Arete Wines

hillblock

 

The Hill Block – Greenock Shiraz (Arete Aristo Shiraz)

The Kalleske family have been grape growers since 1855. The fourth generation custodian of their very special vineyards is Shawn Kalleske. This unique vineyard is situated near the hamlet of Greenock, a small town in the famous Barossa Valley and home to some of Australia’s greatest Shiraz wines. Arete is sourced from a small, unique parcel of the Kalleske’s 85 acres of vineyard. The Hill Block is well drained red sandy loam over a broken clay base. The Hill Block is a mature 30 year old vineyard, typically yielding less than 2T/acre of intensely flavouredand muscularly structured shiraz.

cemeteryblock

 

Cemetery Block – Koonunga Shiraz (Arete Barossa Shiraz)

Another Kalleske vineyard, however this one is looked after by Shawns cousin, Andy. Situated at the northern western extremity of the Barossa Valley, the vineyards of Koonunga are characterised by an iron rich surface underlain by soft, fine clays. This vineyard is typically slow ripening allowing development of quite defined sweet berry and spice fruit character.

woodside

 

Big Als Block – Woodside Sauvignon Blanc (Arete The Road Less Travelled)

Big Al happens to be a good friend of mine. We have known each other for many years, prior to either of us ever being in the wine industry. Luckily for me, he and his family have a good eye for nice dirt for grapevines. Big Als block is situated about 2.5 km south east of Woodside on a lovely sloping site with an almost westerly aspect. The vineyard is only young, celebrating its 6th birthday in 2009, however is producing strikingly intense fruit with linear acid and terrific varietal character.
eastblock  East Block – Greenock Shiraz
Another one of Shawn’s vineyards, this one is a  stone’s throw away in the North East direction from the Hill Block. (edit..ok its about 1km away as the crow flys, you would need a really good arm!)
The East Block is higher in altitude than the Hill Block and is planted roughly East – West on a southerly facing ridge. The vines are younger than the Hill Block, being planted in 1989 (?), however shares the same very deep red-brown alluvial soils.
This vineyard produces amazingly concentrated, yet quite fragrant shiraz. Over the past 2 vintages it has also proven to be remarkably resistant to the extreme heat, producing consistently excellent Shiraz.