D’Arenberg Fortified Shiraz is a fortified red wine made in Australia by Chester Osbourn at D’Arenberg. It is made from 100% Shiraz and is made in the same way as a Port wine from Portugal would be. Obviously D’Arenberg Fortified Shiraz can’t be called a Port as it does not come from the Douro wine growing region of Portugal.
Please note that D’Arenberg Fortified Shiraz is no longer available in half bottles, but bottles are available to buy here.
D’Arenberg Fortified Shiraz is made from Shiraz grapes sourced from the McLaren Vale wine-growing region and is only ever made from grapes from a single vintage. Some of the previous vintages have contained a small percentage of Chambourcin grapes in the blend. About half way through the ferment the grapes are basket pressed and fermentation is stopped by adding grape brandy to the fermenting juice i.e fortifying the wine. Stopping the fermentation early means that the wine retains a lot of sugars that would normally be used up by yeast during fermentation thereby conserving the natural sweetness in the wine. The resulting fortified red wine is not aged in any oak and is bottled straight away. It will develop nicely in the bottle as the wine and spirit continue to integrate and co-mingle.
D’Arenberg Fortified Shiraz is a very versatile wine. It can be served like a dessert wine or Port wine at the end of the meal and is great with mature hard cheese and some blue cheeses. It is also great with high cocoa solid dark chocolate and chocolate desserts as the natural chocolate flavours of the Shiraz complement the chocolate.
If you like this wine, another wine to track down is the Alto Estate Fine Old Vintage – a similar fortified red wine from South Africa, as well as any Port wine of course.
