d'Arenberg with Chester Osborn

Strand Cellars, Croydon
Tasted Thursday, May 27, 2021 by chatters with 112 views

Introduction

An opportunity to try the (traditionally for me disappointing) d'Arenberg wines with the larger than life Chester Osborn

Flight 1 (17 Notes)

  • NV d'Arenberg Pollyanna Polly

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

    Bread and bread yeast, medium minus intensity aromas of slight apple, lemon and slight honeysuckle. in the mouth aggressive mousse provides plenty of fizz dissipating to leave sharp lemon and lime citrus, slight bread yeast and a lick of alcohol heat.

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  • NV d'Arenberg Chambourcin The Peppermint Paddock

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Black cherry and berry, strawberry, leather and earth, dry on the palate with coarse grained tannic burr on the middle of the mouth, the fruit (joined by blackcurrant) and mousse play second fiddle and there tertiary notes (leather/earth) and are joined by a little foxey note. Slight alcohol warmth completes the picture.

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  • 2020 d'Arenberg Riesling The Dry Dam

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Lime cordial, lime peel, a little stony minerality, medium plus intensity acidity offset by slight residual sugar, lime, a little green apple is well. Long, simple but quite nice. Very slight sulphur prickle on the mid palate.

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  • 2013 d'Arenberg Riesling The Dry Dam

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Kerosene, honey, slight toast and butter over lime and slight lemon. Medium plus acidity, drying texture on the mid palate and front of mouth, lime and lemon as well as lemon sherbet, a touch of honey lends the impression of residual sugar.

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  • 2018 d'Arenberg Chardonnay The Lucky Lizard

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

    butter, toast, stone fruit with a slight lemon underpin, sweet spice, with time a touch of tinned pineapple. Medium plus intensity acidity is fresh and juicy, that tinned pineapple note with melon and lemon, textured mid palate closes down the palate a little. It's a little tart and hard with with time. Meh.

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  • 2015 d'Arenberg Chardonnay The Lucky Lizard

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

    A little honey, toast, butter, cream, very slight bacon fat, green notes as well. A certain underpin, melon, spiced notes and plentiful texture on the palate, fruit a little muted, shows melon. A little flat for me.

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  • 2018 d'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Shiraz/Grenache

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Very fruit forward with black cherry, a little blackcurrant, a touch of red berry, a little black fruit concentrate with a touch of jubey red berry in support, very slight oak? If yes, it's well contained. Initially fruit forward then grippy, flour textured tannins, quite spicy on the finish. Good entry level wine.

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  • 2010 d'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Shiraz/Grenache

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Medium plus intensity aromas of plums, with a little sour red berry underpin, a touch of meatiness and leather, spiced; a little black pepper. medium plus intensity acidity, plentiful tannins are floury textured. Fruit more concentrated and a lick of alcohol heat on the back palate, a little spice here as well. Meh.

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  • 2018 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Footbolt

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    blackberry and black currant, quite concentrated fruit with a little jubey underpin, touch of black pepper, cream and sweet spice. Medium plus intensity acidity, concentrated blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, loads of tannins which proves drying and floury textured. Finishes with a touch of slight sour red plum.

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  • 2012 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Footbolt

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Reductive initially with rubbery notes with time starts to show a little blackberry fruit and, with extreme agitation, it shows more concentrated plum and blackberry, spicy, touch of meatiness, a little leather in the mouth, over-concentrated, savoury, with tight chewy, grainy tannins, plummy and black pepper spice on the finish. Meh.

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  • 2018 d'Arenberg Grenache The Derelict Vineyard

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Farty, concentrated red and blackberry, spiced meaty. Alcohol heat in the mouth, very concentrated black and red berry, loads of front of mouth and mid palate grip but quite emery paper tannins, finishes fruit lozenge, long. Years required.

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  • 2017 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Concentrated, slight reductive with blackberry, slightly meaty, black pepper, smidge of black cherry. Red fruits are slightly sour, chalky tannins are grippy but in support, peppery spice, savoury, a little alcohol warmth and black hued fruit.

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  • 2017 d'Arenberg Cabernet Sauvignon The Coppermine Road

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Pyrazine over blackcurrant, cedar, cream, plenty of spice, meaty, savoury. medium plus intensity acidity, plenty of savoury and peppery spice, slight concentrated red over black fruits, the pyrazine shows itself as a touch of green capsicum. Medium plus intensity tannins are chewy and chalky , drying but persist long <shrugs>

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  • 2016 d'Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Reductive initially and meaty but this blows off to show red and blackberry, plum, polished leather, pretty red berries, perfumed top notes, with times gets more jubey. Juicy, fleshy, a little tomato leaf joins the other fruit characteristics that sits around on alcoholic core (think B&J core ice cream) tannins are chamois textured and drying, fruit grows with time. Lovely.

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  • 1998 d'Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Served blind
    Dried herbs, spiced plums, sweet spice, leather, earth, a little raspberry and strawberry compote; quite a sweetly fruited nose, slightly dusty meaty underpin. In the mouth it's similarly fruited, tight chewy tannins, alcohol heat on the finish, the tannins are not drying but are slightly oaky.
    I guessed 1998 Grenache blend but couldn't work out if if was d'Arrys or Ironstone Pressing

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  • 2017 d'Arenberg The Noble Botryotinia Fuckeliana

    Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills

    Nutty, tropical fruit, apricot, orange marmalade, a little toasty note, honey. Juicy, medium plus acidity, sweet but with sufficient acid to keep things fresh, quite spiced, thick glycerol, alcohol heat. Meh.

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  • NV d'Arenberg Nostalgia Rare Tawny

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    Aromas of rancio, saline, crushed walnut, toast, leather, a little fig, raisin, sweet spice, slight vanilla, cream. Juicy, saline, walnut (pickled says Chester), alcoholically warm, sweet and savoury spice, a little texture on the palate, fig, pleasant.

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Closing

This was a very interesting tasting. I thoroughly enjoyed Chester's raconteurial style and obvious enthusiasm. The wines were a bit indifferent for the most part but all the reds seemed to have well managed, persistent tannins (and I do love tannins). The winners on the night were the 2020 Riesling (the residual sugar helped out here), d'Arrys 2018 and the 2016 Ironstone Pressings...

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