This is Eden Valley dominant and has aromas of violets, blueberries, black cherries and dark berry pastry with attractive, cedar and fresh-tobacco notes. The palate offers very attractive chocolate, plum paste and licorice. Smoothly layered tannins with blueberry flavor and a little oak spice to close. Great concentration. Drink over the next eight years.\n Producer Information\n Elderton is an Australian family-owned producer based in the Barossa Valley of South Australia. It is best known for its old-vine Shiraz red wines, led by the Command cuvée. However, it first came to prominence after winning a major Australian wine award in 1993 for its Cabernet Sauvignon. The core family estate is located in Nuriootpa, and has 29 hectares (72 acres) under vine. It was purchased in 1979 in a run-down condition by the Ashmead family, who were offered the surrounding vineyards for free if they bought the homestead. The vineyards included some old plots dating back to original planting of 1894, and the Ashmeads embarked on a period of restoration. The first wines under the Elderton label were produced in 1982. The Nuriootpa vineyard is planted on alluvial silt soils over water-retaining clay, which allows irrigation to be kept to a minimum. These vineyards are very low-yielding, due in part to age, with some the Cabernet Sauvignon vines affected by Eutypa, which also creates intensely concentrated grapes. Over the years, other vineyards have been added to the Elderton portfolio – specifically the Craneford vineyard in Eden Valley and the Greenock vineyard in western Barossa. In the winery, the top reds are aged in French puncheons, with the Command Shiraz aged in a mix of French and American oak. The Helbig 1915 Shiraz is produced from Greenock vines that are over a hundred years in age. After barrel-aging and bottling, it will happily cellar for a couple of decades. Other wines in the Elderton portfolio include the Estate Family Vineyard range. This contains varietal wines from Merlot, Riesling and Chardonnay as well as the Barossa stalwart varieties of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Duke of Wellington is a tawny port, produced as a tribute to the founder of the Nuriootpa vineyard. A blend of Shiraz and Touriga Nacional, it is fortfied after a lengthy fermentation on skins to allow for an optimal accumulation of flavor compounds.
