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d'Arenberg

South Australia, McLaren Vale, Australia

  • 562
    of the 245 000
    wine producers
    of the world
Photo © Nuikki

  • Weather

    12° C Clear sky

  • Time

    21:35 PM

  • Wine average?

    91 Tb

  • Country Ranking?

    73

  • Region Ranking?

    20

  • Popularity ranking?

    93

News

d’Arenberg release first certified organic/biodynamic wine

d’Arenberg winery in McLaren Vale has released its first wine labelled with full organic certification. Vegan friendly, made with biodynamically grown grapes from family owned vineyards, the wine is a product of d’Arenberg’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.

Since 2016 all d’Arenberg estate owned and leased vineyards have been certified for organic and biodynamic processes, approval has now been granted to label the 2018 vintage as organic wine. Certification was obtained through NASAA, an Australian certification organisation.

“From 2005, we trialled organic and biodynamic practices in three vineyards for three years, balancing productivity with low impact on the environment,” said Chester Osborn, chief winemaker. “We found our wines to be richer, with more earthy flavours. Changing crushers in 2019 will add more minerality and purity to the wine, the biodynamics will add complexity.”

“The exciting thing is, now we have certification to show that we process our wine under the strictest international standards.”

Chair of NASAA, Glenn Schaube, said the certification represented the highest standard of excellence in organic wine.

“The d’Arenberg team is to be congratulated for their passion for producing premium wine grown and processed under the strictest international standards,” said Mr Anderson. “This certification will reinforce d’Arenberg’s commitment to sustainable viticulture and cement its reputation as an industry leader in organic wine on the international stage.”

The first organic wine from the 2018 vintage to be released is The Money Spider Roussanne, an exotic white, robust, full flavoured and complex with a rich, textural mouthfeel. The wine retails at $20, and is available to purchase at darenberg.com.au/organic, and at selected retailers.

Throughout 2019, d’Arenberg will release further organic wines from the 2018 vintage.

 

Introducing the 2010 Icons!

We are pleased to introduce the 2010 d'Arenberg Icons.

Our Icons age gracefully over the years, however we’ve decided to change the way they look. These changes are simple and modern, while paying homage to the history of our brand and packaging, and we are delighted to present them to you now.

Our Icons date back to 1979 when d’Arry made The Ironstone Pressings, simply called ‘Pressings’ back then, and it has had the same label since that day. In 1993 The Dead Arm joined the family, originally a Cabernet Shiraz blend, and in 1995 the Cabernet component was separated and The Coppermine Road was born.

 

 

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History

In 1912 F.E Osborn Pty Ltd was established with the purchase 64 hectares in the hills just north of the townships of Gloucester and Bellevue, now just known as McLaren Vale.

The purchase was funded by Joseph Rowe Osborn for his son Francis (Frank) Osborn who was studying medicine at Melbourne University but was advised upon ill health to, “take up life on the land”. Frank named the property Bundarra. The youngest of three children Francis d’Arenberg Osborn was born on the property on the 27th of December 1926 to Francis Ernest & Helena d’Arenberg Osborn. He was given his mother’s name upon her death giving birth to him and is universally known as d’Arry. 

 

In 1957 with the death of his father Frank assumed full management and control of the family company in partnership with his brother & sister. On August 16th 1958 d’Arry married Pauline Rowland Preston and had two children Jacqueline Helena and Chester d’Arenberg.

In 1959 d’Arry decided to launch his own label, d’Arenberg in remembrance to his late mother who he never met. It was a small, humble start with the launch including ½ gallon flagons and a small amount of table wines bottled under the d’Arenberg label and by 1963 the volume was up to hundreds of dozens. It was, however, a distinctive livery for d’Arenberg focused on the diagonal red strip which is its feature to this day.

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Vineyards

Today at 80 years of age d’Arry is still very active in his role as Managing Director of d’Arenberg while his son Chester (fourth generation family member) is Chief Winemaker & Viticulturist and is very much the driving force of d’Arenberg today. 

Chester’s philosophy is to try to make the loudest most flowery fragrant, most fruit flavoured wine that has a great palate texture free of excess oak. It should have tannins that are long, lively, gritty and youthful with fragrant fruit-mineral notes. All this with an obvious but not overpowering expression of soil in the aroma through to the last taste.

 

Climate

McLaren Vale's climate is of the Mediterranean type: warm dry summers and cool wet winters, with low relative humidity and relatively high evaporation. In McLaren Vale, the risk of rainfall or frost during the harvest period is rare and this is one of the reasons why the region is such a marvellously predictable place to grow grapes and make premium wines. The proximity to the sea is one of the biggest influences on the climate of McLaren Vale as well as the Lower Mt Lofty Ranges which form the Sellicks Hill ranges and which border McLaren Vale to the East. The result is that hot summer days are moderated by cool westerly, southerly or easterly breezes off the surrounding ocean, and also the 'Gully Winds' from the Hills. This makes for a prolonged ripening period during which time the grapes accumulate flavour and intensity. (and they help cool down the vineyard workers!)

Having a 'Mediterranean' type climate means there tends to be a smaller temperature variation. The average January temperature in McLaren Vale is 20.9 degrees C. Annual rainfall is anywhere from 650-700mm. 150-200mm falling between October and April, which means that rainfall is winter dominant, though we do get some in the growing season. There are numerous microclimates within the region, however, determined by variations in soil type and altitude as well as the various geological landforms. This means we can make wines using fruit from these different microclimates to add complexity to our blends.

 

Soil and Geology

There are a large number of soil and geology types evident across the McLaren Vale region which provides opportunities for adventurous grape growers. A Geology map that was ten years in the making was published in 2010 and it provides a greater understanding of what lies beneath the surface. McLaren Vale was originally a glacial deposit which explains the huge diversity in age and type of the geology and soil. Some of the younger sand and sandstone formations are dated at 500 million years of age with some limestone, quartzite and clay aged between 500 and 750 million years of age. This greater understanding has proved to be a great resource for curious winemakers and was the impetus for more serious discussions about defining the sub-regions of the area.

 

Altitude

d'Arenberg grows and sources grapes from vineyards all over the McLaren Vale region, with a focus on grapes from the north and north eastern corner. The region itself rises from sea level to approximately 220 metres above sea level in the north, on the rise to the Mt Lofty ranges. The higher areas are much cooler than the low lying vineyards and generally make a more elegant wine, particualrly when sourced from the sandy soils of the Blewitt Springs region. d'Arenberg has released a number of wines that express how these environmental relate to flavours in a glass. These unique wines can be found in the Amazing Sites category and include sub-region Grenache wines and a range of single vineyard Shiraz.

 

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.  

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Winemaking

The Dead Arm Shiraz is one of the ‘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.  It is a wine that has a very bold tannin structure as the fruit selected for this wine are from very old vineyards, the oldest now planted in 1912 which crops very low yields.

 

The name for this wine is often joked about. Some thought the wine to be so big  and heavy that your arm hardly worked after consuming a reasonable amount.  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.

 

Up until the mid 1990’s d’Arenberg Shiraz was branded as ‘Old Vine’. The onset of the red wine boom in this period saw many new labels appeared on the market branded as ‘Old Vine’. This was a great concern to both d’Arry and Chester as they didn’t feel it was appropriate or accurate so another name was sought.

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37 different wines with 169 vintages

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