General Winemaking Philosophy and Techniques :: Current and Past Vintages
IN THE VINEYARD
Samuel Elderton Tolley established the Elderton
Vineyards in the early nineteen hundreds. The principle purpose in developing
the vineyard was to supply Barossa wineries with premium fruit.
The Elderton Vineyard is located on the banks of the North Para River, which is on the southern edge of the township of Nuriootpa, Barossa Valley - Australia's premier viticulture region. The fertile earths consist of deep alluvial silt over limestone, which provide ideal growing conditions for premium wine grape varieties. The vineyard now comprises 70 acres with the principle varieties being Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The majority of the vineyard is between forty and one hundred years in age. This age, combined with minimal irrigation, produces rich, concentrated fruit for exhibiting classic varietal characters.
The Barossa Valley's climate has been classified as 'Mediterranean' which amounts to warm summers (average temperature in January is 25° to 35°C) and cool wet winters with an annual rainfall of 550mm.
We use supplementary irrigation only when required, i.e. when the vines are on the verge of maximum stress. By maintaining leaf vigor we hold the fruit quality to full ripeness.
The majority of the vineyard is planted east to west, allowing the breezes from the Barossa ranges to flow through the rows rather than across them. These breezes assist with canopy management.
Some of the older blocks on the vineyard are planted with unknown clones, however, all plantings since 1949 are Shiraz 1654, BVRC12 or BVRC30, with the Cabernet Sauvignon being G9V3 or LC10.
The trellising used throughout the vineyard for recent plantings is simply a double wire vertical with single wire trellising used on earlier plantings.
Pruning and canopy management is assessed on an individual year basis. Generally we mechanically prune and then follow through by hand to clean up and remove excess wood. Harvesting takes place in the cool of the night allowing quick delivery from vineyard to winery, eliminating any possibility of bacterial spoilage or oxidation.
Determining when to harvest is generally decided on the obaume (sugar level), but on most occasions the winemaker will decide on flavour concentration and each block of vines in the vineyard assessed on an individual basis, allowing us to produce premium quality wines of absolute excellence.
IN THE WINERY
In the past Elderton Wines have used contract winemaking facilities for primary fermentation, however in 2003 and onwards, we will be processing our fruit on site in our new winery facility. These state of the art facilities include a crusher, air bag press, centrifuge, 80-year-old concrete open fermenters (The site was previously occupied by Penfolds), and temperature controlled stainless steel static fermenters.
The wines are then pumped over to our maturation cellars where they are matured and carefully monitored until blending and bottling, allowing us to maintain the high quality wine styles for which we are renowned. Our winemaking technique is a combination of traditional and modern practices.
THE WHITE WINES
Once the fruit arrives at the winery, it is crushed and destemmed. The must is chilled and placed into the Wilmes Air Bag Press and the free run juice allowed to run off the skins. The pressing cycle is commenced and the pressings are kept separate from the free run. Fermentation is induced by adding a selected yeast strain with the ferment controlled with refrigeration over five days. Fermentation is conducted at 11°C to retain the fresh fruit flavours. Again this attention to detail is an example of Elderton's commitment to producing quality wines.
THE RED WINES
From the crusher the juice, skins and seeds are pumped into the fermenting tanks. Again fermentation is induced with selected yeast strains and the ferment is monitored over five to six days before draining and the skins pressed.
The length of time each wine is matured in oak depends on which wine is being made and the individual requirements for that vintage. Generally, the Elderton Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz mature for 18 months, the Merlot and the parcels for the Cabernet/Shiraz/Merlot mature for up to 24 months whilst the Elderton flagships, the Command Shiraz and Ashmead Cabernet Sauvignon, may mature for anything up to 36 months in oak. A mixture of French and American oaks is most often used, with French oak being used specifically for the Merlot and the Ashmead.
Barrel selection at the time of blending is conducted over two to three weeks. This skill of the Winemaker is considered one of the most important in the Winemaker's repertoire, and Elderton uses the palate's of four individual's in the selection process.
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Elderton
Sauvignon Blanc/Verdelho
»2005
Elderton
Unwooded Chardonnay
»2005
Elderton
Botrytis Semillon
»2004
Elderton Sauvignon Blanc/Verdelho Vintage 2004
»2004
Elderton Eden Valley Riesling Vintage 2004 (Stelvin Cap)
»2004
Elderton Unwooded Chardonnay
»2004
Elderton Barossa Shiraz
»2003
Elderton Botrytis Semillon Vintage 2003
»2003
Elderton Tantalus Red Vintage 2003
»2003
Elderton Eden Valley Riesling
»2003
Elderton Sauvignon Blanc/Verdelho
»2003
Elderton Unwooded Chardonnay
»2003
Elderton Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon
» 2002
Elderton Shiraz
» 2002
Elderton Tantalus
» 2002
Elderton Barossa Friends Shiraz
» 2002
Elderton Barossa Friends Cab/Sav
» 2002
Elderton Sauvignon Blanc/Verdelho
» 2002
Elderton Unwooded Chardonnay
» 2002
Elderton Eden Valley Riesling
» 2002
Elderton Botrytis Semillon
» 2002
Command Single Vineyard Shiraz
»2001
Elderton CSM (Cabernet/Shiraz/Merlot) Vintage 2001
»2001
Elderton Barossa Ashmead Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage 2001
»2001
Elderton Cabernet Sauvignon
» 2001
Elderton Tantalus Red
» 2001
Elderton Friends Cabernet Sauvignon
» 2001
Elderton Friends Shiraz
» 2001
Elderton Shiraz
» 2001
Elderton Cabernet Sauvignon
» 2000
Elderton Merlot
» 2000
Elderton CSM
» 2000
Elderton Ashmead Cabernet
» 2000
Elderton Command Shiraz
» 2000
Elderton Merlot
» 1999
Elderton Cabernet Shiraz Merlot
» 1999
Elderton Barossa Ashmead Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
» 1999
Elderton Command Shiraz
» 1999
Elderton Barossa Ashmead Family Reserve Sparkling Shiraz
» NV
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