2024 Helbig 1915 Shiraz 3pk

A special wine from the team, the name reflects the planting of this vineyard by the Helbig family in 1915, a single vineyard block in the Greenock sub-region, which the Elderton family acquired in 2010. Just 651 bottles were produced. Fermentation was in puncheons with the heads removed. Maturation is for a year in new French oak. Under cork, it is also a contender for heavy bottle of the year. For me, definitely one of the very best wines I've seen this year. A near black core, there is a maroon/magenta rim. The nose reveals aromas of plums, mulberries, vanilla, coffee beans, black cherries, mocha, new leather and dark chocolate. There is superb oak integration throughout. Balance is impeccable, length immense and the texture utterly seductive. The palate is simply dripping with chocolate. The wine finishes with the silkiest of tannins and should drink like a dream for the next twenty to thirty years.

The fruit from his little patch of dirt is very highly regarded in the Barossa, and Elderton are doing a stellar job since purchasing the vineyard in 2010. This wine is full bodied and traditionally framed but it seems to have gained a little more detail over the past couple of releases. It's rich in blackberry, damson plum and black cherry fruits with a thick seam of baking spices and hints of cedar, dried tobacco, wood spice, ironstone, roasting meats, tapenade, fruit-and-nut chocolate, fruitcake and blackforest cake. Comforting and long with melt-in-the-mouth tannins and a persistent finish; you can pop this safely away for a couple of decades.

This is a fascinating wine from a single vineyard planted in Greenock in 1915. It is a very limited release and shows vibrant red fruit alongside lifted spice on the nose. The palate delivers a powerful core of plum and spicy red berries, with a chocolatey, slightly savoury edge adding complexity. It is smooth, seamlessly balanced, and highly integrated. There is tremendous power and intensity here, but also poise and control. A striking expression of this relatively recent addition to the Elderton portfolio.

A deep ruby red with rich purple glints into the rim. Mulberry, cola, cedar, anise and vanilla aromas all sing from the glass. The palate fills with ripe mixed forest berries, then layers of woody spice, vanilla and cola fill in. There is intensity and depth but it carries itself lightly, a wonderful contrast of detail and presence. Tannins are perfectly integrated, powerful and driving but without edges, and the whole mouth-feel glides to an almost never-ending crescendo. The epitome of an iron fist in a velvet glove. It is wonderful drinking right now but I would be hiding it away for several years in the cellar. 

The 2024 Helbig 1915 Shiraz shows the brilliance of the 2024 season. At present, the oak's sweetness still emanates from the fruit, yet it is the fruit that lingers long through the finish. This old dry-grown vineyard (irrigation is set up, as in most old vineyards, although rarely used; the ability to protect the vines from severe hydric stress and prolong their lives is usually prioritized over being able to claim dry-grown status—and quite rightly too) is nestled within contours of the wider vineyard, on an open, windswept hillside, with impressive views down over the Barossa Valley. It feels both expansive and protected at once. The Helbig vineyard was purchased by the Ashmead family in 2010, and they have been working tirelessly to improve soil and vine health via better pruning and nutrition. The 2024 vintage was a super one, and it shows in this wine. 14.9 % alcohol, sealed under natural cork.