D'arenberg Wine
d’Arenberg is a vineyard in Mclaren Vale on the South coast of Australia. Owner d’Arry and wine maker Chester Osborn produce a range of delicious red and white wines. All of their wines have original names with stories about why they are so called. More info can be found at the bottom of this page.
All d’Arenberg wines have been basket pressed, red & whites with all red ferments foot trod during fermentation. White wine style – expressive wines with lifted aromas & delicate bouquets. Full flavoured, elegant & balanced with right, fresh acidity giving way to a long, lingering finish. Red wine style -long , lively gritty & youthful tannins full of fragrant fruit & mineral notes, melding seamlessly with complex spice, games & earthy bodA
The Stump Jumps - Tasting notes
Sauvignon Blanc
There’s loads of cut grass and fresh snow pea on the nose, with underlying aromas of lemon curd and ginger. The pallet has a nice softness to it, with refreshing lemongrass, grapefruit and just-ripe stone fruit flavours. The wine finishes tangy and spicy, with a pleasing amount of bitterness.
Chardonnay
South Australian Chardonnay, powerful yet refreshing, full of stone fruit, green apple and flowers, with a slight brininess on the tongue and notes of spice and hazelnut floating into the nostrils.
Riesling
Lemon and orange blossom provide beautiful aromas, followed by fresh lemon and lime citrus flavours on the palate. A zippy mineral line leads into a dry finish
Shiraz
The nose opens with dark notes of black cherries and hints of cassis. The palate is loaded with black fruits, plums, mulberries with some aniseed and peppery spices. Fresh cherry and red berries. Fine and persistent tannins give this wine a sense of opulence. Very approachable in its youth. A wine built to drink in its early days. A wonderful expression of McLaren Vale Shiraz
Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot
Rich, juicy and vibrant wine loaded with mulberry and blackcurrant notes. There are some other subtle mint notes around the edges, as well as some cherry and spice, with a floral overtone. Beautifully vibrant on the palate following the nose with rich, juicy fruit, as well as some leather and cedar. There are layers of fine tannins which balances the fruit sweetness to provide a long finish
GSM BLEND
A brooding concoction of dark, sweet and savoury notes. Plum, dark cherry, game, earth and black pepper. The palate adds mulberry, raspberry with beautiful lifted spice and mineral grit. There’s no shortage of flavour here
The name ‘Stump Jump’ relates to the significant South Australian invention – the Stump Jump plough. This plough became a popular piece of machinery for ploughing fields because of its ability to ride over stumps and gnarled “mallee” Eucalypt roots and snags, saving valuable time and resources by not stopping the draught horse
Red's Tasting Notes
D’arrys Grenache Shiraz
Pomegranate, cranberry and plum waft as the wine opens up. Those same pomegranate and damson plum characters continue on the palate and are enhanced by a slightly herbaceous edge. The Shiraz component gives width and generosity to the finer savoury Grenache tannins.
The Footbolt
A lifted, aromatic nose with luscious plum and red berry aromas. The palate is soft and cuddly and concludes with some firm tannin and acidity. There’s flavors of mulberry, pomegranate, dried herbs and earth, with a finish that is a little wild and rustic.
The Love Grass
Super lifted spice, blackcurrant and blackberry. There’s an underlying dark fruit pastille, with liquorice and beef stock flavours that contrast some slight herbal notes. A medium bodied shiraz with incredible concentration and length. This is a serious wine that is also quite accessible in its youth
The Laughing Magpie
Quintessential McLaren Vale Shiraz, with the added alchemy of the co-fermented Viognier skins this wine makes a statement. Bold, fragrant aromas and some peppery spice. The black Doris plum, mulberry and boysenberries are over laid with a perfume of red fruit sweetness. All the berries! Rounded yet chalky tannins add great structure and mouth feel to this core d’Arenberg wine.
The Feral Fox
The fresh strawberry and raspberry notes waft from the glass with another layer of earthy leafiness revealed as the wine opens up. The palate is packed with fresh and pure fruits of the forest. The fruit is harmoniously balanced by more complex layers of cocoa powder, damp earth, white pepper and a subtle cigar box character
The Galvo Garage
A lifted and perfumed nose displaying complex notes of violets, blackcurrant and ripe berries. The palate is elegant, yet sings with ripe fruits, and is extremely juicy with deep richness and structure. This mix of pure fruit combines with fine oak tannins that lead to a lovely fragrant dark chocolate, minerally dry finish.
The Coppermine Road
A wine of balance and harmony. The cooler, slightly wetter vintage has marked this wine in a positive way. Savoury, cedar, cigar box, sage, oregano and ferrous notes through to lifted violets, blackcurrant, boysenberry, mulberry, mint and citrus peel. The palate opens generously, presenting opulent fruit on the attack, matched with a medium bodied mid palate and complemented and drawn out through ripples of fine, chalky tannin
The Ironstone Pressings
A unique vintage that offers up a more spicy, elegant, refined rendition of The Ironstone Pressings Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre. Layers of complexity evolve on the nose over time. Spice, earth and cured meats slowly give way to the sweetness of blueberry, boysenberry and plum. The palate is rounded and silky with a fine powdery tannin finish.
The Dead Arm
Red fruits and lifted spice notes on the one hand to more brooding, dark, ashen, earthy aromas on the other. There is an impressive amount of concentration in this wine but at the same time it feels somewhat more restrained compared to other more in your face, rustic Dead Arm vintages. Don’t be fooled by its approachability however, The Dead Arm Shiraz 2017 also shows all the hall marks of a classic McLaren Vale Shiraz that will see it age gracefully for 15 plus years
White Tasting Notes
The Olive Grove
A modern style of Chardonnay, with great balance between crisp and savoury fruit, and subtly integrated oak. Aromas of nectarine, green apple, vanilla and roasted nuts dominate on the nose, whilst the palate has an initial hit of creaminess, followed by stone fruit, white flowers and a hint of sea spray. Nutty nuances and vanilla notes perpetuate through a long, dry finish.
The Hermit Crab
Very aromatic! Pineapple leaps straight away leaps from the glass. It’s a medium bodied white wine, with green papaya, melon, white nectarine, stone fruits, followed by a little hint of ginger on the finish.
Fizz & Fortified Tasting Notes
Amazing Polly (anna)
As uplifting as Pollyanna herself, this South Australian fizz emits darts of lemon zest, white blossom and marzipan, followed by a mouthful of stone fruit and a lovely lick of salt
Peppermint Paddock
Vibrant purple sparkling wine from South Australia, a melding of ripe plum and black olive, with a whiff of cedar, another of mint and a third of Christmas spice.
Vintage Fortified Shiraz
Inky purple. Smoke-accented aromas of black and blue fruits, liquorice, espresso and black pepper. Warm and fleshy, with deep blueberry and bitter cherry flavours and notes of fruitcake and bitter chocolate. Finishes warm and long, with lingering smokiness and a touch of bitter cherry.
Summer Specials
2020 Furmint, Sauska
Country: Hungary
Region: Tokaji Grapes: Grape Furmint 100
Tasting Note: A beautifully aromatic expression of Furmint, packed with flavours of ripe figs, mango, kiwi, lemon zest and green tea. Crisp, clean, perfectly balanced – the very definition of Tokaj Furmint.
Vineyard : Made solely from Furmint, Tokaj’s most famous grape. The fruit is sourced from some of the region’s most famous vineyards, including Padihegy, Holdvölgy and Birsalmás.
Foodmatching: This wine is a good friend to seafood such as clams, trout, sushi, mild white fish or pasta dishes. Steamed mussels, bouillabaisse, crab salad work particularly well.
2020 ‘Alba Martín’, Martín Códax
Country: Spain
Region: Rias Baixas
Sub-Region: Salnes Valley
Grapes: Grape Albarino 100
Tasting Note: Vivid straw-yellow green colour. Bright and shiny. Intense nose and elegant aromas with hints of white stone fruits and white flowers. The proximity to the sea gives the wine its freshness and saltiness and the granitic soils enhance its natural minerality. The wine is rounded and full-bodied, with a light petillance that adds to its vivacious sense of freshness. Impressive persistence on the finish.
Vineyard : Classification of vineyards and selection of profiles to produce this wine. Alba Martín is a reflection of its land, the Val do Salnés.
Foodmatching: Seafood, shellfish, poultry, rice, pasta, spiced foods, cheese
100 % Albariño from the Salnés Valley, Alba Martín is a reflection of its land, the Val do Salnés. Young and fresh with an impressive persistence on the finish which combines classic with modern as a unique essence.
Behind the names
The Athazagoraphobic Cat
Named after Audrey Hepburn and nicknamed Ordinary, Audrey was a plain tabby cat. Suffering from Athazagoraphobia, the fear of being forgotten, she was often trotting close to Chester’s heels. Like Audrey, this wine will be hard to forget with tannins and lush red fruits lingering on the palate, long after the bottle is empty. The story of Audrey is literally bought to life on the bottle using a classic animation technique. An intricate design was printed on the glass, and overlaid with a spinning cylindrical label. An illusion is created when the label is turned, a cat is treading on the heels of its master’s footsteps.
Pollyanna Polly Sparkling White NV
The Pollyanna principle is the tendency for people to remember pleasant times more accurately than unpleasant ones. Chester’s mother, Pauline, was a living testament to this truth, always looking on the bright side of life. An eternal optimist, she was known to family and friends alike as Pollyanna Polly.
The Dry Dam
In 1992 our neighbours built a dam that remained empty, as it was a dry winter. The next year it rained but the dam was jinxed and didn’t hold water. A dry dam is bad news for our neighbouring farmers, but promises good results for our old, dry-grown, low-yielding vines.
The Cenosilicaphopic Cat
As a child Chester had a cat named Non Alcoholic Booze, which the family shortened to Booze when they discovered that he enjoyed red wine. The concerned Osborn family refused to let him drink it, so consequently Booze lived a frustrated life, suffering from a monumental case of Cenosilicaphobia (the fear of an empty glass).
The Noble Mud Pie
As a child Chester delighted in presenting his parents with carefully crafted mud pies. He often admits he has never really grown up and continues to make mud pies, now using the ingredients of the earth, water and sun.
The Olive Grove
Over the years numerous olive trees have sprung up in the Vale; on the sides of roads and in the middle of our chardonnay vineyard. However, the inconvenience of wild olives in the middle of the vines is forgotten when our neighbours drop off a bottle or two of their olive oil.
The Money Spider
The first crop of Roussanne from the 2000 vintage was found to be covered in a sea of tiny “Money Spiders” (Erigoninae). Popular belief is that kindness to these active little creatures will bring good luck, hopefully in the form of money. Being nature-lovers and slightly superstitious to boot, we refrained from sending the spiders to their death and hence were not able to release our first Roussanne until the 2001 vintage by which time the “Money Spiders” had learned their lesson and moved from the vineyard to the bushland surrounding the winery and we’ve had great success with this wine ever since.
The Custodian
For a long time, d’Arenberg has been considered a custodian (keeper) of Grenache, with our constant allegiance to this variety. The Grenache vines have been on the property as long as if not longer than any other variety. d’Arenberg makes eight wines with a large percentage of Grenache, this being the first 100% Grenache, first made in 1994. It was only fitting that the name ‘Custodian’ was given to this wine.
The Love Grass
A wild grass, the Love Grass, often grows in the vineyards surrounding the winery. During vintage, the sticky,Velcrolike, long stemmed flowers of the Love Grass affectionately attach themselves to the vineyard workers’ socks. This Shiraz will linger with you in much the same way as the sticky flowers do and, as such, the family thought it fitting to name this wine ‘The Love Grass’
The Dead Arm
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 display amazing intensity. The name for this wine is often joked about. Some thought the wine to be so big and heavy that might get a dead arm raising it to your mouth!
The Old Bloke & Three Young Blondes
The Old Bloke is a Shiraz dominant blend with Roussanne, Viognier and Marsanne, three white Rhone varieties that d’Arenberg planted in McLaren Vale in the 1990’s. These ‘young blondes’ add fragrance, spice and length to the ‘old bloke’, which is sourced from d’Arenberg’s oldest Shiraz vines. Some might joke that the old bloke is Chester, and the three young blondes are his daughters, the fifth generation who will carry on the d’Arenberg tradition. Each of these title characters are represented on the label as a cut out silhouette. Much like the wine itself, the four personalities are ‘blended’ together by being overlayed one on top of the other, each creating a window to the next and achieving an effect of tactility and depth.
The Derelict Vineyard
In 1993 Chester Osborn offered to pay twice the price for Grenache if it was from very low-yielding, dry-grown vines and if the berries were very small. One vineyard planted thirty years ago with Grenache was the inspiration in the naming of this wine. Last used for grape production two decades ago, the vineyard fell into neglect and was utilized as a horse paddock. Horses had trampled on the vines making them unproductive. Long bracken ferns and native grasses entwined with, and hid the vines which the vines themselves resembled Medusa’s hair - wild, thick, struggling and gnarled
The Laughing Magpie
The bushland that surrounds the family’s vineyards is home to the unique native Australian bird, the Kookaburra, famous for its distinctive laughing call. Much to the amusement of the family, the daughters of winemaker, Chester Osborn, called their two wild pet Kookaburra’s the “Laughing Magpies”. The Magpie, a black and white bird bears no resemblance to its famous cousin, but to this day the likeable Kookaburra is known at the winery as the “Laughing Magpie”