Recently Wine Exchange Asia held a vertical of Elderton Single Vineyard Command Barossa Valley Shiraz where we were lucky enough to taste a vertical of vintages 1999 through 2007 inclusive.

I am a big fan of Command and Elderton wines, so was really looking forward to this. It was an interesting night, made more so because of a fire in Boat Quay on the day of the tasting, which meant a late change of venue. Both Wine Exchange Asia and the venue, Boomerang, did a great job to accommodate the late change of notice.

And now for the wine!

The Wine

wdt_ID	Wine	Photo
1	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 1999 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: % Colour: Dusty brick Aroma: Subdued nose, hints of plum and spice aromas Palate: Uninteresting at first, then smooth and balanced, then lifeless Tannin: Subtle Finish: Medium-long Comment: At first this was a bit lifeless, but with a bit of time it opened up to show its quality, unfortunately it fell off again after short while. Possibly the bottle as my own bottles of this that I have had this year were great once they had opened up
2	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2000 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: % Colour: Dusty dull crimson Aroma: Mix of vanilla, blackberry and hint of oak aroma Palate: Medium-bodied Tannin: Subtle Finish: Medium - long Comment: It was ok, not great.
3	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2001 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: % Colour: Youthful deep ruby Aroma: Pleasant combo of blackberry, plum and a hint of spice and vanilla aromas Palate: Medium-bodied, balanced, decent structure Tannin: Subtle Finish: Medium-long Comment: Nice wine, had a bit of heat on the finish.
4	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2002 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: % Colour: Dull deep ruby Aroma: Pleasant mix of blackberry, plum and spice with a hint of vanilla Palate: Medium/full bodied, balanced Tannin: Smooth Finish: Long Comment: Getting better, enjoyed the smooth tannins and balanced palate
5	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2003 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: 14.5% Colour: Youthful deep crimson Aroma: Enjoyable combo of plum, blackberry, spice and maybe a little mocha aromas Palate: Full-bodied, structured, balanced Tannins: Smooth Finish: Long Comment: Now we are talking, this vintage has improved since I last tried it. Needed time to open up and had a bit of heat on the finish, which detracted from the rest of the wine
6	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2004 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: % Colour: Youthful deep crimson Aroma: Mixture of blackberry, vanilla and spice aromas Palate: Medium/full bodied Tannin: Savoury Finish: Medium-long Comment: Another nice wine, but was hoping for more. A good wine to drink, but not a star
7	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2005 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: 14.5% Colour: Youthful deep purple Aroma: Combination of plum, blackberry, vanilla and spice aromas Palate: Medium / full bodied, balanced Tannin: Savoury / smooth Finish: Long Comment: Did not wow me, think that this wine still has a fair bit of evolution to go, hopefully. Patience required
8	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2006 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: % Colour: Youthful deep ruby Aroma: Pleasant mix of cherry and spice aromas Palate: Full / medium-bodied, structured, balanced Tannin: Smooth / savoury Finish: Long Comment: This wine has the traits to evolve into something special, patience is needed.
9	Name: Elderton Command Single Vineyard Vintage: 2007 Region: Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia Varietal: Shiraz Alcohol: % Colour: Youthful mid-light ruby Aroma: Mix of cherry, blackberry and vanilla aromas Palate: Medium / light bodied Tannin: Evolving Finish: Medium Comment: I was disappointed with the vintage, gets some great reviews, but I found that it is still immature and needs, hopefully, more time to evolve. Reminded me of a heavier style Pinot Noir

Whilst I was a bit disappointed with some of the wines, I think that, with patience, that a number of these wines will improve (at least I hope so) and will live up to expectations.