florentine: “This example from Kalleske is an absolute cracker”.

2011 is a unique vintage that’s produced diverse wines across the Barossa and Australia, some excellent wines amongst them.  At Kalleske we strive for our wines to embrace the time (vintage) and place (vineyard) and that’s again what we've achieved in 2011 and we’re thrilled with the outcome, but we invite you to be the judge…

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Biodynamic Wine of the Year

We are thrilled to announce our big win in London at the International Wine Challenge with our 2011 Clarry’s GSM being named ‘Biodynamic Wine of the Year’ as well as picking up a further two trophies for ‘Australian Red’ and ‘Barossa GSM Blend’. 

Tony Kalleske accepting the award in London

Kym (grapegrower) & Troy Kalleske (winemaker) celebrating the win back home.

Troy Kalleske says “It is a great honour to receive three trophies, especially being awarded the Best Biodynamic Wine in the World.  This particular trophy is a great acknowledgment to my grape growing parents, John & Lorraine and brother, Kym who have been not only Barossan but Australian pioneers in organic and biodynamic viticulture for the past few decades.  Their dedication in the vineyard is not only evident in the Clarry’s but across all of our Kalleske range which are all estate grown, certified biodynamic wines.  The winning wine is named in honour of my Grandfather, Clarence “Clarry” Kalleske, who farmed our Kalleske vineyards from the late 1920s until his retirement in the 1990s. Clarry was the fourth generation member to tend the vines on our Kalleske family farm, established by his great grandparents who migrated from Prussia to South Australia in 1838 aboard the Prince George. Many years were spent by Clarry pruning, hand-picking and nurturing the vineyards that make up this blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro, with the oldest of these dating back to 1940. All grapes are entirely sourced from our Kalleske farm situated at Greenock in the North-Western Barossa Valley.”

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2011 Buckboard Durif - Now Available!

The third release of our Buckboard Durif is now available via our order page. We produce this wine in tiny quantities and the previous two releases disappeared very quickly on the back of some great reviews and strong interest in this variety.

Read the Tasting Notes
Click here to purchase

You can also read what Troy & Tony Kalleske had to say about Durif in an earlier blog post about the grape variety in a recent Adelaide Review article by Matt Wallace by clicking here.

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James Halliday 5 Star Rating

Kalleske are excited to have received a 5 Star (red) rating again, along with being selected in the 'Best Wineries of the Region' for the Barossa Valley in the new release of James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion 2013.

Read below to see what James had to say about a few of our wines.

2009 Johann Georg Shiraz
5 Stars / 96 Points
“From a single block of vines planted in 1875, and made in a very small quantity, the product of a single open-top fermenter, finishing that fermentation in French and American oak, where it remained for the next two years. It is very complex and intense, yet little more than medium-bodied, having a tapestry of aromas and flavours similar to Eduard, with great length. How great will the '10 be?”.
Drink by: 2034

2009 Eduard Shiraz
5 Stars / 96 Points
“Dark purple-red; made from three vineyard blocks planted between 1905 and '60; open-fermented and taken to new and used French and American oak hogsheads to conclude its fermentation; an utterly seductive blend of black fruits and licorice, fruitcake, dark chocolate and vanilla, quality tannins present from start to finish. Quite a wine”. 
Drink by: 2029

2009 Greenock Shiraz
5 Stars / 94 Points
“Deep crimson-purple; from a single vineyard on the western edge of the Greenock Creek, certified biodynamic. Open-fermented, the last stages completed in French and American oak, 30% new. A rich, medium- to full-bodied wine true to the Kalleske style, with black fruits, touches of licorice and spice, and ample, balanced tannins. Will age with aplomb”.
Drink by: 2024

2010 Greenock Shiraz
5 Stars / 94 Points
“Deep, dark purple-crimson; a wine literally dripping a stream of flavours, each succeeding the other until the round robin starts again; licorice, oriental spice black fruits, mocha and much else is to be found on the bouquet and medium- to full-bodied palate; has outstanding length, augmented by savoury tannins on the finish”.
Drink by: 2024

2010 Moppa Shiraz
4.5 Stars / 93 Points / Special Value
Drink by: 2025

2010 Buckboard Durif
4 Stars / 90 Points
Drink by: 2015

2011 Rosina Rose
4 Stars / 90 Points / Special Value
Drink by: 2012

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Durif: A Warm Climate Variety With Legs

There's a great article in the current July edition of 'The Adelaide Review' about Durif, which features Kalleske.

Article Link

Durif was originally something of a Rutherglen secret, with typically brilliant wines made by Morris, Stanton and Killeen, Campbells, Fairfield and others. Of late it has quickened its stride with plantings in the Barossa, Riverland and McLaren Vale. I love it and I reckon it's got legs in the glass with its high alcohol and in the vineyard because of the stunning wines it so often produces. 

Durif is particularly well suited to warm climates as it is drought tolerant and seems to avoid shrivel, even in extreme conditions. It retains acidity and bright fruit even when very ripe, minimising the chance of dead or indistinct fruit finding its way into the glass. Handled well it makes massive, tannic wines with an inky core of bright fruits and a strong spine of acidity. Fruit tends to plum and blackberries. You might also find liquorice, blood plum, cinnamon and cloves. Andrew Seppelt from Murray Street likens it to Shiraz on steroids and says it is, "akin to eating fountain pen ink". With the first vintage in barrel, we look forward to seeing what Andrew eventually does with his Durif. While there is not enough of the first vintage to release as a standalone, I hope we see Murray Street Durif on a label very soon. 

Troy Kalleske, winemaker, had firsthand experience of Durif from a hot climate. Doing vintage at Miranda's Barossa facilities in 2003 he handled a parcel from the Riverland, which he felt was amongst the best fruit of the vintage. He says: "If Riverland fruit can produce such stunning wine from the variety - then I thought, 'what can we do with it in the Barossa?" 

Kalleske have already released their first Durif, called 'Buckboard'. It's a little less brooding than a Rutherglen edition, awash with masses of bright, cuddly fruits. It's big and ripe, yet balanced and delicious. It's hard to imagine a more charismatic and enjoyable red wine. Kalleske trialled a number of alternative varieties, so as to offer something apart from the Barossan mainstays of Shiraz and Grenache (which they also produce stunning examples of- their Old Vines Grenache is a pearl amongst oysters). They chose Durif, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot and Zinfandel. 

Tony Kalleske says, "Durif was our first alternative variety to market and has been one of our most successful wines overall". He has been amazed by the feedback from mailing list customers with many placing standing orders. Only small quantities of their alternatives have been planted but it looks like Durif is the most likely to be planted again. 

Troy believes that "Durif really needs to be 15 to 16 percent alcohol to work as a table wine. Lower than that and the tannins aren't ripe and the fruit flavours just aren't there. Also it's not too big a stretch for lovers of big Shiraz to jump on board. It's Shiraz plus in terms of what the wine has to offer - more oomph, flavour and tannin... a very good mouthful of wine. Shiraz at 15 percent-plus is often too jammy with dead fruit and alcohol that shows hot. Durif in the Barossa seems to have booty, generous fruit on the mid pallet, which along with ripe tannins and good natural acidity helps with balance and avoids showing hot or alcoholic." Just as well, given that this bad boy hits the showers at a temperance union drowning 16 percent alcohol. 

In the Riverland, 919 wines are also bottling Durif. The current edition, from 2009 is magnificent. Satsuma plum, morello cherries and dark chocolate wrapped up in an abundance of gloriously soft, fine tannins. Like most Durif wines, it is massive, so let it breath or pair it with a nice woolly mammoth steak. Like the Kalleske's, Jenny Semmler, 919 co-winemaker, had hands on experience working with Durif before deciding to plant. Doing vintage at Fairfield winery in the Rutherglen, she immediately fell in love with it. I hear her. When I visited the now defunct Fairfield they were showing the first Durif to win a gold medal at a major wine show, their 1994. The 90 and 92 vintages were also lovely, as was their 89 Vintage Fortified, also made from Durif. With eight vintages of Durif now in the shed, Jenny and Eric believe that Durif will produce stunning wine nine years out of 10 in the Riverland. They feel it's suitability to the Riverland's, at times,

scorching climate will enable, "919 wines to demonstrate that the Riverland can produce standout wines of a quality normally associated with the best producers from premium regions, and hopefully encourage others in the region to follow suit". They might be onto something, as Spook Hill, Banrock Station and the Riverland Vine Improvement Committee have all recently planted Durif. I like the sound of that. Here's hoping Durif gets even more of a leg up and is joined by yet more cross-country cohorts.

Article by: Matt Wallace 

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