Agricola K' Sands Shiraz 2023

Asbroek ‘Ancient’ circa 1864 vines • Asbroek 50+ year ‘Old Vines’

All from Asbroek’s Vineyard with plots times two, one of 1864 vines and one of 50-plus -year-old vines. As Callum explains, “I was asked by a business far larger than mine to remove the local place name and indigenous word ‘Kalimna’, from continuing labels of my bottlings from the Asbroek’s 1860’s shiraz plantings on Kalimna Road West. This wine is now named K’ Sands and is still a bottling of the Asbroek’s treasured vines behind their family home.” Erhem. The exotic nature of this wine is so, so compelling. I have never encountered something like this from the Barossa, and indeed, a shiraz marching to the beat of its own drum and then some. Swoon territory.

It’s intensely laden with game meat, wildly exotic, sweet spices and dried rose petals, green pepper, Thai spice, white raspberry, tart cherry and a bevy of clove/anise. The palate echoes a similar series of traits, medium weight, silty and grippy, laced with dried green herbal elements, pumice stone, crushed rock, slightly grunty but sticking to a medium weight profile with maximum savouriness. It seems to mesh the personalities of pinot noir, nebbiolo and nerello mascalese with heartier shiraz, the latter of course the star but, geez, this is such a wildly compelling and incredibly distinct and beautiful wine. They should scrub the word Kalimna off the big company wines and take a lesson from this one. Drink 2024-2035. 97 Points. Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.