2022 Elderton Command Shiraz, Barossa Valley

I’ve been looking forward to this wine, ever since I tasted the previous vintage – both are superb Barossa years. Would it, could it, match the majestic 2021? It was always going to be an immensely difficult task, but at this early stage, it comes ever so close. In the years to come, it will be fascinating to watch the pair. The fruit comes from a vineyard planted back in 1894. The wine spends time in a mix of French and American oak. An opaque maroon, this is fresh and energetic, with good focus. There is quality oak, well into integration. The nose exhibits notes of chocolate, blackberries, florals, coffee beans, mocha, aniseed and plums. Ideally balanced with great length, the wine finishes with the silkiest of tannins. Perhaps more classically structured than the 21, which offered more plushness, but there is such promise here. A cracker. Twenty to twenty-five years of pleasure ahead. In the pantheon of great Barossa Shiraz, this is sensational value. Drink 2025 to 2050.

97 points Ken Gargett for Wine Pilot, August 2025

The 2022 Command Single Vineyard Shiraz is matured in a combination of American and French oak. This collaborative process started in 2021, and the wines are now out of oak earlier than they ever were. Since 2021, the wine has seen 24 months of maturation, while historically, it used to be more like 30-34 months. This is to the benefit of the wine—it allows the fruit to sing, as it does here. 2022 was generally a little cooler and wetter than the 2021 before it, and the wines have been more open and a little plusher than the structural, powerful 2021s. Here, the dark fruit is aligned with the sweet oak, and the two work together harmoniously. Drink 2025 to 2042.

95 points Erin Larkin for The Wine Advocate, September 2025

Elderton's Command Shiraz has a strong pedigree indeed; sourced from a single block of 1894-planted shiraz on the outskirts of Nuriootpa. It's full-bodied but not overbearing, classically structured but with a contemporary edge, and there is no doubt that it is a regional classic. Ripe doris plum, blackberry and black cherry with complex layers of brown spice and French and American oak. Hints of dark chocolate, pan juices, cedar, tobacco, light leather tones and earth. Impressive depth and fruit weight is on show with spicy oak sliding into the black fruits, a curtain of fine-grained tannin and a persistent, elegant finish. Drink 2025 to 2045.

95 points Dave Brookes for Halliday Wine Companion, October 2025

The 2022 Shiraz Command is exceptional. This is deceptively compact and composed yet rippling with ripe mulberry, blackberry, new leather and oak notes that are poised and precise in a claret style. There’s great strength and tension here. The powerful fruit still remains in its shell and is encased with structural, balanced tannins that will reward time in the cellar. Drink 2030 to 2048.

95 points Angus Hughson for Vinous, August 2025

A well-shaped, focused, flavorful and driven shiraz with aromas of wild berries, dried herbs, fresh peppercorns and baking spices. Full-bodied with finely grained tannins. It's fleshy yet in control. Generous fruit mingles with the spices on the linear, serious and driven palate. Long, flavorful, peppery finish. Drink or hold.

95 points James Suckling, March 2025

Elderton Wines was established in 1982 by Neil and Lorraine Ashmead on a historic Nuriootpa estate with vineyard origins dating to 1894. The second generation has now taken the lead, with brothers Cameron and Allister and their wives Jules and Rebecca looking after all aspects of the winery. The family vineyards span the Barossa Valley floor and the cooler, higher elevations of the Eden Valley, giving the range a breadth of style that few Barossa producers can match.

The Command has been made from a single block of Shiraz on the Nuriootpa estate every year since 1984, save for two vintages where the season simply didn't allow it. The vines were planted in 1894 and are classified as an Ancestor Vineyard under the Barossa Old Vine Charter. The block spans from the North Para River to the cellar door, with a gradual increase in clay content that influences how and when each section is picked.

The 2022 was a season of excellent quality in the Barossa, with outstanding winter rainfall setting up ideal conditions for even ripening. Matured for 24 months in a combination of French and American oak. Matured for 24 months in a combination of French and American oak, a considered reduction from Elderton's historical 30 months that allows the fruit to express itself more fully. The 2022 is as opulent as the previous vintages but fresher and more focused.

The wine opens with blackberry, dark plum and florals on the nose, with notes of chocolate, mocha, coffee bean and aniseed adding complexity. The palate is rich and generously structured, with fine-grained tannins and a seamless, exceptionally long finish.

Classically proportioned rather than immediately plush, this is Command at its most composed. Allow it plenty of air before serving it alongside a prime rib roast.

Drink from 2025 through to 2050.