d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz

Description

d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz is d’Arenberg’s flagship red wine, their top Shiraz and an Australian icon. Why is it called Dead Arm Shiraz? This wine is named after a vine disease called Eutypa Lata which is commonly known as “dead arm.” This disease causes one side of the vine to become lifeless and “dead,” while the other side continues to produce fruit. This results in the production of very concentrated and intensely flavoured grapes.

D’Arenberg is one most iconic of Australian wineries and certainly one of the famous in the McLaren Vale wine-growing region. The company was founded by Cornish-born, Joseph Osborn. Osborn’s parents emigrated to Australia in the 1850s and Joseph went on to become a well-known Australian Rules footballer, co-founding Norwood Football Club along the way. Eventually, he would become a partner in Thomas Hardy Limited, a local politician and became involved in horse racing before buying what would become the d’Arenberg estate in 1912. Today the estate is in the hands of the fourth-generation, winemaker Chester Osborne. The company is known for their iconic red-striped label and quirky wine names such as Dead Arm, Laughing Magpie and Stump Jump.

The estate is famous for its top quality, premium red wines made from classic Australian grape varieties like Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache; however, they also have some more unusual planting of Mediterranean and Rhone varieties including Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Vermentino, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. The McLaren vale, located some 45 minutes south of Adelaide is perfect for grape growing with a Mediterranean climate, huge diversity of soil types and proximity to the ocean with the resultant cooling sea breezes. Minimal intervention is the keyword in the winery where the individual vineyard site’s character is allowed to shine through. Classic vinification methods are used such as open top vat fermentation, foot treading and basket pressing. All d’Arenberg estate-owned and leased vineyards are NASAA Certified for organic and biodynamic processes. d’Arenberg are members of Australia’s First Families of Wine.

The grapes for the d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz come from some of the estate’s oldest vineyards. Small batches of Shiraz grapes are gently crushed and vinified separately until the final blending. The grapes are foot trodden two thirds of the way through fermentation. The wine is then finally basket pressed, which is gentle in the skins, and then transferred to a mixture of new and used French and old American oak barriques to complete fermentation. The wine is then aged on lees for 18 months and there is no racking until final blending and no fining or filtration.

d’Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.