Winemaker Notes
After time in bottle the d'Arenberg's Dead Arm gains a biscuity, cinnamon, caramel and eucalyptus based bouquet on top of rich blackberry pie smells. Tobacco, mushrooms, malt, and earth aromas play a part on the long, elegant fleshy, chocolate mint flavours. Restrained tannin and acidity coupled with rich alcohol, produce a seamless, peppery, velvety rolling length.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the most backward wines included in the June tasting, this 1998 needs another 4-5 years to reach full maturity. Everything is here, including a dense ruby/purple color, and subtle but impressive notes of damp earth, roasted meats, herbs, spice box, pepper, and black fruits. Tannic, full-bodied, and youthful, it is capable of lasting another 25-30 years.
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Wine & Spirits
No tasting notes given.
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Wine Spectator
This is a round, generous Shiraz that's packed with layers of flavor, offering ripe berry, plum, exotic spices and a touch of mint as the long finish unfurls. Can go decades in the cellar.
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.