Winemaker Notes
Blend: 74% Viognier, 26% Marsanne
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 The Hermit Crab Marsanne / Viognier reveals a lovely white peach, lychee, baker’s yeast and jasmine nose lifted with some white roses and allspice notes. Medium-bodied, the satiny palate shows great intensity with just enough racy acidity adding to the good length.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
I have sometimes found the d'Arenberg's The Hermit Crab a challenge to understand. After years and years of enjoying some really delicious white Rhône blends, tasting the same kind of wines from the New World have left me searching to see how they relate to their Old World cousins. This wine—a blend of mostly Viognier and some Marsanne—is McLaren Vale's version of a white Rhône blend. The vintage shows bright citrus, dried earth, and hints of fragrant flowers. The palate, a bit heavier than its French counterparts, puts it in a different space and perhaps with different meal pairings. Overall, the 2015 vintage is delightful and satisfying and pairs perfectly with a chilled Dungeness crab salad. (Tasted: March 3, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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.