Elderton wines: 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay / 2006 Tantalus Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon / 2006 Barossa Shiraz / 2005 Command Shiraz

In my earliest days of wine education, I had a sensei who worked at a shop that did free wine tastings every Saturday. They were always packed and often times, filled with folks who were obviously there to just drink some free stuff with no intention of making a purchase. There were a handful of folks who were selectively placed on a private email list, which was peppered with carefully chosen musical lyrics as they related to the wines discussed. Additionally, there were personal stories and clues to a pass phrase. Said pass word or phrase, when it appeared, gave one the opportunity to sample something more expensive. These were premium wines that sensei truly believed were worth the money, so pours were reserved for those small handful of us considered “worthy”. Of course, you had to have the password, lest ye be left thirsting that for which had been chosen as “special”. After all, it was sensei’s own money being spent, so it was sensei’s right to choose how these special wines were dispensed.

This was where I became exposed to Elderton’s premier wine, the single vineyard shiraz known as Command. Moments after my first taste, I had a bottle in hand, wrapped in the signature maroon tissue paper with the gold foil seal. I still have that first bottle from the 2001 vintage, a wine that marked my first foray into the world of collecting wines. You can imagine how excited I was when I found out Elderton would be participating in a Taste Live event. Fortunately, I was one of six who RSVP’d in time to get a slot. The best part, Command was one of the four wines we were given to taste. Oh yes, before I forget, FULL DISCLOSURE: All the wines tasted were samples courtesy of Taste Live and Elderton wines.

The package arrived around 11AM and I opened up the box, pulling out the four wines for the evening’s tasting. I decided to give the Command a long decant, so it went into the decanter around 2:15PM. We had bought some lovely lamb chops and planned on enjoying some of the Command with them at dinner, one glass each so we still had some for the tasting event. The lamb chops were coated with a lamb rub we had obtained at PRIMAL and boy oh boy was it delicious. I did under cook the chops just a bit, but a quick minute in the microwave remedied that. I know, bad cook, but the end results were still delish and at the end of the day, that is all I’m concerned with. Accompanying the lamb were some roasted baby yukon golds and carrots.

So, onto the wines and the comments. The great thing about the Taste Live events is they are always accompanied by the winemaker. In this case, it was Cameron Ashmead, one of the two brothers who run the estate. The only disappointment was that due to the time difference (it was 11AM Wednesday in Australia when the tasting started), Cameron had to depart on time, which left Q&A to a minimum. Fortunately, he did answer a few questions as the tasting went on. I’ve included those and fellow blogger comments below each of my own assessments of the wines.[CORRECTION: I just discovered Cameron's Twitter account is gone, so I can't pull up his comments]

2008 Elderton Unoaked Chardonnay (estimated price $15 – $17): A fresh and crisp wine, with notes of green melon and pineapple. The aromas were very tropical and when you drink it, there was this pleasant reminder that spring and the time for lighter wines was right around the corner. I thought it was very food friendly and would highly recommend this for shellfish, especially for those folks who find sauvignon blanc to be too acidic.

@decaturwinedude says

• Nice nose on The Chard. Love the pale yellow color. Mouthful of melon. Little low on acidity for my palate right now.
• It was a beautiful 65 in ATL today…Wish I had some shrimp on the grill for this Chard.

@elizabethdehoff says

• Tasting the Chard — nose is really … green, sort of tropical.
• Unoaked Chardonnay: Very tropical flavors; kind of spiky herbal flavors.
• Yeah, the Chard feels a bit flat to me. I’m more a Sauv Blanc fan. Like it better than oaked Chard tho.

@sonadora says

• Getting apple and peach with tropical notes in the mouth
• The wine is coating the palate a bit

2006 Elderton Shiraz / Cabernet Sauvignon “Tantalus” (estimated price $15 – $17): A long time favorite of mine when I was in retail, I forgotten how good this wine was. For the money, this was the best buy of the night. A blend of 68% shiraz and 32% cabernet sauvignon, this was very juicy without being dense or heavy. You tend to get a lot of syrupy character from Barossa wines, or at least that is my recollection. This was the exact opposite and like my wife said, it was like black cherry jello in that you got plenty of fruit, but it was sort of bouncy on the palate. Blackberries, black cherries and some spicy clove with a great core of tangy acid makes this a great food wine that you should definitely check out.

@decaturwinedude says

• E Series Shiraz/Cab at 14%. Picking up the black fruit and mint on finish on the E. I like the low(er) alcohol here. Nicely integrated
• There is a a bunch of fruit on the E, but its not crossing the line. Decent balance achieved.

@elizabethdehoff says

• Shiraz/Cab: Nose has dark spicy fruits (plum, blackberry), faint vegetal undertones.
• I like the balance on the Cab/Shiraz — fruit, alcohol aren’t overpowering.
• The Cab/Shiraz was pleasant and mellow; paired it with English Cheddar and I think it worked well.

@sonadora says

• Very very fruit forward on the Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon
• Macerated big blackberries and plums on the nose
• Getting some minty cocoa on the Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon nose

2006 Elderton Barossa Shiraz (estimated retail price $25) Now we are getting into the big stuff. Barossa Valley shiraz are often overstuffed with ripe fruit and alcohol, sometimes stepping over the lines from dense and concentrated to fat and grotesque. I’m not one to shy from wines in the 14.5% and above level of alcohol, but they are many times overwhelming and a bit exhausting to drink. Sort of like going 3 rounds with Mike Tyson, when you just want to lay down and die because you are tired of the bone rattling blows. That and the fear of having your ears bitten off. This wine tiptoes along the cliff of overblown. It was filled with velvety and mouth coating black fruits, accented with oak derived spice and vanilla. A solid bottle, but a bit on the pricier side.

@decaturwinedude says

• Chocolate and plum on the nose of the Barossa Shiraz
• Really rich and opulent on the Barossa. I feel a little bit of heat, too, which may unwind and fade with some air
• If I were prepared, I’d have a nice lamb shank or ribeye with this Barossa Shiraz
• The Barossa is growing on me. It’s a mouthful of wine, ripe and juicy. I’d like to give it some more air/time

@elizabethdehoff says

• 06 Shiraz: Nose has a touch of heat, layers of laid-back fruit and spice… hmm.
• 06 Shiraz: This wine feels like it wants to sit for a while. It’s layered and spicy up front w/ good red fruits.

@sonadora says

• Some pepper spice and a hint of dark fruit to come on the Shiraz nose
• I’m enjoying the Shiraz

2005 Elderton Command Single Vineyard Shiraz (estimated retail price $80 – $90) As previously written, Command has a special place for me. The wine is sourced from a single vineyard where the vines are 108 years old. People, that is some serious age for grape vines. The older vines get, the less fruit they produce, but oh such beautiful fruit it is. Extremely concentrated, but again, no indication the grapes got baked into raisins in the scorching heat. The color is almost black, as if light itself gets absorbed into the wine with no chance of escape. This wine had been decanted for 6 1/2 hours at this point, much longer than anyone else. I didn’t try it when I first opened it, but I will say the bouquet was stunning when I decanted it. The room filled with an aroma reminiscent of blackberry pie that has been dusted with vanilla and cocoa powder. The tannins were soft and smooth by the time we finished off the bottle, with no signs of heat from the 14.5% alcohol. Just a smooth, rich, mouth filling bunch of yum. A classic Barossa shiraz that needs to sleep for a while to really hit its peak. I did get the chance to ask Cameron’s opinion on drinking windows for our 2001 and 2002 bottles. He suggested waiting until 2015 on the 2001 and 2022 for the 2002 vintage. I think he mentioned that 2001 was a warmer year, hence the quicker pace to the zenith. I look forward to drinking both…and yes, lamb will be involved.

@decaturwinedude says

• The Command is a big, big wine. Little bit oakiness, but a lot of rich, rip fruit. Balanced and suave, too
• Wow that’s dark (comment on the Command by decaturwinedude’s wife who doesn’t have a twitter account)
• The Command continues to unfold. It’s losing the oak. I’d like to lay a few down for a good number of years.
• Nice one! RT @cameronashmead We call it our grange killer.
• ooh. Little blocks of 72% cocoa dark chocolate is kicking with the Command.

@elizabethdehoff says

• Pouring 2005 Command Shiraz (decanted 1 hr). Looks dark and serious!
• 5 Command Shiraz: Nose has deep dark blackberry syrup, lots of heat, black pepper.
• 05 Command Shiraz: Acidity emerging after a few minutes in the glass. Want to see how this develops.
• Makeshift decanter didn’t do the 05 Command Shiraz any favors, but it’s opening up in the glass.
• 05 Command Shiraz is coming to life after putting it through the Vinturi.

@sonadora says

• Nice chocolate raspberry notes on the 2005 Command
• Dark dark fruit on the palate of the command. Plums, black cherry, some strong tannins
• Pouring the Command through the Vinturi
• Vinturi actually really opened up the Command

Well, that about wraps it up. All in all, the wines were all really good, with the Command showing quite well at such an early age. Of course, the decanting really helped and I wouldn’t advise popping and pouring this wine. The Tantalus was really the best value of the night and my second favorite wine period. Overall, a great showing from an Australian producer I’ve long admired.

Haiku
Wicked black liquid
Cocoa spiked berry flavors
Decadent delight

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read what I’ve got to say, I really appreciate it. Please pass along to friends and fellow wine lovers. I love comments, suggestions and questions. Have an awesome Wednesday!

On September 24th, 2009, I was privileged to participate in my very first Taste Live event. The quick and short of it is that a cadre of wine bloggers are selected to receive samples of wine and Tweet about them at the same time. Essentially, a cyber-tasting. Personally, I was doubly excited to be selected because I love German Riesling and view them as probably the second most under-appreciated category of wine by the typical wine consumer. The wines we tasted were from Schloss Saarstein, a small family operated winery in Germany with a vineyard in the classic Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region.

One of the bonuses was having the wine maker, Mr. Christian Ebert, Tweet live with us. While technical difficulties delayed us a bit, everything eventually worked out and we gained a lot of insight into German Riesling via his comments and answers to questions. Here are a few quick notes he shared that are relevant to the wines in general.

• The 2007 vintage is basically de-classified spätlese.
• The vineyard is a 25acre Monopole [single owner], Steep hillside.
• In response to the question if he irrigated, “No irrigation… Against the law”
• In response to the question regarding differences in vineyard sites for each wine, “All 3 are from same vineyard, but diff sections and diff age vines. Oldest into Spat.”
• In response to a question regarding the vineyards, “hard blue slate in front steep slope down to river” and “softer blue slate, smaller stones in side vineyards.”
• Regarding a question about German labels, “we know that they are complicated the labels. but no laws” and “we already made the labels easier for the U.S. market about 2 yrs ago.”
• Answering a question regarding how different slates express themselves in wine, “blue slate brings lighter and more elegant mineral notes. Red slate is spicier.”
• “2007 was a great vintage, perfect healthy fruits with high oechsle levels.” [Oechsle is the level of ripeness in the grapes when they are picked, equivalent to our brix or the French baume.]
  
• “legally it is now simply labeled Qualitatswein to make it easier for consumers” in response to someone’s explanation of what QbA [Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete] stands for. Translated, it means quality wine from a specified region. More of the Europeans and their terroir. So, for those who are used to seeing QbA, you need to look for either term.

2007 Saarstein QbA – average $14 retail
This was our first wine, the only one bottled under Stelvin. The aromatics were typical for the wine, with minerals, green apple and a whiff of petrol. Once you drink it, you get loads of fruit in what is an obviously off-dry wine. It tasted of white peaches and apples with a core of lime that really takes over on the finish. I referred to this as a “porch wine”. This was a solid bottle for the price, but was my least favorite of the 3. Would I drink it again? Absolutely. Would I pay $14 for it? I think that is a fair price, but it was not something that blows away other wines in this price point. Here are some notes from Christian (the wine maker) from the live tasting:

• When questioned as to why the QbA (wine #1) was bottled under Stelvin screwcap, Christian responded “Stelvin is not in the German market but Sweden, US, and others asked for it.”
• QbA is primarily export. Very little stays in Germany.
• QbA is sourced from a single vineyard.
• No chaptilzation in the 2007 QbA.
• “legally it is now simply labeled Qualitatswein to make it easier for consumers” in response to someone’s explanation of what QbA [Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete] stands for. Translated, it means quality wine from a specified region. More of the Europeans and their terroir. So, for those who are used to seeing QbA, you need to look for either term.

2007 Schloss Saarstein Kabinett – average $24 retail
A strong shot of petrol greets your nose on this and if you aren’t prepared for it, it can be a little off-putting. If you’ve never smelled petrol and want to understand what we wine geeks are talking about, this is a great bottle to start with. Once you begin to actually drink it, the petrol largely disappears. This wine has more sugar and less alcohol than the QbA, along with what was a surprising lower degree of acidity. I say this because for me, this was the most in balance of the 3. The flavors were that of kiwi that had been dusted in tangerine zest and steamed with jasmine water. It was really quite delicious and I’m looking forward to having this again. Easily my WOTN and from what I recall, it was popular across the board with fellow wine Tweeps. Here are some of Christian’s comments:

• “both late harvest and older vines and better vineyard site” in answering a question as to what makes spätlese different.
• “QmP wines usually have higher oechsle levels than QbA when harvested”
• “glad you guys are getting the pineapple notes, also known for lemon and citrus notes on the Saar” regarding the Kabinett.
• “Kabinett can age for 10-15 years easy. Gets a bit drier as it gets older.” “we’re tasting 1995 Kabinett from our cellar a couple weeks ago – it was perfect”

2007 Schloss Saarstein Spätlese – average retail $28 – 30
We reached the final bottle and were not disappointed. I don’t recall a lot about the aromatics, other than it exhibited a high degree of petrol like its predecessor. What I do remember was typing that it tasted like a big old Sweet Tart, as it had this almost powdery finish. Christian replied to my tweet with “ jolly rancher – you got it!“, at which my wife told me it tasted like a green apple jolly rancher to her. In addition to the Sweet Tart taste, I got accents of blue slate, stone fruit and granny smith. The riper fruit was obvious, but I felt it needed more time to show at its best. While the Kabinett was my WOTN for drinking right now, I think the Spätlese will be the superior wine once it has another 5+ years under its belt. I couldn’t find any Tweets from Christian that related directly to this wine.

Overall, this was an awesome experience. The wines were all delicious and tasting them with other great oenophiles was a real delight. I look forward to participating in more of these Taste Live events and wish to send a big thanks once again to them, the folks at Wines of Germany and Mr. Ebert for making the evening a possibility.

For those interested in these wines, tell your local wine shop they are available through National, who is the distributor for the wines here in Georgia. Believe me, knowing this will make things easier as German wines can be difficult to track down.

Haiku
Deutsche delights for tongue
Blood line fire illuminates
Greatest of white wines

Update at 5:05PM on Monday evening. These wines were opened and tasted almost 4 days ago and I’m sipping on the Kabinett right now as I cook dinner…and it is awesome! I get a lot more of the lime, less petrol and the wine is still really good. Demonstrates once again that German Rieslings are capable of aging really well and should be on any serious collectors list for stocking their cellar with.