Elderton Barossa Merlot 2024

The Nuriootpa vineyard at the centre of Elderton was planted in 1894 by German settler Samuel Elderton Tolley's predecessors, the Scholz family; Tolley acquired the site in 1916 and gave it the Elderton name. The vines went derelict during the South Australian vine-pull scheme of the 1970s and were nearly grubbed out. Neil and Lorraine Ashmead took the property over in 1979 — reportedly with the previous owner offering the surrounding 72 acres of old vines free if they bought the house.

The first vintage under the Elderton label was 1982. Recognition came quickly: the Elderton Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 won the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy in 1993, the Australian show circuit's most prized red-wine award. Cameron and Allister Ashmead took the reins in 2003 and have widened the estate's footprint with a Craneford (Eden Valley) vineyard purchased in 2007 and a Greenock site added in 2010, giving the house holdings across three Barossa sub-regions.

The estate works dry-grown old-vine Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Mourvèdre across the three sites. The Ashmead Cabernet Sauvignon and Command Shiraz are the cellar-worthy single-vineyard reds; the Estate range covers Shiraz, GSM, Cabernet, Riesling and Chardonnay; the second-label Ode to Lorraine Cabernet–Shiraz blend reaches a broader by-the-glass audience.

Pork belly with apple, slow-cooked ragu, mushroom-based dishes, semi-soft cheeses.