Winemaker Notes
The youthful palate is immediately luscious with those tropical fruit, honeysuckle and stone fruit flavors balanced by fresh grapefruit and light butter tastes, before a long, persistent fruit finish. The wine shows vibrant freshness with enjoyable hints of hazelnut and slight mineral boney-ness, characteristic of Marsanne.
Given time to prove its longevity and most importantly not served over chilled, The Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne should develop intense, complex nuttiness with emphasis on cashews, as well as butterscotch characters.
Drink now or cellar for 2-5 years with a large range of foods from lightly flavored, through to full flavoured poultry, veal, lamb and pork as well as desserts and cheeses. Also good as an aperitif.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 The Hermit Crab is a blend of 58% Viognier and 42% Marsanne. It received a dollop of oak for a rounder texture. The alluring aromatics offer floral notes, candle wax, and pit fruits. Smooth-textured and ripe, the wine also has excellent depth and length. Enjoy it over the next 1-2 years. The d’Arenberg portfolio is loaded with values. The winery works with over 140 growers to fashion their superb blends.
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Wine Spectator
Shows the aromatics of Viognier, with a drier, less silky palate, lending an exciting raw feel to the pear, apricot and spice flavors.
Full-bodied and flavorful, white Rhône blends originate from France’s Rhône Valley. Today these blends are also becoming popular in other regions. Typically some combination of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier form the basis of a white Rhône blend with varying degrees of flexibility depending on the exact appellation. Somm Secret—In the Northern Rhône, blends of Marsanne and Roussanne are common but the south retains more variety. Marsanne, Roussanne as well as Bourboulenc, Clairette, Picpoul and Ugni Blanc are typical.
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.