Winemaker Notes
A versatile wine that can be equally enjoyed on its own, aperitif style, or with a wide range of spicy foods, white meat and seafood- focused dishes.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
After a memorable visit to the winery in 1996, I basically fell in love with the d'Arenberg wines. Two decades later, I still find the wines to be some of the world's finest. The 2015 d'Arenberg Hermit Crab is simply beautiful. The wine's aromatic notes and rewarding palate textures pair it perfectly with Dungeness crab in a ginger, onion sauce. (Tasted: May 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.