I have spoken highly of the Elderton winery here - in my great values piece, in my Top 50 cellar picks, and in various tasting notes. So it should be no surprise that tonight's 2004 Elderton Barossa Shiraz also comes with glowing notes.Bright, deep purple in colour and highly aromatic, the nose was beautiful, interesting, and complex, evolving over the evening. Starting with wild, chocolatey fruit on the nose, this brute unveiled scents of big blackberry fruit, violets, pepper, cloves, leather, vanilla, chocolate and a lovely smokey smell.
Rich and thick, with chocolate and gobs of fresh fruit, it sported big tannins that pound on your palate, but were balanced by nice acidity. A very long finish, this is a surprising 'entry-level' Shiraz that demands some patience. Way too powerful for hamburgers off the grill, I suggest game, lamb or a wild animal you just killed with your bare hands. Vinuous infanticide, I say - decant first, but better to stick it in the cellar for 3 more years (at least...). If Elderton keeps making their Barossa this good, who is going to pony up for the Command? Obviously very New World in style, a caution for those seeking something more restrained. Close to an 18, but I think it will take a few years to sort it out for sure.
14% alcohol
Score: 17.5+/20 (will improve)
Price: C$29
Posts
4 comments:
May have to hunt down a bottle. It's been a few years since I've tried Elderton Jnr.
It is a 17.5 now, 18 later. It needs time. You should have no trouble finding it in Oz...
Have been trying not to buy any more wine at the moment, have managed to go 24 hours so far. . .
My wife is threatening to delete my blog if I buy anymore...24 hours would be a stretch for me.
Post a Comment