It is with much excitement that we now release 2024 SIXFOLD Shiraz from old vines on our newest vineyard estate on top of Mengler Hill in Eden Valley – our first single vineyard Shiraz from Eden Valley.
The wine is named in honour of the six kids in the third generation of the Ashmead Family (Charlotte, Sophie, Angus, William, Annabel and Louis), who we hope will one day follow Al, Bec, Cam and Jules and carry forward the legacy of this remarkable property!
With a pedigree that made it highly sought after among the Barossa’s winemaking young bloods and bloody legends alike, the vineyard was purchased by the Ashmead family at the end of 2022, during an already challenging time for the wine industry. It is the family’s belief that this investment will ultimately help secure Elderton’s long‑term future.
The vineyard sits atop Mengler hill and at its highest it is 550m above sea level, and was originally settled and owned by the Pohlner family who planted vineyards in the early 1860’s, but the oldest living treasured vines still on the vineyard were planted in 1941.
The vineyard is a place of absolute beauty and splendour, with natural springs, and an abundance of native flora and fauna – including ancient gum trees, yacca plants, kangaroos, native birds, bees, butterflies, and quite a few Eastern brown snakes!
Perched high up on the hillside of the Eden Valley it is one of only two vineyards that shares spectacular views down through the Eden Valley to the east and Barossa Valley down to the west. This beautifully positioned vineyard has a base geology that is from the Cambrian age (nearly 550 million years old) the soil on Mengler Hill is shallow, skeletal, grey sandy loam mixed with both ironstone and quartz through orange and yellow clay below.
The climate is continental, but the altitude provides good rainfall above Barossa average (700mm compared to the Barossa Valley at 450mm), or at least it should when mother nature follows the script! The ripening process is slow and happens later than in the Barossa Valley, allowing perfect maturity, both physiological and phenolic and this along with the vineyard’s high altitude allows for slow ripening that leads to great colour, and a very complex yet elegant style of Barossa Shiraz.
The Ashmead Family as the new custodians of this beautiful vineyard plan to continue to run this vineyard akin to our centenarian vineyards in Nuriootpa and Greenock, utilising sustainable and organic principles to further build quality, vitality and longevity.
This new release of only 1800 bottles is destined to become a modern classic, with tempered concentration, some beautiful red and blue fruits, and fine structure. Among our winemaking team the solid belief is that 2024 was also the perfect vintage to kick off with SIXFOLD. Look out for some reviews that are yet to come, but it is our recommendation that you do not miss out in getting some of this to enjoy now or with many years ahead from the cellar.
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