d’Arenberg Galvo Garage Cabernet Blend

Description

d’Arenberg Galvo Garage is winemaker Chester Osborn’s homage to the so-called ‘garage’ (or “garagiste”) wines from Bordeaux, the home of the classic varieties used in this blend.

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.

d’Arenberg Galvo Garage is mainly a Cabernet based blend. The wine is a blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The grapes are foot trodden and basket pressed. Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to open fermenters. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation, the wine is basket pressed and transferred to a mixture of new and old French oak to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, there is no racking until final blending and no fining or filtration.

As mentioned above, Galvo Garage is named after the shed or ‘garage’ that boutique winemakers dedicated to making small-volume wines of the highest quality would work out of. They are also known as “garagistes”. These wines were often not ‘Classified’ by the governing wine authorities, yet would often the most sought after. D’Arenberg’s galvanized, corrugated ‘garage’ was built in 1927 and, to this day, houses d’Arenberg’s traditional open fermenters and 19th century basket-presses used in the handcrafting of this wine. Hence “Galvo Garage”.

With no fining or filtration d’Arenberg Galvo Garage is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.