Comes in a squat and heavy bottle which will doubtless piss many people off. The biggest problem I had was that I thought from the weight of it that it was three-quarters full when it was in fact three-quarters empty by the time I’d finished “tasting” it. Oh well, my head hurts this morning. That’ll learn me.
Ingredients: 100% certified biodynamic grapes. single vineyard Viognier grapes wild fermented on skins for 7 days. matured in hogsheads for 10 months. bottled unfined & unfiltered. naturally cloudy. naturally amber in colour. no added sulphites.
No capitals after full stops either. very hip. It’s an orange wine but don’t be scared. It smells and tastes very good. Sweet and bitter marmalade, figs drizzled in honey, lots of spice and ginger, floral notes. Some yeasty characters and a little savoury chicken stock. Complex and intense. Great texture. Waxy and oily before grippy grape-skin phenolics squeeze it tight. Persistent and very tasty. 92
Region: Barossa Valley
Alcohol: 12.5%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $25
Tasted: June 2013
Not having much experience as yet with “orange wines”, what is the drinking timeframe with this one do you think?
Bob – we haven’t yet seen a lot of orange wine made in Australia so to give a drinking window for this inaugural release from Kalleske is a tough one. Internationally I’ve drunk Radikon and Gravner (benchmark orange wines I think it’s fair to say) with eight or nine years of age and they have surprised me with their freshness. Saša Radikon points out that his grandfather used skin contact as a means of preserving the wines he made.
Orange wines will tend to have lower pH’s or levels of acidity and they often see less sulfur dioxide – both of which can contribute to a wine’s ability to age…but in place of that you get more of another factor involved in ageability; increased phenolics. I can’t see any reason why this Kalleske Plenarius won’t age but the way in which it will evolve is something I don’t believe I’m qualified to talk about.
I like this as a young wine. I think everything’s in a good place to enjoy it now. But most wine enthusiasts are interested in the way a wine might develop. Considering how limited our scientific understanding of the ageing process is I suspect your best bet is to try the wine now and if you enjoy it but still want to see what direction it will take over time then grab a few more and open them at intervals of your choosing. Each time you do that you’ll get an idea of whether you like what’s happening in the bottle or whether it’s time to drink up. Personal taste is always a huge factor when it comes to the ageing of any wine – orange, red or white.
Thanks Jeremy. I’ve been a small time collector for about 30 years and I must say, do tend to buy what I think will benefit (to suit my taste buds) from a few years in my rather cold cellar. I tend to taste everything every 12 months although some little treasures get forgotten about and either pleasantly surprise me or bring on groans of dismay when they finally emerge into daylight. I think I’ll get half a dozen or so of the Kalleske to add to my Jauma Orange and see what happens over the next year or three.
Hi Jeremy, any suggestions as to a good food pairing for this wine? Just ordered a few bottles after trying it in a restaurant in Tassie and am very excited..
Thanks
Kay
Hi Kay – I’m by no means an expert at matching ‘orange’ wines to food but when I started enjoying them many a sommelier mentioned how versatile they were. Given that this effort from Kalleske is relatively inexpensive I’ve had the opportunity to try it with a few dishes.
My favourites have been grilled/BBQ octopus (the phenolics seem to work a treat here) and roast pork with sage and any other trimmings you might want to add. A Greek or Italian mezze plate has worked well too. Hopefully one of those sounds like a good option but if you were ever keen to experiment then I reckon this is a great wine to just play around with and see which pairings work for you. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I’ve certainly sunk a few bottles since its release.
Cheers
J
Thanks heaps Jeremy. If I go “off-road” and try it with anything whacky and it works, I’ll update you.
Cheers
Kay
That would be great, thanks Kay. I’ve recently heard smoked eel soufflé can work well with certain skin contact or ‘orange’ wines…but I think I’ll leave that dish to a chef. My cooking skills are extremely limited