Elderton Ashmead Family Reserve Shiraz 2024

This was one of the better vintages in the Barossa in recent years, and this excellent wine illustrates this perfectly. The vine age from this Nuriootpa vineyard owned by the Ashmead family is about 130 years, and it really does pump out some quite remarkable fruit. In this case, on the nose, you get fairly typical plums with a liberal dusting of spices and a slightly vanilla pod character, reflecting the American oak influence. The palate, though, reveals a slightly different context with red berries augmenting the natural plumminess, and a little creamy chocolate. The tannins are fine and quite chalky, and the oak, which is new American puncheons, sits very neatly within such a plush fruit environment. Outstanding wine.