2021 The Kirche Barossa Valley Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon, Charles Melton

• Style: Blackberry, cedar & plush tannins
• Taste: Deep fruit with creamy structure and refined backbone
• Food: Roasted beef, game, rich mushrooms
• Occasion: Sunday Lunch; Date Night
• Serve: 16–18°C, decant 30 mins
• Abv: 14.5%

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

Deep blackberry and dark plum open the palate, layered with subtle cedar smoke from thoughtful oak handling. The structure is creamy and rounded—no bruising intensity here, but composed backbone that fills the mouth generously. Length speaks to fruit quality and careful winemaking rather than extraction. A wine built for immediate pleasure that doesn't sacrifice depth.

The Winery — Charles Melton

For four decades, Charlie Melton has championed old-vine Barossa when others abandoned it for fashion. The Kirche block sits at 290 metres elevation on loam and clay, wrapped around a decommissioned 1864 Lutheran church, where vines now approaching fifty years old yield exceptional fruit. The 2021 vintage blessed the region with mild conditions and healthy yields after recent struggles. Cool fermentation at 18–23°C preserved aromatic delicacy, while equal parts French and American oak—half new—spent thirty months on the blend, adding cedary grip without overwhelming the fruit. Today, daughter Sophie, a talented young winemaker, assists Charlie in the cellar, continuing the family legacy.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

This is a wine for occasions that matter: Sunday lunch gatherings or intimate date nights where roasted beef, game, or rich mushroom dishes shine alongside refined fruit and structure. The bone-dry profile makes it a natural partner to umami-rich dishes and charred meat. Drink it now through the next eight to ten years, decanting thirty minutes before service to open up its aromatic character. Explore our full Barossa Valley range to discover why this region endures, or dive into our broader Australia collection. If you love this blend, our Syrah & Shiraz selection offers further benchmarks of what this variety can achieve.