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The quality of Shiraz grown to parched vineyards in Victoria's rugged western districts, has been well known throughout the world of wine since the days of gold rush and early settlement. Taltarni have since established an enviable reputation for vintages of powerfully structured, statuesque red wines, fully exploiting the soft spoken majesty and graceful intensity of Pyrenees Shiraz comes naturally. Taltarni» |
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Tio Pepe is the world's leading Fino, a very pale and dry style of wine made in the southwest of Spain. Produced since 1844 by the Gonzalez family of Jerez, Tio Pepe has a distinctive aroma and a unique taste. Tio Pepe» |
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A single vineyard, strongly terroir wine by maestro Ken Helm AM, from fruit picked off neighbour Al Lustenberger's property, only released under the premium black label if it reaches the highest quality benchmarks. Since 2005 the collaboration of Lustenberger and Helm has claimed more than fourteen trophies. Helm» |
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Excellent Langtons Classification. Elderton Command has established an enviable reputation, truly one of Australia's most esteemed flagship wines. Elderton» |
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Charles Cimicky was inspired by his father to take over the reins at the family estate, that's when the good wines started turning into awesome wines. Today, Cimicky is one of the most meticulous winemakers in South Australia. Charles Cimicky» |
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Scotsdale was acquired by Howard Park as a pastoral property, specifically chosen and planted to make a single vineyard wine. Shiraz is harvested according to flavour with little regard for analytical data. Howard Park» |
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Clare Valley Shiraz is internationally renowned, remarkable for its spectacular complexity, elegance and poise. Bill Taylor planted Shiraz with a view to formulating the very style which has won primacy throughout the world of wine. Taylors» |
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Yealands Seaview Vineyard is exposed to some of the toughest growing conditions in Marlborough, high sunshine and billowing winds wind, cool nights and low rainfalls for a smaller, thicker skinned Pinot Gris of exciting intensity. Fruit from the relatively flat, coastal L6M block, provides a pure mineral elegance to the structural backbone. Yealands Estate» |
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Tyrrell made a major contribution to the development of Heathcote as a world class winegrowing region. One of the earliest pioneers, they sowed the seeds and established the vines which launched the second gold rush into Heathcote Shiraz. Tyrrells» |
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White Label is a McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon of the highest eminence, having been nominated for the George Mackey Memorial Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding Australian export. Crafted from fruit grown to some of the oldest vines at Pirramimma and McLaren Vale, it has twice claimed Gold in San Francisco and competed well against a formidable host of distinguished growths at the prestigious London International. Pirramimma» |
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A collation of superior vineyard parcels, crafted by a boutique estate which has been recognized as one of Australia's leading wineries. Clonakilla are dedicated to making distinctive, handcrafted wines, only ever released in limited quantities, anything by Clonakilla can be hard to find, but they are worth the search. Clonakilla» |
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Enthused by a consuming desire to make great wine, Andrew Nugent honed his craft as viticulturalist and winemaker amongst the vines of McLaren Vale before returning to the Adelaide Hills, where he established his very own wineworks at Woodside. Hand crafted from fruit grown to mineral rich soils above the historic Bird in Hand gold mine, a pure Pinot Noir with superb effervescence, dominated by red berry characters, adorned by a lift of stonefruits and floral.. Bird In Hand» |
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About Elderton - the Winery
Elderton
Based in the heart of Australia's Barossa Valley and boasting vineyards over a century old, Elderton is a producer of some of the world's great wines
Winner of Australia's most coveted wine award the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy (1993) and the prestigious London International Wine & Spirit Competition's World's Best Shiraz Trophy (2000), Elderton remains proudly owned by the Ashmead family. The Elderton Vineyard is located on the banks of the North Para River, which is on the southern edge of the township of Nuriootpa. The Barossa Valley's climate is classified as Mediterranean, which amounts to warm summers (average temperature in January is 25°C to 35°C) and cool wet winters with an annual rainfall of 550 mm. The vineyard was planted in 1904 by Samuel Elderton Tolley, with a view to supplying Barossa wineries with premium fruit. After a period of neglect, the Ashmead family purchased the vineyard in 1979 and went about restoring it to its former glory. Modern viticulture practices were employed and the vineyard began to flourish.
The inaugural 1982 vintage is now considered a collector's item. The first Command Shiraz followed suit in 1984 making it one of Australia's oldest blockbuster wines. Elderton went on to be distinguished by Australia's most coveted wine award the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy (1993) and the prestigious London International Wine & Spirit Competition's World's Best Shiraz Trophy (2000). In 2003 Elderton finished building its own winery in Nuriootpa, formerly a Penfolds site. Elderton was now able to grow, produce and bottle wines all on the family estate. This means a greater to attention to detail.
The vineyard now comprises 70 acres with the principle varieties being Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The majority of the vineyard is between 40 and 100 years in age. This age, combined with minimal irrigation, produces rich, concentrated fruit for exhibiting classic varietal characters. The majority of the vineyard is planted east to west, allowing the breezes from the Barossa ranges to flow through the rows rather than across them. These breezes assist with canopy management.
The real strength behind the Elderton success is the ancient 72 acre Barossa Floor Vineyard, which produces fruit of the highest quality year in year out. Each block on the property is cherished but the two standouts are the 104-year-old Command Shiraz block and the 64-year-old Ashmead Cabernet Sauvignon block. Some of the older blocks on the vineyard are planted with unknown clones, however, all plantings since 1949 are Shiraz 1654, BVRC12 or BVRC30, with the Cabernet Sauvignon being G9V3 or LC10. The trellising used throughout the vineyard for recent plantings is simply a double wire vertical with single wire trellising used on earlier plantings.
Following fast on the heels of the estate's world renown reputation for red wines, Elderton is gaining a reputation for white wines. The white grapes are mostly all picked in the cool of the night to ensure that they come into the winery at the right temperature. They are crushed at this temperature, where some whole bunch pressing is also done and only the free run juice is used, which in most instances is fermented at cool fermentation (14–16°C) levels.
The red grapes are also picked in the cool of the night, much of the old vine stock is hand picked to ensure the longevity of the vines and integrity of the fruit. They are crushed and fermented in open concrete, static stainless steel fermenters, or limited amounts of barrel fermentation. These ferments are temperature controlled (normally 20–24˚C) before they are fermented to dryness. The wines are then pressed off in the air bag presses releasing most of the colour and complex tannin structures before being blended back into the total blend. The wines are then pumped over to temperature controlled maturation cellars and carefully monitored before further blending and bottling. The best French and American oak and all barrels are benchmarked annually by the winemaking team and the respective coopers to ensure that the oak complements the wines fully.
Stainless steel crushers, centrifuge, air bag presses and temperature controlled stainless steel static fermenters complement the already existing 60 year concrete open fermenters that help shape the wines of distinction. The site also now has a modern lab with a full time lab manager assessing where the wines are at any stage of the process. In 2006, Elderton gained organic certification as a wine processor from the Australian Certified Organic organisation, the first step in the process of working towards a changeover to biodynamic farming techniques.
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