Elderton Wines Launches 2024 ‘SIXFOLD’ Shiraz
Winemaker Dinner
The ‘sixfold’ vineyard was planted over 100 years ago, and is one of the highest plantings in the Barossa with an altitude of 500 metres. Join us, along with Elderton’s Allister Ashmead, for the WA launch event of this exciting new release, the 2024 Sixfold Shiraz.
Plus,
Taste a 3 Vintage Vertical of the Iconic ‘Command’ Shiraz
2022 | 2019 | 2016
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.
…Amongst 12 Wines…
Wednesday, March 18th
Hosted by Allister Ashmead, Co-Managing Director of Elderton Wines
Dinner: 6.30pm, 12 Wines paired with 3 Kate Lamont Courses | $215
THE LAUNCH // SIXFOLD SHIRAZ 2024
Eden Valley | Old vine | Single vineyard | 1866 bottles produced
Planted in 1941 on the elevated slopes of Mengler Hill, this single vineyard Shiraz draws its strength from old vines rooted in ancient soils at 500 meters above sea level. From this rare vantage point, the vineyard gazes west over the Barossa Valley and east into Eden Valley. A site long revered by Barossa’s winemaking legends.
Acquired by the Ashmead family in late 2022, this extraordinary parcel now yields a wine of remarkable structure, richness, and balance. Crafted in extremely limited quantities, Sixfold is a tribute to the six children of the thirdgeneration Ashmead family, each fold representing a unique thread in the fabric of their legacy. We hope this wine takes you on a journey, as part of our story, mark 1 for the long future ahead. Enjoy now, or cellar for 15–20 years to reveal its full grandeur.
WINEMAKING
Given this was our first true opportunity to work with the fruit from Mengler after a complete growing season, we have tried to harness the purity of this wine as we begin our journey of discovery. All handpicked, fruit was destemmed and chilled to fermenter. One tiny parcel which is on the ridge line with a stunning easterly aspect gathering the morning sun, was fermented in an upright French oak puncheon, and the second parcel from which we have barrel selected a small portion was fermented in cement tulip. A combination of new and 2 year old French oak has been used for MLF and further maturation. Careful handling relying largely on gravity has resulted in a wine which we are super excited (and a little nervous) to share with the world.
Tasting Notes
Winemakers: Jules Ashmead and Brock Harrison
Vineyard: Mengler Hill, 500M elevation, bony ancient sandy soil with castings of quartz and granite.
Harvest Date: 23 March – 4th April 2024
Style: Understated power
Colour: Dark purple
Aroma: Spiced red fruits, touch of earthy dark olive
Palate: Raspberry and just ripe plummy notes with cooking spices and blackberry. A touch of oak hovers in the background alongside pepper and a gravelly tannin profile spiralling along the palate driving the structure.
Cellaring: 15+ years from vintage, given good cellaring conditions Alc/vol: 14.8%
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THE BEGINNING
The vineyard was first planted on the banks of the North Para River in Nuriootpa in 1894 by early German settlers, the Scholz family. In 1916, it was purchased by Samuel Elderton Tolley who named the Estate ‘Elderton’. He built himself a sprawling homestead on the Estate and sold the fruit to his family’s winery. It was run successfully for many years, but became derelict in the early years of the vine pull (circa 1975).
“If you buy the house, I will give you the surrounding 72 acres of old vines for nothing”. This was the proposal offered to Lorraine and Neil Ashmead. The rambling old homestead looked ideal for a growing family and the Ashmead’s worked tirelessly to salvage and restore a phenomenal treasure of a vineyard.
In 1982 the first wine was made under the Elderton label.
THE SECOND GENERATION
The second generation, Cameron and Allister, took the reins of the business in 2003 and today work alongside their wives, Jules and Rebecca, to run Elderton Wines, with Lorraine enjoying retirement (you might see her pottering in the Cellar Door garden).
In 2024, a new entity named Ashmead Family Vintners became the overarching business responsible for winemaking and marketing all our family’s vinous and viticultural pursuits.
This ensures that as Elderton inches towards the inclusion of the third generation, it can do so focusing on what Elderton does best - creating estate grown and made Barossan wines that showcase traditional highlights. Innovation will continue in both our vineyards and winemaking, but through subtle evolution.
Elderton remains committed to working with varieties that have a real footprint in our past as much as our future. Elderton will continue to create world class wines that couldn’t possibly come from anywhere else except our own home in the Barossa. We adore making some of Australia’s greatest wines from our estate vineyards and the gnarled and beautiful old vines that continue to thrive in the remarkable soils they sit in. None of this will change.
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Co-Managing Director
Allister is responsible for the dual roles of marketing and production. He came back into the family business in early 2000, after university, working vintages abroad and working in the wholesale wine trade.Allister was inducted as a Baron of the Barossa on 7 November 2009 – recognition of efforts and service for the region. He has previously sat on the board of Barossa Wine & Tourism, and also the BGWA (2011-2013). He was the chairperson of the Distinguished Wine Auction from 2008-2013 which raised circa $360k to help fund the Barossa Vintage Festival. In the past he also chaired the Barossa Winemakers’ Committee (2006-2009).
Allister was one of the first chosen in the inaugural Future Leaders Course conducted jointly by WFA and Wine Australia, and briefly sat on the Market Development Advisory Committee after completing the course.
Allister is passionate about his family, the Barossa Valley, travel, cooking and most codes of football.
Wine List
On Arrival
2025 Eden Valley Chardonnay
Lemons, white peach, rock melon, hints of stuck flint and almond on the nose. Medium-bodied, good concentration, and nicely focused on the palate. Lemony flavors with rounding white peach, subtly spiced, vanilla, almond meal. Lovely balance. Super solid.
94 Points - Ed Agg, The Cellar Post
First Bracket
2025 Barossa GSM
This Barossa blend includes 46% Grenache, 27% Shiraz, 26% Mataro and just 1% of Carignan. It is the 10th release of this wine. The fruit comes from their Greenock Vineyard, with the Mataro from a neighbouring block. A little portion of the Grenache does come from their Mengler Hill Vineyard. The vines providing the fruit date back more than fifty years in some cases. Maturation was in older French oak puncheons for seven months, as well as a concrete tulip. Dark magenta with a crimson rim, the nose reveals lovely and rather deep cherry aromas, along with florals, chocolate, tobacco leaves, raspberries and cassis. This is finely balanced with excellent length and zesty acidity throughout, finishing with sleek tannins. A cracker, which will surely provide pleasure over the next decade, longer if needed.
94 Points -Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot
2024 Barossa Shiraz
Vibrant red fruits and gamey depth with a touch of spicy cloves leading to a seamless finish with fresh and long tannins laced with vibrant red berry sweetness and a touch of oak spice.
Winemaker Notes
2023 Neil Ashmead Grand Tourer Shiraz
Vibrant deep crimson/mahogany. Rose petals, chocolate, mulberries, florals, blueberries, cassis and milk chocolate. The oak is deftly handled and leaves the wine with the impression of a silky texture, serious length and the finest of satiny tannins. Very much in the style of a Barossa classic. Everything is in place to ensure that further glories are revealed in the coming years. Drink now–2040".
95 Points - Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
2022 Ode To Lorraine Cabernet Shiraz
The source of this excellent wine is the Elderton Nuriootpa vineyard, with vines that are now up to 128 years of age. This is a typically powerful wine but with an elegance that comes with this very good vintage. The aromas show traces of blackcurrant, bay leaf and a little olive tapenade with a slightly oyster shell minerality. The palate has a juicy feel with delicious, spicy fruits supported by fine tannins and a combination of new and seasoned French oak. A first rate wine.
96 Points - Ray Jordan, Wine Pilot
Second Bracket
2024 6 Fold Shiraz (WA Launch)
Colour: Dark purple
Aroma: Spiced red fruits, touch of earthy dark olive
Palate: Raspberry and just ripe plummy notes with cooking spices and blackberry. A touch of oak hovers in the background alongside pepper and a gravelly tannin profile spiralling along the palate driving the structure.
(Winemaker Tasting Notes)
2023 Ashmead Cabernet
Medium-deep crimson. Lifted pure cassis, cedar, violet aromas. Classical Claret style with lovely blackcurrant fruits, fine grained tannins and underlying vanilla, roasted chestnut notes. Finishes grippy/ leafy firm and minerally. Bloody good. Drink now–2040.
96 Points - Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
2016 Ashmead Cabernet (Museum)
Cabernet's bursting swag of currant, dried sage and olive, at least as its voice in warmer climes, is all here in spades. What, though, makes this wine impressive, is its sheer strut across the palate. Buxom and confident, yet dichotomously restrained (at least in a warm climatic context), it coats the inner sanctum with a smooth veneer of tannin and old vine glycerol. Drink by 2036.
96 Points - Ned Goodwin, James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion
Third Bracket
2023 Elderton Helbig 15 Shiraz
A gorgeous shiraz sourced from the 1915 plantings of the Helbig family vineyard in Greenock. It sings true to its western Barossa roots with a ferruginous edge, and this release seems to have a little more detail and light than the previous model. It's at the lighter end of full-bodied and sits flush with fruit tones of doris plum, black cherry and blackberry fruits, etched with hints of baking spices, cedar, roasting meats, grilled fig, dark chocolate, plum conserve, fruitcake, purple florals and turned earth. Harmonious and elegant in its travel, with ironstone-edge, powdery tannins and a fine, lacy acidity that lends a freshness and velocity to that lovely pure fruit.
96 points, Dave Brookes, Halliday Wine Companion
2022 Command Shiraz
I’ve been looking forward to this wine, ever since I tasted the previous vintage – both are superb Barossa years. Would it, could it, match the majestic 2021? It was always going to be an immensely difficult task, but at this early stage, it comes ever so close. In the years to come, it will be fascinating to watch the pair. The fruit comes from a vineyard planted back in 1894. The wine spends time in a mix of French and American oak. An opaque maroon, this is fresh and energetic, with good focus. There is quality oak, well into integration. The nose exhibits notes of chocolate, blackberries, florals, coffee beans, mocha, aniseed and plums. Ideally balanced with great length, the wine finishes with the silkiest of tannins. Perhaps more classically structured than the 21, which offered more plushness, but there is such promise here. A cracker. Twenty to twenty-five years of pleasure ahead. In the pantheon of great Barossa Shiraz, this is sensational value.
97 points - Ken Gargett, winepilot.com
2019 Command Shiraz (Museum)
Beautifully balanced wine with intense roasted chestnut, marzipan, dark chocolate, blackberry aromas and flavours, persistent fine chocholaty tannins, lovely mid-palate volume, a hint of aniseed and well-integrated acidity. Finishes chocolaty firm with a lovely tannin plume, long sweet fruit notes. An exceptionally expressive wine with all the hallmarks of a great Barossa Shiraz. Drink: Now-2040.
98 Points - Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
2016 Command Shiraz (Museum)
A bit tighter and more focused than the 2015, the 2016 Command Single Vineyard Shiraz looks to have a bit more tannic richness and length, even if it's not quite as opulent or plush. It's still full-bodied and packed with dark fruit flavors and enough oak to give it shape and length. One of the best Commands I've tried.
96+ Points - Joe Czerwinski, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate