Straight out of a fairy tale, Elderton’s “Command” checks in as one the most rarefied and exalted Syrahs on earth: Coming from a primeval block of vines clocking in at 126 years old, this luxurious 2015 is liquified history in a bottle. Classified as a rare “Ancestor” vineyard by Barossa’s Old Vine Charter, “Command” is an impossibly rich, multi-layered Syrah with raw material that (1) predates the invention of the plane, (2) has outlived the world’s oldest human, and (3) boasts roots older than Australia’s time as a commonwealth.
This is wine at its most powerful and profound, made apparent by the fact that it has, on multiple occasions, received awards for “Top 100 Wines of The World” and “Best Shiraz in the World.” It’s old-vine fruit on steroids, except Elderton isn’t taking any shortcuts: Despite coming from just one preternatural block of vines, harvest occurs over five weeks to ensure that every grape is bursting with concentration. The juice is then born from painstaking manual labor and raised for 30 months in the best French and American oak barrels money can buy. What you’re getting here is an immensely age-worthy Syrah that is unapologetically bold and lush, a wine that will instantly become the most luxurious bottle in your cellar, and a historic museum exhibit that will enrapture the very lucky few who get to experience it. Enjoy.
NOTE: Today's limited wine is only available as a pre-offer, and will be arriving at our warehouse in two weeks' time.
When the Scholz family broke ground and planted a tract of land to Shiraz, Cabernet, and Merlot in 1894, I can assure you they had no idea these same vines would be alive and well 126 years later. And without current proprietors Neil and Lorraine Ashmead, they wouldn’t be. Upon their arrival to the small town of Nuriootpa in Barossa Valley in 1979, they found themselves surrounded by these ancient vines, which at this stage, had been long neglected. After several years of back-breaking restoration, Elderton was born, but wine wasn’t made under the label until 1982 with the help of visionary Peter Lehmann. The first vintage of “Command” Shiraz came just two years later and with the ‘92 release, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate deemed it one of the best wines in the world.
As stated, the Barossa Old Vine Charter—yes, that’s an actual organization—has classified the family’s estate vineyard in Nuriootpa as an “Ancestor Vine,” their rarest and oldest designation which they define as the following:
“An Ancestor vine has stood strong and proud for at least 125 years—a living tribute to the early European settlers of Barossa. Their genetic material has helped to populate the region with irreplaceable old stocks that underpin the viticultural tradition. They tend to be dry-grown, low-yielding vines with great intensity of flavour, and are believed to be among the oldest producing vines in the world.”
So that’s the precious raw material that’s going into today’s bottle. For the 2015 vintage, Elderton spent five weeks combing each row and hand-harvesting each cluster at its most optimal levels of ripeness. In the winery, fermentation occurred in exposed concrete vessels with manual pump-overs, and fermentation was completed in new French and American puncheons (500-liter barrels). The wine then aged in these same barrels for 30 years.
We’ll do 700+ offers this year, but I think it’s a safe bet to say there won’t be another with this level of hedonistic richness and power. Elderton’s “Command” Shiraz, well, commands a room with its dark, impenetrable black-purple core and explosive perfumes. A few swirls will show you just how intense of a wine this is: It moves slowly and coats the sides with a deep ruby sheen before creeping back down. No need to dip your nose into the glass for this one! Ripe black and blue fruits come funneling out with alluring notes of expensive oak spice like vanilla pod, cloves, cedar, coconut husk, ground coffee. This full-bodied wine saturates the entire palate with luxurious, creamy layers of huckleberry, black cherry liqueur, boysenberry, spiced plums, and licorice before giving way to vibrant notes of candied violets, mint, liquid smoke, cracked black pepper, baked clay, and, again, myriad baking spices. For all of its raw power and youthfulness, this titanic Shiraz glides seamlessly across the palate and delivers a long, mouthwatering finish. One glass goes an extremely long way, so be sure and savor slowly, and know that ancient-vine pedigree and a skilled, long upbringing in the cellar means this will age for decades to come. Enjoy!
