Elderton Buzz Newsletter November 2012

The newsletter from Elderton Wines • November 2012

Strawberry and Vanilla Panna Cotta wine match recipe

02 50 shades of grey?

03 E-Gallery

04

Buzz praise

Praise for the wines of Elderton 2009 Ashmead Cabernet

from some of the oldest Cabernet vines on the planet

WITH A POWERHOUSE OF PHENOMENAL BAROSSA VALLEY AND EDEN VALLEY VINEYARDS NOW UNDER THE ASHMEAD FAMILY OWNERSHIP, AND A HIGHLY CREDENTIALED TEAM OF VERY PASSIONATE PEOPLE, WE SIT COMFORTABLY IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THE WINES WE HAVE IN BOTTLE AT THE MOMENT ARE NOT ONLY SOME OF THE BEST WE HAVE EVER RELEASED, BUT ALSO WELL AND TRULY SOME OF THE BEST OF THE BAROSSA.

You do not have to take our word for it however, as respected wine scribes and

wine shows have heaped praise on Elderton over the past 6 months, with the highlights being: 2008 Command Shiraz

from a single block of vines planted in 1894

94 points, James Halliday

93+ points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 93+ points, Winefront (Gary Walsh) 93 points, Stephen Tanzer 92 points, Wine Spectator

94 points, James Halliday

94 points, WBM Wine 100 (Mike Bennie) 93 points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 5 stars, The Age (Ralph Kyte-Powell)

2010 Neil Ashmead Grand Tourer Shiraz

from a biodynamically grown block on the Estate

96 points, James Halliday

92 points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

2009 Ode to Lorraine Cab / Shiraz / Merlot a classic Australian blend (with a twist)

Gold Medal, Int. Wine & Spirit Comp.

93 points, James Halliday 93 points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

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new

The newsletter from Elderton Wines • November 2012

Praise cont...

A new wine in the stable

continued from page 1...

SOME WOULD CALL IT A LABOUR OF

Having been enamoured with the

LOVE, OTHERS WOULD CALL IT SHEAR

delicious and textural white wines of

2010 Barossa Shiraz quintessential Barossa

MADNESS, OR PERHAPS UTTER STUPIDITY.

the Rhone Valley in France, Cam and Al

Thus with some trepidation we are

Marsanne and Roussanne in a spare plot

94 points, James Halliday 91+ points, Winefront (Gary Walsh)

decided a few years back to plant both

very proud to release a new white wine

of decidedly rocky and unstable terrain

blend that we have fallen in love with,

2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

something maybe unexpected from the Barossa

92 points, James Halliday

on our Craneford property.

from our little vineyard in Eden Valley – a

After 3 years of nursing these little vines

Marsanne Roussanne.

91 points, Stephen Tanzer

into a relatively tough but stable lifestyle, 2012 then gave us perfect conditions to make a very small batch of this blend

2011 Eden Valley Chardonnay

that we think sits perfectly within our

from our highest altitude vineyard

white range, which includes fine Riesling

93 points, James Halliday

and Chardonnay as well.

Showing lovely pear and minerality, this

2012 Eden Valley Riesling

40 y.o, unirrigated & extremely sought after vineyard

wine has spent the last 5-6 months in some

Gold Medal, Canberra Riesling Challenge

lovely French oak to develop a touch of toasty complexity. Whilst perfectly suited

Full details and reviews for each of

to drinking now, it is also a wine that will

these wines can be found on our website

enjoy short term cellaring. There are only

under the OUR WINES tab.

200 cases available, so you’ll have to be quick, before the Ashmeads drink it all!

Strawberry and Vanilla Panna Cotta This recipe has been kindly provided by Chef Christian Fletcher, of 1918. Located in Tanunda, 1918 is a popular local restaurant which is famous for its desserts. For further details visit www.1918.com.au

Strawberry Jelly (bottom layer)

250 g strawberry puree 125 ml water 125 g sugar 2 gelatine leaves Add puree, water and sugar to a saucepan and bring to the boil, add the gelatine. Pass through a fine sieve, pour into desired moulds and chill to set.

Panna Cotta Mix (middle layer)

500 ml cream 1/2 stick cinnamon 1 vanilla bean 50 g sugar 1 gelatine leaf Add cream, cinnamon, vanilla bean and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a simmer, turn off page 2 printed on 100% recycled paper

Panna cotta cont...

Granola cont...

and infuse for 20 minutes. Bring

Combine rolled oats, pepitas,

back to a gentle simmer, add

coconut, allspice, cinnamon,

gelatine leaf and strain through

dried fruit and flaked almonds.

a fine sieve. Allow to cool,

Bring

stirring every 5 minutes until it has

vanilla bean to the

reached blood temperature,

all ingredients together and

then pour on top of jelly mixture

bake at 160˚C for 15-20 minutes,

and set.

stirring every 5 minutes. When

Granola

cool discard the vanilla bean.

(top layer)

the

oil,

honey

and

boil. Mix

The granola is placed on top

wine match Botrytis Semillon Sorbet cont...

1 cup rolled oats

of the panna cotta just before

Bring to the boil sugar, lemon

2 tbsp pepitas

serving.

juice,

2 tbsp shredded coconut 1/4 tsp allspice

Strawberry Sorbet

glucose,

strawberry

liqueur and 200ml of strawberry puree. Pour this mixture over the

1/4 tsp cinnanon

(on the side)

1/2 cup flaked almonds

500 ml strawberry puree

this will help it to cool quicker.

1 tbsp vegetable oil

85 g sugar

Churn in an icecream machine

3 tbsp honey

1/2 lemon, juiced 10 g glucose

according to manufacturer’s

1 vanilla bean 50 g dried cranberries, raspberries and strawberries

10 ml strawberry liqueur

remaining cold strawberry puree,

instructions.

The newsletter from Elderton Wines • November 2012

Vineyard update As our vineyard holdings have increased over the last couple of years, with the purchase of the Eden Valley and Greenock vineyards, our vineyard team has also expanded. In June we welcomed to the team Justin Wild, who is also undertaking studies in vineyard operations.

Cover crops were sown inter-row in June. This year native grasses were grown. The chosen dry-land fescue naturally dies off during the summer, creating a handy natural mulch.

Pruning was all consuming over the winter period, as the huge task of reworking our old

Cellar Door

vines was undertaken. On the Estate and in Greenock, the vineyard team changed the trellising of the old vines from two wires back to one. This helps to reduce the strain on the old vines by lowering yields, aiding our focus on producing top quality grapes. They also introduced a catch wire to stop the canopy rolling, and to protect the grapes from sunburn. It all starts in the vineyard!

50 shades of grey?

WELL, MAYBE NOT 50, BUT AFTER ABOUT 20 YEARS OF THE SAME COLOUR SCHEME

Botrytis Semillon is such a versatile friend - not only a great match for amazing desserts, such as the 1918 panna cotta (left), the Botrytis Semillon is also divine with blue cheese or as a topping on vanilla icecream.

And we’re not the only ones who love the 2011 Botrytis Semillon, Elderton’s first release from the Greenock vineyard...

BEING USED ON OUR LITTLE CELLAR DOOR

COTTAGE, WE DECIDED IT WAS TIME FOR A REFRESH.

The new colours are certainly turning heads

in the Barossa, which probably says that things don’t change around the Valley very often – one of the many reasons we love the place!

Our updates do not stop with a lick of paint

though. Inside Cellar Door, we have also

Best Sweet Wine 2012 South Australian Wine of the Year Awards

increased our offering to include Nuriootpa’s best coffee, sweet treats and specialised

cheese plates (we are currently working with a delicious parmesan). We have seating

Gold Medal Barossa Wine Show

under the front verandah and in our cosy little courtyard overlooking the Command vineyard, with a license to sell wines by the

YUM! ‘the standout’ Winsor Dobbin

93 points ‘special value’ James Halliday

glass.

From top: Cellar Door in 1985; 2003; and today.

Below: Private tasting room at Cellar Door. Book in for your Masterclass tasting today! Available Th, Fri & Sat at 11am or by special appointment.

For those looking for something a little more

serious and intimate, we introduce the private tasting room which is capable of holding up to 12 disciples (or even 12 future converts)!

All in all, we believe this represents another great reason to come and visit us in the Barossa. Contact our Cellar Door Manager – Tush Steinert at tush@eldertonwines.com.au for more information or bookings. page 3 printed on 100% recycled paper

The newsletter from Elderton Wines • November 2012

Gallery

If you are on our mailing list, but do not currently receive email updates and would like to, we would love to hear from you at Cellar Door on 08 8568 7878 or via jess@eldertonwines.com.au

At Elderton, we take our sport very seriously! Left: Continuing the rivalry, Cameron and Allister played Standish Wine Co. on Kooyong’s centre court, September 2012. Elderton won 7-5 6-3.

Right: Two Elderton teams competed in a corporate triathalon at West Lakes.

Above: Richard with our first batch of Carignan from our Greenock vineyard. Watch this space!!

Below top: Cameron making a cameo during vintage.

Below bottom: Hand picking old vine Cabernet, April.

Left: Barry Walsh at the final dinner service of Charlie Trotters, Chicago, in June 2012. Command Shiraz was enjoyed by customers throughout the evening.

Right: The teams from Elderton and Fesq enjoying dinner in the barrel shed, May 2012.

Above: Andrea and David Whitehead celebrated atop Mt Popa during their cycling trip around Burma. What more could you want?!

Left: The team undertaking a ‘vintage 2012’ tasting in June to see how the wines were looking.

Above top: Representatives from COSCO with Allister during his visit to Guangzhou, China, in May. Above bottom: Peter enjoying 2001 Command and a lot of meat at Gauchos on Gouger St in Adelaide.

To share photos of you and your friends enjoying Elderton, email jess@eldertonwines.com.au page 4 printed on 100% recycled paper