2012 Clarry's GSM - Top 25 Wines Under $25

Well we have only just released it, but it's great to see Tony Love rate our 2012 Clarry's GSM in the top 25 wines for under $25 in the Daily Telegraph, Sydney via taste.com.au

Top 25 Wines Under $25

Kalleske 2012 Clarry's GSM
4.5 Stars
“The previous 2011 release of this wine was named the international biodynamic wine of the year at the International Wine Challenge in the UK. Here, fresh and bouncy, is the latest GSM release – red berry juicy and sweet, exotic, spicy, pure and simply slurpy, and blended with great clarity for easy drinking”. - Tony Love, Daily Telegraph, November 6th 2012

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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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