Elderton Command Shiraz 2008
Deep ruby with garnet hues; tight rim. The Elderton Command Shiraz 2008 noses reamy chocolate, dry violet and cedar tones. With rich and generous palate, the wine has wondrous dark chocolate, plums and black pepper flavours that persist through to a long finish. It is held together beautifully with refinement.
Elderton Command Shiraz is a classic, old-vine Barossa Shiraz first made in 1984 from a single, low-yielding block planted in the 1890s on the banks of the North Para River at Nuriootpa. The vines are anchored in deep, alluvial silt over red-brown earths and limestone. Command Shiraz is always typified by raspberry, blackberry, dark chocolate, meaty, aniseed aromas and flavours, pronounced chalky, firm tannin structures, plenty of mid-palate richness and underlying integrated oak.
Command has won many international accolades, appearing twice in (U.S.) Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 and winning the trophy for Best Shiraz in the World at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London.
Critical acclaims include:
· JH94, Australian Wine Companion - "A heady melange of dark fruits, licorice, anise and lavish levels of toasty oak; the palate is full of warm, ripe fruitcake character, with plenty of concentration; while certainly a 'more is more' style of wine, the detail is evident with its light touch and the finish is very long."
·
RP93+, The Wine Advocate - "The 2008 Command Shiraz comes from 1894 Shiraz plantings of a single estate owned block of 8 acres. It spends 3 years in 100% new oak, 65% American, 35% French. Deep garnet-purple colored, it displays moderate to intense blackberry preserve and dried mulberry aromas with an undercurrent of anise, Indian spices, yeast extract and black pepper. Full bodied, rich and opulent in the mouth, it has a medium level of velvety tannins, refreshing acid and a very long, very spicy finish. Drink it now to 2021+.
· ST93, International Wine Cellar - "Glass-staining ruby. High-pitched aromas of crystallized black and blue fruits, violet and allspice, with suave vanilla and mocha qualities adding richness. Deeply concentrated dark fruit flavors are impressively lithe and precise, with peppery spice and minerality providing lift. Finishes smooth and sweet, with lingering blueberry and floral pastille notes and striking clarity."
· WS92, Wine Spectator - "Dark and expressive, a medium-weight style that brims with complex, savory-accented black cherry and blueberry flavors, lingering easily on the deftly balanced finish."
· W&S90, Wine & Spirits - "A full-on Barossa shiraz, this wine's heavy-duty tannins relent to a satin texture as it takes on air. The flavors begin red, like kirsch, and build toward super-concentrated blackberry jam, with some rooty earthiness underneath. Balanced on a large scale, this is structured to last."
