2018 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Dead Arm

Community Tasting Notes (9) Avg Score: 91.4 points

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  3/22/2024 - Jon Harrison Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Color: Very dark ruby. Opaque (impressive).
  
  Nose: A smack in the face of wild purple fruits! Beautiful, classic, McLaren nose of ripe candied black/purple plum and blackberry fruit -with a touch of black olive, and black licorice. A little smoky (but not hickory). With a big smack of spicy medicinal new oak. This cuvee doesn't merit this much new oak (IMHO). But overall, the fruit is classic McLaren. Beautiful.
  
  Some reduced aromas (slightly skunky mercaptan). This should lessen with time in the bottle. (Update: the next day sealed with a Vacuvin the reduced aromas were totally gone.)
  
  Palate: Full body, good concentration. Rich, mouthful of black plum, blackberry, and black raspberry Syrah fruit. But ever so slightly thin and tart on the finish to rate above 92. Ripe (soft) tannins. Excellent alcohol balance (the label says 14.5%).
  
  I am a sommelier in San Francisco. So, as we say, this is a CLASSIC New World wine. Sometimes that is said with a slightly negative connotation. Not here. This is phenomenal, complex, Syrah, of a place: The McLaren Vale. This wine is foot-treaded, basket pressed, and finished without fining or filtration. Fantastic winemaking.
  
  Drinking window: This wine is so ripe and complex it drinks beautifully now. But this will also age without problem until at least 2032 (in a cool proper cellar).
  
  Score: 92 - 94 (with a little more age).
  
  JGH, Sommelier, San Francisco/Bay Area, CMS III

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  3/11/2024 - Swintonblade Likes this wine: 94 Points

  amazing, plenty of fruit to balance the big tannins still too young and needs more time.

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  2/11/2024 - beatles wrote: 92 Points

  Very, very young. Tasted over several days, hardly moved. Dark fruit, byesenberry, tannin certainly, olives, bacon.
  Wait, wait.
  92++

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  2/7/2024 - Ben Christiansen wrote:

  Sorta smells like tannin has been added, which is an odd thing to say. And on the palate as well. But just off the crackin'. Maybe needs some time to ease in.

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  1/13/2024 - Bandreas wrote:

  A color like Egypt's Night: Dark and almost impenetrable. Big, bold and gutsy with lots of tannin which mask the Shiraz fruit at this point of time.
  It's drinkable but to be really enjoyable it probably needs another 5-10 years in the bottle..

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View all 9 Community Tasting Notes

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