Neldner Road 'The Silesian' Barossa Valley Shiraz 2022

The Inspiration

In 1842, 28 Silesian families arrived in the Barossa, bringing with them generations of viticultural wisdom. They settled in Bethany, purchased land from George Fife Angas, and laid the foundations of what would become one of the world’s great wine regions. Today, their descendants still tend the ancient vines of the Valley.

Dave Powell’s 2021 1 and it's follow up, the 2022 ‘The Silesian’ is a tribute to these pioneers—a wine steeped in history and crafted with reverence.

The Winemaker

Few names carry more weight in the Barossa than Dave Powell. Rockford apprentice. Torbreck founder. Now the force behind Neldner Road Vintners. Powell has spent decades championing the Valley’s old vines—and reimagining what Barossa Shiraz can be.

His wines have captivated critics. Jeremy Oliver famously awarded 100 points to Powell’s 2021 Kraehe—his only perfect score—calling it comparable to the legendary 1953 Grange. Of Neldner Road, Oliver says:
“With great respect to other elite Barossa brands… Neldner’s entry-level wines are better than the flagships of many. As for the best from Neldner Road? World class.”

Campbell Mattinson puts it more viscerally:
“These wines refuse to go quietly—lightning bolts of their own kind, tempests in a glass.”

And Powell himself? Ever direct:
“Blends are better than single-vineyard wines—more complex. Single-vineyard wines can be one-dimensional. That’s why RunRig was my best achievement at Torbreck.”

The Oak

The oak here is 100% Dominique Laurent ‘Magic Casks’, which are roughly twice as thick are traditional oak barrels and air dried for a staggering 4 years prior to being used. This is the same oak Powell uses in his flagship, $750 a bottle Kraehe Shiraz, which in turn, from the same vintage, is the only wine Jeremy Oliver has ever scored 100 points. Laurent is based in Burgundy, and crafts entirely from ancient Tronçais forest oak. His exclusive use of this old-growth oak means Laurent can make no more than 1,000 barrels a year, sometimes as few as 500. His barrels are rarely made available outside of France and bring unparalleled texture, integration and longevity.

The vineyard and the wine

The 2022 Silesian Shiraz is sourced from old vines grown on Powell’s prized Neldner Road vineyard.

It is opulent and sense-flooding. Aromas of gunsmoke, cedar, dark chocolate, coffee, meat stock and spice weave through rich waves of blueberry, black pepper and liquorice. It’s brooding, heady and powerful—Barossa at full throttle.

With ‘The Silesian’, Dave Powell has bottled history, heritage and sheer winemaking firepower. It’s a fitting tribute to the families who shaped the Barossa—and another lightning bolt in glass from one of its greatest modern sons.