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  • Country ranking ?

    185
  • Producer ranking ?

    12
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    fresh Garden Corn and Tomato Salad

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This iconic wine always displays the power and intensity of McLaren Vale Shiraz, yet has an elegance and refinement that few other wines from the region possess. It’s vibrant and lifted on the nose with bustling red fruits and savoury spice. The palate is long, linear and pure with tightly wound tannin and mouth-watering acidity. Beneath the layers of blueberry, pomegranate and Satsuma Plum is an intriguing core of earth and crushed rocks. If ...

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The Story

The 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 Characteristics

A classic Dead Arm in every sense o...

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Wine Information

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to five tonne headed down open fermenters. These batches remain separate until final blending. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation. The wine is then basket pressed and transferred to a mixture of new and used French and old American oak barriques to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, there is no racking until final blend...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

There’s been a palpable style change for d’Arenberg in recent years. More fruit vibrancy and less tannic heartiness. Still, the winemaking is deliberately hands-off with minimal racking, foot treading and no fining or filtration. An instantly ripe and chunky style, this feels dense and packs in many layers of fruit. For all the push towards boldness, however, the slightly tart style and general absence of new oak is a surprise. There’s no doubting the fruit concentration, but it feels just a little bit lighter and less expansive than previous vintages. More polish, less grunt. That said, a genuinely nice drink and I love the hints of bacon fat and smoke, still complete with that d’Arenberg tannin grip. Good. Best drinking: Definitely better in 2-3 years. 17.7/20, 92/100. 14.4%, $70. Would I buy it? Just a glass.

  • 92p

Dead Arm, d'Arenberg and McLaren Vale. Each integral to the other. Rich, a touch figgy, heady and a mix of dark black fruit that emanates from glass. 

Black fruits, sweeter accents on entry, tannin that resolves to something fine and yet gravelly. Black olive, hints of Mediterranean herb. It's a dark mix with elements of dark chocolate on the finish. A line of acidity gives excellent length. One for the trophy room! 93 

  • 93p
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Information

Origin

McLaren Vale, South Australia

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