2022 Kaesler Avignon GSM, Barossa Valley

Gold at 2025 Barossa Wine Show

I've seen plenty of older examples of this wine to know it has a good cellaring bloodline. This year it's 51/27/22% grenache/shiraz/mourvédre: the classic GSM that the Barossa does so well. Mid-weighted, savoury drinking with plenty of detail and pure, spicy fruit and a real sense of vivacity and boundless energy as it travels across the palate. Lovely. Drink to 2034.

94 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, October 2024

The 2022 Avignon is a crowd-pleaser with its upfront, fleshy aromas of blackberry, gravel and chocolate with a fine lining of spice. Plump, dark berry flavours are lifted by gentle earthy tones while sinewy tannins need a little time to settle. Drink to 2034.

92 points Angus Hughson for Vinous, August 2025

Pretty aromas of blueberry, dried herbs, sweet spice, cola, nutmeggy oak and creamy, boysenberry yogurt. Mouth-filling, blue fruited, fleshy and vibrantly flavoured. The tannins are firm and textured and the acidity is bright, snappy and lively. Drink to 2035.

91 points Aaron Barsher for The Real Review, February 2025

Kaesler’s Avignon was named after the historic papal residency town of Avignon, located along the Rhône River in the Vaucluse department of southeastern France. The area is considered the origin of Barossa’s famous GSM blends, of which this wine is one.

The handpicked grapes are sourced from Kaesler’s up to 90-year-old vines, with each vintage of slightly different composition, seasonal fruit quality and styles pending. In 2022, the Avignon is a 51/37/22 blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvèdre planted in 1930 and 1965. Each variety was vinified separately and racked a couple of times ahead of final blending decisions. The blended wine was lightly filtered ahead of bottling.

About this producer

The Kaesler family were Silesian pioneers of the Barossa Valley in the 1840s and planted their first vines in 1893.

A group of investors led by Ed Peter purchased the by-then run-down property in 1999 and chose to honour the family’s legacy in its name. Today, Peter’s Dural Wines manages the winery as well as Kaesler’s 37 hectares of vines, most of which are considered old vines and some up to 129 years of age, through regenerative farming. The majority of the vines are located around the winery in Nuriootpa, with just over nine hectares in the western Marananga part of the valley.

Third-generation Barossa winemaker Tim Dolan leads a team at the winery that has it eyes firmly set on presenting some of Barossa’s finest wines.