The Kraehe family were amongst the original settlers to come to the Barossa Valley in the middle of the 19^thcentury. Though the family has all but left their original home on the slopes of Marananga, many of their vineyard plantings live on today. The oldest vines on our Kraehe property are now over 100 years old. My father first began working with the vineyard in 1994 and has been making wine from these vines since. The wine produced from these centurion vines have always produced the backbone of my father’s most premium wines and it now makes a single vineyard wine of its own named after the original settlers of the area.

The Kraehe vineyard is at 235 metres altitude and planted to a gentle Eastern exposure on Marananga’s ironstone ridge. Its soils are red, ironstone-rich clays. The vineyard is East-West trellised and rod and spur pruned.

The wine is aged two years in Dominique Laurent ‘Magic Casks’, of which we are lucky be one of the few producers outside of France that have an allocation of the barrels. The Magic Cask oak is hand selected by Dominique Laurent and then air dried for four years before cooperage. The staves are 45mm thick, double the thickness of many regular barrel staves, which provide very long and consistent oxidation throughout maturation and slow oak character integration into the wine.

The Shiraz produced from this vineyard is the epitome of the world renowned style that is Barossa Valley Shiraz. The wine is rich and generous in fruit: plum, dark cherry and blackberry. It provides a deep, dark svelte tannin backbone and mouth-coating palate. The wine stands alone in intensity, opulence and concentration of flavour. It is a style unique to the world of wine – the style that put Australian wine in the realm of global fine wine – and a style which we are truly proud to be its upholders of.

“The Kraehe Marananga Shiraz jumps out of the glass with blueberry and plum fruits, underscored by sensual oak characters and meaty complexity. It shows ground coffee and mocha, fertile earth and dried herbs.

The wine stains the palate and develops layers from beginning to finish – it displays blackberry compote and kirsch, before developing into woodsmoke, cured meats and olive through to the finish. The tannin profile is assertive, yet fine grained and tight-knit. The full-bodied concentrated palate provides a very long-lasting finish.”

The Brennecke Vineyard is located on the North-Western corner in the Seppeltsfield district of the Barossa Valley. Marilyn Homes is the custodian of the vineyard, her maiden name being Brennecke. The vines were planted at the turn of the twentieth century in 1901.

As a family we have been managing this vineyard with Marilyn since 1992. The Brennecke vines are dry grown and pruned by the bush vine method. The vines experience a steep South-Easterly slope and grow in heavy red clay, over limestone subsoils. These factors together allow the fruit to accumulate a high phenolic content at ripeness, which translate to tremendous palate structure and tannin backbone in the wine.

We believe that very few Grenache vineyards have the potential to produce a single varietal Grenache wine and that only some are able to provide structure and age-ability. After decades of working with many of the great Grenache vineyards of the Barossa, we believe the Brennecke vineyard to be unique and unrivalled in the style of Grenache wine that it produces.

“Ripe red cherry and redcurrants are intertwined with aromas of rhubarb, kirsch, Turkish delight and subtle notes of cedar and white pepper. The palate reveals a sensual, sleek tannin profile which supports a red-fruited core of cherry and cranberry. The palate is multi-layered with complex flavours: red fruits, cedar, spices, hints of vanilla and cinnamon. A truly sensual wine; plush and generous through to the finish”

The Kleinig clone of Mataro is locally known as the great original Mataro clone brought over from Europe two centuries ago. Many of the renowned Mataro vineyards throughout the Barossa have been planted from cuttings of this original clone, as was our old vine Mataro vineyard in Greenock.

Greenock is an ideal sub-region for producing Mataro wines. The combination of its red clay and ironstone outcrops as well as highly alkaline calcareous subsoils allow for great intensity of flavours, while maintaining high natural acidity and vibrancy and a strong backbone of mouth-puckering tannins that Mataro is known for.

In this wine we draw inspiration from the great wines of Bandol in South-Western France, in which the greatest wines are produced solely from Mataro. The wines are wild, gamey and spicey. While having great intensity of flavours, the palate maintains its freshness with high natural acid and assertive tannins.

“Ground Indian spices, cloves and game meats are underlaid by red and black berry fruits with notes of cedar spice and cinnamon. 

The palate shows rich red to dark fruits, cured meats and great vibrancy and freshness. The powerful, mouth-puckering tannins carry the wine through to the finish.”

The Loechel Eden Valley Shiraz is sourced from a single vineyard at the Southern tip of the Eden Valley township. It was planted half a century ago by the Loechel family to granitic loam, at 400 metres altitude.

The vineyard is planted on a steep Easterly aspect with high drainage and low yields, resulting in concentrated fruit and rich, complex wines. The vineyard is picked in three seperate components which are kept seperate throughout vinification. One third of the vineyard’s fruit is retained to produce the Loechel Shiraz which is determined at blending prior to bottling.

“The Loechel shows generous dark ripe fruits of blackberry, cherry liqueur and cassis which is supported by dark chocolate and mocha tones and subtle herbs and spice. The palate reveals pronounced dark fruits, underscored by smoky, savoury and meaty notes: olives and charcuterie with subtle reductive funk. The palate is medium to full-bodied, yet maintains a mouth-staining inkiness to provide a long and satisfying finish with a persistent orange-rind like acid backbone.”

Marcus Shulz is a fifth generation Barossan grape grower of German descent. Marcus was Dave’s first ever grower and first sold him fruit in 1994, which was Shiraz from his old vine site in Koonunga Hill. This is the only single vineyard wine produced from a vineyard not managed by Callum and Dave Powell, but could not be in more capable hands than those of Marcus Shulz.

Koonunga Hill is reaching the North-Western boundary of the Barossa Valley. The soils are rich red-yellow clays with a veneer of white sand as topsoil. The sands provide beautiful perfumed aromatics of blue fruits while the rich clays provide structure and depth to the wine.

“Intense aromas of blueberry, blackberry jam, vanilla musk and olive tapenade with subtle notes of cured charcuterie, graphite and tar.

The palate reveals a soft, sensual, mouth coating texture. Marcus Schulz describes the wines from his vineyard as “neck oil”, which is in reference to the sleek, mouth coating tannins and brooding dark fruits. The Schulz Shiraz speaks of true Northern Barossa style: rich, deep and opulent.”

The Barossa & Eden Valleys Shiraz epitomises the philosophy of Powell & Son: to marry the greatness of the Barossa and Eden Valleys. A 50/50 blend of Eden Valley Shiraz from 40+ year old vines and Barossa Valley Shiraz from 60+ year old vines, the fruit is fermented separately in concrete vats before spending 15 months in 4,500 litre French oak foudres.

“The Barossa & Eden Valleys Shiraz epitomises the philosophy of Powell & Son: to marry the strengths of the Barossa and Eden Valleys together. The aroma of this wine shows kirsch, lavender, sage and charred meats. It has a dark, brooding character to add further complexity. The palate is dense and deep with ripe black fruits: plum, blackberry compote as well as a cured meats and black olive.”

The Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro combines all three of the great Rhone red varieties, harmonising the unique attributes of each variety into a complete wine. The blend is predominantly Grenache (approximately two thirds – vintage dependent) from mature Barossa Valley Grenache bush vines, with Shiraz and Mataro making up the balance. The parcels are matured for 15 months in 2,300 litre French oak foudres prior to blending and bottling. As the dominant component, Grenache offers powerful aromas of red fruits, kirsch and black cherries, complemented by mincemeat, leather, game and heavy spices from the Shiraz and Mataro influences.

“The Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro is intense in its perfumed aromas of cherry liqueur and blackberry compote, with notes of spice and anise. The palate is voluptuous and supple, with the Grenache component shining through. Flavours of dark fruits predominate with velvety tannins providing a backbone to carry the flavours through to the finish.”

The Barossa Valley Shiraz is sourced from mature Barossa Valley vineyards (20+ years old) with the majority located along the region’s North-Western ridge in Marananga and Seppeltsfield as well as Lyndoch Valley in the Southern Barossa. Grape parcels are vinified separately in concrete vats, before being basket pressed and assembled into large format 4,500 litre French oak foudres for 15 months maturation.

“The Barossa Valley Shiraz is generous in its dark plum and blackberry fruits. Notes of tar and graphite follow with hints of dried herbs and tobacco. The palate is rounded and supple with dark fruits and a supple tannin backbone which brings with it coffee ground and cedar flavours. The wine finishes with generous dark fruits and white pepper spice.”

The Powell & Son Eden Valley Riesling emanates from a single site in the high Flaxman’s Valley, 460 metres above sea level. The five acre vineyard showcases dry grown, rod and spur pruned Riesling vines now over eighty years old. Grapes are hand-picked, whole bunch pressed, cold settled and fermented dry prior to cold stabilisation and bottling. This approach ensures a clear expression of the great vineyard from which the wine originates.

“White flowers and stone fruits predominate the nose, accompanied by vintage-typical bath salt character. Hints of lavender and lime juice are found, underscored by a fresh wet stone minerality. The palate is rounded, carried through by a fine acid line. Flavours of juicy white apple and lime pith are followed through with grapefruity, zesty acid-derived flavours to carry through to the finish.”