Kalleske Plenarius Viognier 2025: Tasting Notes

WINE STYLE → Amber & chewy

Kalleske Plenarius Viognier 2025 is a bold, amber-hued skin-contact white from the Barossa, made with the whole grape in mind: perfume, fruit, skins, texture and natural grip. It opens with honeysuckle, ripe apricot, mango, musk and lemon verbena, then moves into orange peel, vanilla, apricot kernel, subtle nuttiness and ginger. The palate is dry, medium-bodied and quietly oily, with gentle skin phenolics shaping the generous fruit and a long, clean finish.

Highlights

• Certified organic, certified biodynamic, vegan friendly and no added sulphites
• Crafted by Kalleske — a seventh-generation Barossa family estate at Greenock
• Honeysuckle, ripe apricot, mango, lemon verbena, orange peel, vanilla, ginger and subtle nuttiness
• 100% Viognier wild fermented completely on skins for 10 days
• Matured in seasoned French oak hogsheads for 11 months on lees, then bottled with zero additions
• 12.5% ABV

Tasting Notes

Plenarius 2025 is brilliant scotch-bronze in colour, with Viognier aromatics that are expressive from the first pour. Honeysuckle leads, followed by ripe apricot, mango, musk and lemon verbena. The palate is dry and energetic, layering ripe stone fruit with orange peel, vanilla, apricot-kernel grip, subtle nutty notes and a hint of ginger. It has a medium-bodied shape with an oily undertone, but gentle skin tannin keeps the fruit framed and clean. The finish is long, dry and textural, making this a compelling orange wine for drinkers who like whites with grip and personality.

Winemaking

Plenarius is made from 100% Viognier, harvested in the cool of the night on 14 February. The fruit was destemmed into an open-top fermenter and treated like a red wine, with hand pump-overs morning and night to circulate juice through the skins and extract flavour, tannin and phenolics. The must was wild yeast fermented with absolutely no additions and spent 10 days on skins, with ferment temperature ranging up to 25°C. Once dry, the wine was drained to seasoned French oak hogsheads, completed natural malolactic fermentation in barrel, then matured for 11 months on lees before being bottled as 100% grapes with zero additions.

Vineyard & Vintage

The Viognier comes from a single vineyard on the Kalleske property at Moppa in the Barossa. The vines are low yielding and grow in shallow sand over clay subsoil, giving Plenarius its intensity, texture and varietal perfume. The 2025 vintage was warm and dry, with significant spring frosts and rainfall from winter through summer reaching only around two-thirds of average. Lower yields and steady ripening produced fruit of outstanding quality, making 2025 one of the strongest recent Barossa vintages for concentration and character.

Why We Love It

This is Viognier with all the volume turned up, but it is not a simple fruit bomb. Skin contact gives it amber colour, natural grip and a more savoury, structural finish, while the grape’s natural apricot, honeysuckle and mango perfume stays beautifully present. The no-added-sulphites approach, wild ferment and zero-additions bottling make it a pure, expressive take on Barossa orange wine. It is generous, textural and a little unconventional in all the right ways.

Food Pairing

This style shines with food that has texture, spice, roast edges or creamy richness. The phenolic grip works like a gentle tannin, while the apricot, ginger, orange peel and nutty notes pair beautifully with Middle Eastern spices, roast vegetables, oily fish and fragrant dishes. Try matching this wine with →

• Roast cauliflower with tahini, almonds and herbs — Find a Recipe
• Crispy skin salmon with ginger and citrus — Find a Recipe
• Moroccan chicken with apricots and spice — Find a Recipe

Mood or occasion to match this wine…

Open this when you want something more adventurous than a standard white: a long lunch, a generous grazing table, roast vegetables, spicy food or a group of friends who love discovering wines with texture and story.

Cellaring

Best enjoyed young while the honeysuckle, apricot, mango and ginger aromatics are vivid. Drink within 12–18 months from release, with a light chill and generous food. Once opened, keep it sealed in the fridge and drink within 1–2 days.

Producer

Kalleske is a seventh-generation family estate based at Greenock in the Barossa Valley, with vineyards that have been farmed by the family since 1853. The estate is certified organic and biodynamic, and the wines are made with a strong focus on estate fruit, soil health and minimal intervention. Plenarius comes from a single low-yielding Viognier vineyard at Moppa and reflects Kalleske’s more adventurous side: whole-grape winemaking, wild fermentation, skin contact, no added sulphites and a “nothing added, nothing taken away” philosophy.

Related Wines To Try →

If you enjoy textural, biodynamic and skin-contact whites, these are worth exploring next:

• Bright, estate-grown white from the same biodynamic producer — Kalleske Florentine Chenin Blanc
• Savoury, textural Barossa white blend with natural wine character — Kalleske Congruous Chenin Blanc Semillon
• Amber-toned skin-contact white with grip and savoury detail — Battle of Bosworth Dissident Skin Contact Field Blend

FAQ

What does Kalleske Plenarius Viognier 2025 taste like?

It tastes like a deeply aromatic skin-contact Viognier, with honeysuckle, ripe apricot, mango, musk, lemon verbena, orange peel, vanilla and ginger. The palate is dry, medium-bodied and textural, with gentle apricot-kernel phenolics and subtle nutty complexity. It finishes long, clean and grippy rather than sweet.

Is this wine dry or sweet?

It smells rich and exotic, but the palate is dry. Viognier naturally gives apricot and floral perfume, so the fruit can suggest sweetness even when the finish is savoury and structured. The skin contact adds grip and keeps the wine from tasting soft or sugary.

How full-bodied and textural is it?

This is a medium-bodied to medium-full skin-contact white. It has more texture than a standard white wine, with an oily undertone, gentle tannin and a long phenolic finish. Acidity sits around medium, giving lift without making the wine sharp.

What does skin-contact mean for this wine?

Skin contact means the Viognier was fermented on its grape skins rather than pressed off straight away. In Plenarius, the wine spent 10 days on skins, which gives it amber colour, extra aroma, natural tannin and a more structured palate. It is closer in texture to an orange wine than a conventional white.

How should I serve Kalleske Plenarius Viognier 2025?

Serve it lightly chilled at around 10–12°C in a white wine glass or universal wine glass. Do not serve it fridge-cold, as too much chill will hide the apricot, honeyed floral and ginger notes. No decanting is essential, but 10–15 minutes in the glass helps it open.

Can this wine be cellared?

This is best enjoyed young. Drink it within 12–18 months from release, while the aromatics and textural freshness are at their best. It is not designed as a long-cellar white.

Does this wine contain preservatives or sulphites?

This is a No Added Preservative wine with no added sulphites. Free sulphur dioxide is 0 mg/L and total sulphur dioxide is 8 mg/L, which is consistent with naturally occurring sulphites only. It is also certified organic and certified biodynamic.

Is it vegan friendly?

Yes. Kalleske Plenarius Viognier is vegan friendly, certified organic and certified biodynamic. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with no added sulphites and no additions.

What food pairs best with this wine?

It works beautifully with roast cauliflower, tahini, pumpkin, Moroccan chicken, crispy skin salmon, hard cheeses and spiced vegetable dishes. The grip and texture can handle richer food, while the apricot, ginger and orange-peel notes suit fragrant spices. For vegetarian pairings, choose roasted vegetables, lentils, chickpeas or nutty sauces.

Who will love this wine?

This will suit drinkers who enjoy orange wine, skin-contact whites and aromatic varieties with structure. If you like Viognier but want less softness and more grip, Plenarius is a brilliant next step. It is also a good option for natural wine drinkers who enjoy amber colour, wild ferment character and a dry, textural finish.

Is this wine keto friendly?

This wine is off-dry with approximately 7 g/L residual sugar and less than 1 g sugar per 100 mL. It may not suit strict keto drinkers, but it can work for some lower-carb drinkers depending on personal limits. Pair with lower-carb foods such as salmon, roast cauliflower, grilled chicken or hard cheese.

(SKU: KA_PLN_CV)