2022 Command Shiraz
Production notes
Description
The second generation of Ashmead family, and Elderton Co-Managing Directors, Allister and Cameron, as the current custodians of a rare piece of Barossa Valley viticultural heritage, continue their parents’ aspirations and expectations to produce a great wine of the world. The Command is truly an expression of place, and one of which the family intends to preserve for generations to come.
Estate grown on the Nuriootpa vineyard, the fruit is sourced from a single block planted in 1894, classed as an Ancestor vineyard by the Barossa Old Vine Charter.
Vineyard Source 100% Estate grown, Nuriootpa
Vine Age 128 years
Winemaker Notes
Tasting Notes
Alcohol: 14.9%
Aroma:
Appearance:
Taste:
Mouthfeel:
Ageing Process:
Cellaring
Drink now or cellar confidently for 15 - 20 years from vintage
Reviews
97 points - Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
Medium-deep crimson. Intense blackberry. Mocha spice aromas with
hints of wax polish and marzipan. Supple and evolved blackberry,
spice, mocha, espresso flavours, lovely mid-palate richness and plentiful
chalky/ touch ferruginious tannins. Some cedarwood, roasted chestnut
notes at the finish. Very classical Drink now–2040
97 points - Ken Gargett, winepilot.com
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.
95 points - Angus Hughson, Vinous
The 2022 Shiraz Command is exceptional. This is deceptively compact and composed yet rippling with ripe mulberry, blackberry, new leather and oak notes that are poised and precise in a claret style. There’s great strength and tension here. The powerful fruit still remains in its shell and is encased with structural, balanced tannins that will reward time in the cellar.
95 points - Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
The balance here is impeccable. Indeed so too is the freshness, and the character. It tastes of redcurrant and fresh plums, fragrant herbs, cream and cedar, with wafts of bay leaves and/or peppercorns. But the note that really stands out here is a rust-like character, which extends both through the fruit and the tannin, and this note helps to give the wine both beauty and charm. Yes there’s some alcohol warmth but the wine carries it in its stride, and the finish is then beautifully well sustained.
95 points - JAMESSUCKLING.COM
A well-shaped, focused, flavorful and driven shiraz with aromas of wild berries, dried herbs, fresh peppercorns and baking spices. Full-bodied with finely grained tannins. It's fleshy yet in control. Generous fruit mingles with the spices on the linear, serious and driven palate. Long, flavorful, peppery finish. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
