Event
Elderton Estate The Command Performance
This is the east coast edition of Elderton Estates premiere here on TasteLive. We'll be tasting along with estate owner Cameron Ashmead. Selections include:
2008 Unoaked Chardonnay
2006 Shiraz/ Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Barossa Valley Shiraz
2005 The Command Shiraz (Yes... You read that right! We're tasting the new release of this classic!)
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Elderton Estate Profile
Elderton Estate
Elderton Wines is a small, family-owned winery, situated in the heart of Australia’s Barossa Valley that has shot to world acclaim producing some of Australia’s most highly regarded shiraz and cabernet sauvignon. The second generation of the Ashmead family, brothers: Cameron and Allister now run the winery day to day and are passionate about producing wines that are balanced, varietally correct and classic in nature.
Selections for Tasting
Selections for 1/19/2010
E Series Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
The fruit is crushed and chilled below 10 degrees before draining the free run juice off the skins. This juice is then settled for 2-3 days to allow small particles of skins to fall to the bottom of the tank. The clear juice is then racked off and fermentation is completed in temperature controlled stainless steel. Without the presence of oak, the true and pure characteristics of Chardonnay are left to shine, and so we bottle the wine soon after fermentation to ensure that the clean, primary fruit flavours are retained.
Elderton has a proud history of success in the Barossa. These wines enhance and reflect of what the Ashmead family are about; premium quality wines with a real sense of their roots in the Barossa and it’s surrounds. The E Series wines are designed to be affordable everyday drinking, whilst still representing exceptional quality. Elderton’s winemaking approach aims for balance and style, where all elements are in sync. You won’t find excessive alcohol, oak, tannin or acidity, just enjoyable, delicious fruit.
Following de-stemming and inoculation with a selected yeast strain, fermentation took place in stainless steel potter fermenters and concrete open top fermenters at 28°C for approximately 5-7 days. Maturation using the best French and American oak puncheons for 14 months. There are 12 blocks of Shiraz on the Elderton Estate, some as old as 100 years, which grow in deep alluvial soils over limestone. Combined with a Mediterranean climate and minimal supplemented irrigation, this creates what one can only describe as ‘the perfect Shiraz vineyard’. Mainly the grapes are machine harvested in the cool of the night, at an optimum maturity of about 14 – 15 Baume. This allows a quick delivery to the winery for crushing, before any spoilage can occur.
The Elderton Command Shiraz has established an enviable reputation since the first vintage in 1984. It is truly one of Australia’s best and most highly regarded Icon wines. Accolades have come from the world over for vintages such as the 1992, which was chosen by the influential wine critic Robert Parker in his U.S. magazine the “Wine Advocate” as one of the world’s top 80 wines. The 1995 Command was awarded 95 points by “Wine Spectator” and placed in their top 100 wines, the 2000 was awarded 97 points by the same magazine and placed 27 in their top 100 and the 1996 Command won the trophy for the best Shiraz in the world at the London International Wine and Spirit Competition, which Elderton’s principal - Lorraine Ashmead believes ratifies her plans, aspirations and expectations to produce a great wine of the world.
”2005 followed a vintage that many thought would rank highly in the decade and the chances of an ‘odd year’ standing over such a vintage seemed remote. But with a wet winter providing the sustenance and a mild, dry summer following, Elderton fruit showed excellent development, particularly old vine harvests. The vintage was later than normal with the last pick of the Command block being on April 11th. This long ripening period, partnered with cool submerged-cap ferments in the winery, has allowed the fruit to shine through (over the 30+ months of oak maturation) and is testament to the power of flavour produced from our oldest Shiraz vines.
The Elderton Command Shiraz grapes are grown on a selected portion of the Elderton Estate vineyard, from vines planted in the early 1900’s. Grown on rich river silt soils and red brown earth over limestone, in a Mediterranean climate, with cropping levels less than 4 tonnes per hectare. 2004 was a dream year viticulturally, with mild and dry, summer conditions continuing all the way through to early late autumn. The strength and magnificence of these vines shines effortlessly though in the quality of what is in the bottle.
97 Points - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate 2009 - Elderton's flagship is the single vineyard Command Shiraz, a wine with serious aging potential, and one with which all other South Australia Shiraz must be compared. The opaque purple/black 2005 Command was aged in French and American oak puncheons (500 litre barrels). It offers up a sexy/kinky bouquet of wood smoke, lavender, leather, game, mineral, black raspberry, and blueberry pie. Voluptuous on the palate, complex, and dense, it demands a decade of cellaring after which it should offer hedonists much pleasure through 2035.
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