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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.8 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 280 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by peter.mancell@mfg.com.au on 2/7/2024 & rated 95 points: A seriously good MV Shiraz!
Big bold fruit, integrated tannins, lovely mouth feel with a spicy finish.
Yum! (652 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 2/3/2024 & rated 92 points: Mature, leather, liquorice, pencil, has a “dry dusty road” feel to it, almost Bordeaux-ish, but more power. Drinks very well now, but will hold up another 3-5 years I would have thought (539 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 1/8/2024: Gave to Ben & Chris (693 views) | | | Tasted by G.M. on 10/22/2023 & rated 93 points: Blackberries, blueberries, mocha, pencil shavings. Still fresh and sweet-fruited after 20 years under screw cap. Very well balanced for a big, ripe McLaren Vale. Good length and structure. Quality stuff. Improved over the evening - would suggest a decent decant. No rush to drink these. (93 Excellent wine) (931 views) | | | Tasted by Ara Kafafian on 9/10/2023 & rated 95 points: From screw cap, even better than my last bottle tasted in 2021. Had the 2014 and 2004 side by side and the 2004 towered over the 2014. Much ripper, richer, thicker wine. Notes of vanilla, tar blackberries, mocha dominate this fruit bomb. Ready drink but no rush as this monster can hold another 10 to 15 years easy. (1001 views) | | | Tasted by JerM on 9/9/2023 & rated 95 points: (magnum bottle) Wow, dark inky, black florals, lifted sweet leather, black fruit, juicy late cherry, woodspice, clove. Unctious and fully mature, soft silky tannins. With an hour, it opened really nicely, textural, silky, and gossamer. Airy, yet precise and powerful, elegant and balanced. No flagging despite the age - still powerful, even youthful. Looong finish, eucalypt, graphite, cigar box. Paired nicely with 3-cup chicken and porkbelly fried rice. Delight! (748 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 8/26/2023 & rated 91 points: Mint, caramel , licqorice , black berries. This one was perfect timing. Previous bottles from the same vintage have felt a little over the top, but this one was just perfectly ripe. I guess one should drink rather than keep though. (831 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 8/2/2023: First Wednesday Wine Club (Francobollo, Haberfield): "Served blind
Slightly reductive, black hued fruits, touch of sweet spice, smidgeon f chocolate, aniseed. Medium plus intensity acidity, juicy, fleshy, slightly reductive, black fruits; blackberry, tangy, tight, slightly drying tannins coarse flour textured tannins.
Shiraz, McLaren Vale, 2016" (875 views) | | | Tasted by Eric Wright on 4/25/2023 & rated 90 points: In a lovely place. Still bright with lots of fruit, but not overwhelmingly so. Some savory notes and age are coming through. Well balanced (1071 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 2/25/2023 & rated 92 points: Drink now or keep another fiveish years (1104 views) | | | Tasted by PDavisMarble on 1/1/2023 & rated 92 points: Fresh and bright, all the excesses have been resolved What’s left is a beautiful , balanced wine. Raspberries, currants , licorice. At 18, this wine is remarkable, with a long finish. Opened well for 30 minutes after decanting, but it then faded about 90 minutes later. (1296 views) | | | Tasted by empire80 on 12/8/2022 & rated 93 points: Super concentrated liquorice and spice, black fruit still evident but perhaps starting to fade relative to my earlier bottles. Lovely now, no rush, but perhaps drink over the next couple of years before a gentle decline? (1311 views) | | | Tasted by Luke275 on 12/7/2022: Fully mature. Dark fruits on the nose, still with some tannins. Really nice and still with some life yet. (1313 views) | | | Tasted by acheng on 11/26/2022: Drinking very nicely now. A well balanced Aussie shiraz that is aging at a glacial pace. Very nice. (1144 views) | | | Tasted by VinoHobo on 11/21/2022 & rated 96 points: Still big, still amazing (1101 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 11/5/2022 & rated 95 points: Almost Bordeaux notes with pencil, chocolate , black berries etc. Would not have taken it for an Aussie Shiraz on the nose. However on the palate it was clear that this was not an old world wine. Excellent! Drink now, but will last another few years (1015 views) | | | Tasted by Ridgerunner on 8/14/2022 & rated 93 points: Maybe this just needs more time... not as easy opening or as flashy as the 05 (1266 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 5/21/2022 & rated 92 points: Perfect timing. (1404 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 3/26/2022 & rated 84 points: Too much tar, unbalanced. (1514 views) | | | Tasted by olioli on 3/20/2022 & rated 93 points: Idem à ma note de février 2021. (1485 views) | | | Tasted by SineQuaNon on 3/17/2022 & rated 92 points: Goung super strong, almost youthful still (1491 views) | | | Tasted by WildeMeeuw on 1/19/2022 & rated 94 points: Kleur: Diep ondoordrinkbaar donkerrood. Aroma / bouquet: Stoer, krachtig en uitgesproken bouquet, kenmerkend voor een belegen Syrah uit de nieuwe wereld. Ook na 17 jaar nog explosief, vol donker fruit en zoetige kruiden. Smaak / Afdronk: Zachte zuurgraad. Een 'bek vol wijn'. Krachtig, geconcentreerd en met een mooie balans. Nog geen spoor van serieus tertiaire aroma's. Algemeen / potentieel: Briljante Shiraz die nog zeker 2-3 jaar toekomst voor zich heeft. 50 + Kleur: 5 + Aroma / bouquet: 13 + Smaak / Afdronk: 17 + Algemeen / potentieel: 9 = 94/100
Colour: Deep, undrinkable dark red. Aroma / bouquet: Tough, powerful and pronounced bouquet, characteristic of a mature Syrah from the new world. Even after 17 years still explosive, full of dark fruit and sweet spices. Taste / Aftertaste: Soft acidity. A 'mouth full of wine'. Powerful, concentrated and with a nice balance. No trace of serious tertiary aromas yet. Overall / potential: Brilliant Shiraz with at least 2-3 years of future ahead of him. 50 + Colour: 5 + Aroma / Bouquet: 13 + Taste / Aftertaste: 17 + General / Potential: 9 = 94/100 (1593 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 12/10/2021 & rated 92 points: Brilliant now (1516 views) | | | Tasted by guitarguy on 12/1/2021 & rated 92 points: Last bottle of four, this has reached a great place defying the hot, sweet, high alc nature of Shiraz of that period. Cranberry, smoke, ash, still ample but well integrated acidity and tannins. (1453 views) | | | Tasted by 911henrik on 11/28/2021 & rated 92 points: Red Bertils, Chaplin, pencil. Surprisingly Bordeaux like on the nose, but the palate is fresh, minty and almost sweet like you would expect. Hold up really well. Drinks well now and probably at peak another 5 years or so. (1388 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| d'Arenberg Producer website | Wine Doctor.com profile
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One of the most significant wineries in McLaren Vale founded in 1912. The winemaking processes of the past have been maintained, capturing the unique small-batch character of the wines and the true flavour of the McLaren Vale region. All grapes, red and white, are basket-pressed. The reds are still traditionally fermented with the grape skins (caps) submerged in open wax-lined concrete fermenters utilising the age-old technique of foot-treading.
Winemaking duties are carried out by fourth-generation Chester d’Arenberg Osborn. In June 2004 Chester’s father, d’Arry was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for his contributions to the wine industry and to the McLaren Vale region. After more than 65 consecutive vintages d’Arry is very proud of his achievements in creating an internationally recognised wine brand commonly known as the ‘Red Stripe’ due to the distinctive diagonal red stripe that adorns the label. d’Arenberg’s art of being different extends to a range of fortified and dessert wines, which have legendary status worldwide.2004 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead ArmWINEMAKER NOTES: Chester's Tasting Note:
Upon release d’Arenberg’s The Dead Arm Shiraz has a vivid young deep purple colour.
The nose shows intense and complex cedary, fig, blackberry and blueberry like smells occasionally pepper/spice smells too.
Vanilla mocha oak smells and attacking blackberry, cassis characters are also evident on the palate.
Full, intense sweet, cedary middle palate flavours have a distinctly silky, svelte texture deceptively disguises the rich powerful cassis and toffee-mocha flavours.
The accent is on powerful full-bodied berry fruit flavour, with a little sweet English toffee- like oak evident on the juicy, rolling finish.
After time in bottle the d’Arenberg’s Dead Arm gains a biscuity, cinnamon, caramel and eucalyptus based bouquet on top of rich blackberry pie smells.
Tobacco, mushrooms, malt, and earth aromas play a part on the long, elegant fleshy, chocolate mint flavours.
Restrained tannin and acidity coupled with rich alcohol, produce a seamless, peppery, velvety rolling length.
Serving and Cellaring Suggestions:
Serve at room temperature 16 – 24 �C. now or cellar for the next 3- 25 years with bold, rich, robust meals, especially roasted meats and vegetables, stews and casseroles, offal, sweet potato, salt bush lamb, oxtail, mushrooms or truffles. Also, sausages and gravy and haricot beans on rare prime steak. Serve after decanting as an older wine.
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The Dead Arm Shiraz is one of our ‘flagship’ wines at d’Arenberg – the very best Shiraz from one of the oldest producers in arguably the best Shiraz producing region in Australia, McLaren Vale. The Dead Arm gets its name in a fairly inauspicious way – it is named after the disease (Eutypa Lata) which afflicts some of the oldest vines at d’Arenberg from which we get the majority of fruit destined for The Dead Arm. The disease, Eutypa Lata, or ‘Dead Arm’ is common all around the world in old vineyard sites. The disease in effect slowly reduces one of the ‘arms’ of the vines to dead wood, which then means the other arm of the vine produces small volumes of the most incredibly concentrated and highly flavoured grapes. This makes ideal material to go into this, our top Shiraz. The grapes are processed as are all of d’Arenberg reds, using the gentle Demoisy rubber toothed, open-mouthed crusher, and fermented in wax-lined, headed down open fermenters which are foot trod (and being ever hygiene-conscious here at d’Arenberg, the feet are clad in waders!) and temperature controlled. The still fermenting grapes are pressed off in baskets through the old ‘Coq’ and ‘Bromley & Tregoning’ presses into mainly new American and French oak barriques for 22 months or thereabouts, before blending and bottling at d’Arenberg. The Dead Arm is a spectacular example of McLaren Vale Shiraz – concentrated, multi-dimensional with huge fruit, length and texture, immense balance and ageing potential.
And the comment from Robert M. Parker who writes for the American publication The Wine Advocate is worth mentioning. Writing of d'Arenberg's Dead Arm he described it as; “…outrageously rich, spectacular stuff, the likes of which only Aussies seem capable of making.”
Source:http://www.darenberg.com.au/C_05-02c.php?id=113Shiraz Varietal article (Wikipedia) | Varietal character (Appellation America)The Dead ArmThe Story Behind The Name
Dead Arm is a vine disease caused by the fungus Eutypa Lata that randomly affects vineyards all over the world. Often vines affected are severely pruned or replanted. One half, or an ‘arm’ of the vine slowly becomes reduced to dead wood. That side may be lifeless and brittle, but the grapes on the other side, while low yielding, display amazing intensity.
The Winemaking
Each batch of fruit received is gently crushed in our Demoisy open-mouthed, rubber-toothed crusher so as many of the berries as possible remain whole. After crushing, the must is transferred to open fermenters where the seeds and skins are permanently submerged beneath the free run juice.
The must receives no plunging or pumping over while fermentation occurs. Once the primary fermentation is nearly complete, traditional foot-treading takes place prior to basket-pressing. The wine is then transferred to barrel to complete its primary and secondary fermentation.
After 20 months every barrel is individually assessed for quality.
Only the best barrels are selected to be bottled as The Dead Arm Shiraz.Australia Wine Australia (Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation) | Australian Wines (Wikipedia)South Australia South Australian Wine Industry Association | South Australian Wines (Wikipedia)Fleurieu Fleurieu Wineries & Cellar Doors (southaustralia.com)McLaren Vale McLaren Vale (McLaren Vale Grape, Wine and Tourism)
(Hastwell & Lightfoot webpage) |
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