Winemaker Notes
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.
The stoic 1894-planted Command vineyard is in the heart of the Barossa Valley, in Nuriootpa. At the western end the vines in alluvial soils border the Para River, and clay content rises in the soils as the vines head east towards the Cellar Door. Command is the sum of several small batch picks to ensure the capture of every part of the vineyard at optimum flavor concentration.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Readers may remember the stunning reviews I gave to Elderton's 1992 Command Shiraz. The flamboyantly-styled, lavishly-oaked, exotic, opaque purple-colored 1993 Command Shiraz possesses an intense, smoky, jammy prune and blackberry-scented nose, followed by dense, full-boded, gorgeously silky-textured flavors that are bursting with fruit, glycerin, and alcohol. It is a mouthfilling, viscous style of Shiraz that makes an immediate impression.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The Barossa Zone encompasses the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley. Some of the oldest vines in Australia can be found here.
Barossa Valley of course is the most important and famous wine growing region in all of Australia where 140+ year-old, dry-farmed Shiraz vines still produce inky, purple and dense juice for some of Australia's best wines.
In the cooler, wetter Eden Valley sub-region, the Hill of Grace vineyard is home to famous Shiraz vines from the 1800s but the region produces also some of Australia’s very best and age-worthy Rieslings.