Winemaker Notes
The bushland that surrounds the d’Arenberg winery is home to the native Australian bird, the Kookaburra, famous for its distinctive laughing call. Chester Osborn’s daughters named their two wild pet Kookaburras the “Laughing Magpies”, and as the Magpie plumage is black with a stripe of white feathers, the name has stuck and the Osborn’s thought this a great name for McLaren Vale’s first ever Shiraz (black) and Viognier (white) blend.
Blend: 93% Shiraz, 7% Viognier
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
This has a dose of viognier that adds a sheen of sweet-smelling stone fruits across more typical tarry aromas and blackberry shiraz fruits. The palate's smoothly rendered with dark plum, chocolate and licorice fruit flavors. Plush and approachable. Blend of 93% shiraz and 7% viognier. Screw cap.
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.