98 points - "From one of the region’s greatest vintages for many years, the team describe this wine as representing the very best of that vintage. That raises the bar. The fruit came from the Barossa Valley, 62%, and the Eden Valley, 38%. Maturation was for a year and a half, 42% in new
French oak hogsheads, with the balance in a mix of older hogsheads and puncheons. Under cork.

The colour is dark cherry/magenta. On the nose we have notes of warm earth, blackberries, smoked meats, liquorice, black cherries and coffee grinds. A touch of toasty oak, but the wine has good concentration and immaculate balance with serious length. This is so seductive. A great year has given us a stunning
Barossa Valley Shiraz. Enjoy this wonderful wine over the next 20 years. Drink now–2045." - The Vintage Journal

97 points - "From the stellar '21 vintage, the Eligo represents the best of the year and is a split of a range of amazing vineyard sites from the Barossa (62%) and Eden (38%) valleys. It's concentrated and essence-like with deep, resonant blackberry, black cherry and Doris plum fruits with hints of clove, cinnamon, purple flowers, licorice, dark chocolate, cedar, olive tapenade, pan juices and earth. Thick shouldered but balanced and harmonious with melt-in-the-mouth, chocolatey tannins and exceptional length of flavour." - Dave Brookes (Halliday Wine Companion)

96 points - "Deep and rich ruby colour. Mulberry, vanilla pod and ironstone aromas. Palate sings with a harmony of black fruits, iron and violets. Still primary in its offering but with time in the glass a bloody depth builds. All the while powerful, well-wrought tannins bring tension and focus to the power on show. Cellar it and reap the rewards." - Stuart Knox (The Real Review)

96 points - "Densely packed dark fruit complemented by lifted aromas of mulberries, dark cherries, blood plums, coffee beans, violets, ferrous earth and spices. The palate is full-bodied with a seamless, velvety mouthfeel, fine tannins and plush, rounded flavors of blueberry compote, granite, pomegranates and cedar. Made from fruit with an average vine age of 80 years and mainly sourced from Adrian Hoffmann’s Ebenezer vineyard. Drink or hold." - Ryan Montgomery (James Suckling)

94+ points - "Rich, chocolatey, licorice-inflused flavour is the backbone of this wine but it’s a springboard to blueberry, violet, rust, salted herb and olive-driven flavour. Ripe plum characters are a mainstay of the action here too. Tannin is fine but beautifully etched and the length of the palate is impressive. There’s ample stuffing to this wine but it’s not a more-is-more style; it feels measured and exacting." - Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)

Background

From Latin: To pick out, select or choose the best. Echoing its Latin meaning, Eligo is a vineyard selection from our finest shiraz parcels, including some centenarian vines. Barossa Valley components are selected for their structure, depth of flavour and length on the palate. Eden Valley components included for their lifted, spicy aromatics, elegant fruit profiles and balanced acidity.

Conditions

With better winter rains, and a perfectly timed 30mm event at the start of February, we were rewarded with better crops and berry size after a few drought-affected lean years. Conditions through late February, March and April could only be described as perfect with mild to warm days with no heat spikes, combined with cool nights. This meant a long even ripening period and a lovely pace to the vintage. 2021 will be remembered as an exceptional Barossa vintage. 2021 Eligo was sourced from the following vineyards: Krondorf (Stoll) Ebenezer (Hoffmann) Champan (Moppa) Moculta (Fechner) and Mt McKenzie (Knight/Severin).

Winemaking

The parcels of fruit were fermented separately in small stainless-steel fermenters, some with submerged caps. Some batches were left on skins for up to two weeks to extract additional colour and structure.

Maturation

Post classification, the component wines were matured in oak for 18 months (42% new fine grain French oak hogsheads and the balance in seasoned French oak hogsheads and puncheons).

NOSE:

Attractive waves of black fruit with hints of anise, clove and florals.

PALATE:

Richly textured with a multitude of tightly packed dark fruit layers.
Deep, pure fruited and commanding. The palate also displays hints of
ironstone and licorice, finishing with integrated, chocolatey tannins. While
seductive in its primary fruited youth, the 2021 Eligo will benefit from at least five years of cellaring and should age gracefully for over twenty years.

Size

750 ml

Grape Variety

Shiraz (62% Barossa Valley, 38% Eden Valley)

Closure

Cork (Amorim ND Tech)

Alcohol

14.5%