2006 Elderton Barossa Shiraz

The fruit for Elderton Shiraz is sourced mainly from the Elderton Vineyard situated on the banks of the North Para River. There are 12 blocks of Shiraz on the Elderton Estate, some as old as 100 years, which grow in deep alluvial soils over limestone. Combined with a Mediterranean climate and minimal supplemented irrigation, this creates what Elderton describe as ‘the perfect Shiraz vineyard’. The grapes are mainly machine harvested in the cool of the night, at an optimum maturity of about 14 – 15 Baume. This allows a quick delivery to the winery for crushing, before any spoilage can occur.

2006 was a vintage in two parts, having had rain in the middle of vintage. Those that picked early (like Elderton) have found that it is a wondrous vintage and a worthy successor to vintage like 2004 and 2005. Those that decided to take the rain on and leave their fruit hanging had some mixed results. Maturation takes place in French and American oak puncheons for just over 12 months.