Winemaker Notes
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 savory 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 stored correctly, this wine should age for 15+ years
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Black cherries and black olives mark the nose of the 2015 The Dead Arm Shiraz, d’Arenberg’s flagship bottling. It’s a blend of older and younger vines from different sites, depending on what the fruit has to offer. Full-bodied, concentrated and firmly structured, it’s nevertheless velvety on the long finish, picking up hints of licorice and tarragon
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James Suckling
The 2015 Dead Arm is a great and formidable wine. It is packed with deeply concentrated dark-plum and blackberry aromas and flavors. There is a streak of red, spicy, smoky and meaty complexity, as well as a genius fusion of power and elegance.
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Wine Enthusiast
For fans of d’Arenberg’s full, firm style of reds, this vintage of its famed Dead Arm Shiraz won’t disappoint. Inky-hued, it finds a balance between plush black cherry and blackberry preserve fruit and cola, vanilla and woody oak derived nuances backed by peppery, damp earth undertones that add interest. The palate is a mouthful of tightly structured, spicy tannins but again they’re balanced by dark berry fruit that avoids overripeness. Classic McLaren Vale Shiraz from one of its longtime champions. Drink 2021–2034.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Known for opulent red wines with intense power and concentration, McLaren Vale is home to perhaps the most “classic” style of Australian Shiraz. Vinified on its own or in Rhône Blends, these hot-climate wines are deeply colored and high in extract with signature hints of dark chocolate and licorice. Cabernet Sauvignon is also produced in a similar style.
Whites, often made from Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc tend to be opulent and full of tropical, stone and citrus fruit.