Kaesler Old Vine Semillon 2025
$35, 11% alcohol, screwcap, Barossa Valley.
The is an electric wine with sizzling acidity, citrussy flavour, and – here’s the important part – whispers of honey, lemongrass and wax. The way it combines energy and drive with texture and nuance is both charming and impressive, even now, though in reality the best days of this wine are at least a few years hence. Buy this. Cellar it. In time, it will be sensational. 94 points.
Campbell Mattinson has been an independent journalist, wine critic and photographer for forty years. He founded The Winefront, is a former chief editor of the Halliday Wine Companion (and former editor of Halliday magazine), and is the only Australian to have won the Australian Wine Communicator of the Year Award more than once. He is 100% independent, and tastes between 5,000 and 10,000 wines each year, blind and in comparative brackets as often as is practicable.
Mattinson is also the founder of the Mattinson Photography business.
