d`Arenberg mixed wine case

Old Bean Truck ShirazCabernet

Deep red colour. Lifted aromatics dominated by cassis, eucalypt and mint. Concentrated palate displaying both Cabernet and Shiraz character. Earth, berry fruit and mint. Med bodied with chalky tannins.

This is a great, honest, earthy Australian red made by the Osborn family from Langhorne Creek fruit. The aromas evoke strawberries and dusty blackcurrants over red earth, baking under a blazing Aussie sun. There are hints of eucalyptus, mint and Italian Amaro. A cracking wine, and great value.

From entry level to iconic, all d’Arenberg wines have been basket pressed, reds and whites, with all red ferments foot trod during fermentation.

Walking the vineyard rows and tasting grapes, Chester Osborn classifies and determines the ideal picking time for each individual vineyard.

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed, then transferred to five tonne headed-down open fermenters, all batches remain separate until final blending. The red wines are foot trod two thirds of the way through fermentation, and then basket pressed.

d’Arenberg is one of the only wineries in Australia to basket press both white wines as well as reds, making for a labour intensive process, but the quality of the results makes this worthwhile as the action is controlled and extremely gentle.

White wines are basket pressed before fermentation to ensure no colour or tannins are extracted from the skins, and the reds are pressed afterwards. After pressing, reds are transferred to barrel to complete fermentation, and then aged on lees to slow aging and keep the wine fresh, while also reducing oak influence.

All parcels remain separate until final blending, an extensive barrel tasting process is undertaken to determine the final wine. There is no racking until final blending, and the wines do not undertake fining or filtration prior to bottling.

To find out more about the d’Arenberg winery go to https://www.darenberg.com.au/

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/darenberg/

Old Bean Truck ShirazCabernet – another great entry level wine from the d’Arenberg winery

Old Bean Truck White

A beautiful fruit driven wine with some guava, passionfruit and pieapple aromas. Gummy jube like flavours, and some toffee apple. Candy-Melon. Fresh, crisp and bright. Drink young.

Bright, fresh and light in alcohol, the Old Bean Truck white has guava, passionfruit and pineapple aromas and a slight waxy note. It has sherbet-like tingly acidity, with toffee apple and melon flavours. A straightforward, pleasurable wine, this is a McLaren Vale field blend mainly of Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, made by the Osborn family.

From entry level to iconic, all d’Arenberg wines have been basket pressed, reds and whites, with all red ferments foot trod during fermentation.

Walking the vineyard rows and tasting grapes, Chester Osborn classifies and determines the ideal picking time for each individual vineyard.

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed, then transferred to five tonne headed-down open fermenters, all batches remain separate until final blending. The red wines are foot trod two thirds of the way through fermentation, and then basket pressed.

d’Arenberg is one of the only wineries in Australia to basket press both white wines as well as reds, making for a labour intensive process, but the quality of the results makes this worthwhile as the action is controlled and extremely gentle.

White wines are basket pressed before fermentation to ensure no colour or tannins are extracted from the skins, and the reds are pressed afterwards. After pressing, reds are transferred to barrel to complete fermentation, and then aged on lees to slow aging and keep the wine fresh, while also reducing oak influence.

All parcels remain separate until final blending, an extensive barrel tasting process is undertaken to determine the final wine. There is no racking until final blending, and the wines do not undertake fining or filtration prior to bottling.

To find out more about the d’Arenberg winery go to https://www.darenberg.com.au/

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/darenberg/

Old Bean Truck White – another great entry level wine from the d’Arenberg winery

Stump Jump GSM by d’Arenberg.

It is rumoured that the inventor of the Stump Jump plough, which enabled a ploughshare to jump over tree roots, had poor eyesight and required regular tests to ensure he could still operate machinery. The design of this label is inspired by an optometrist’s eyechart and serves as a makeshift sobriety test. If you can hold the bottle at arm’s length and still read the front label, you can enjoy another glass.

A wine whose price tag belies its complexity and structure. From raspberry and rhubarb to cedar and soot. Aromas jump unimpeded from the glass. The medium weighted palate is similarly expressive, its impressive array of fruit given lift and vibrancy by an equally scintillating line of acidity. Towards the finish, chalky tannins sweep across the tongue, adding savouriness and crunch. Bright Grenache, earthy Shiraz and spicy Mourvedre marry harmoniously in this ever popular GSM.

A warm and dry spring and summer followed by further dry conditions throughout harvest meant a number of things. Firstly disease pressure was negligible, the vast majority of fruit being very clean. Secondly yields were down. Finally ripening happened relatively quickly. From a quality perspective in regards to reds, these conditions produced wines of incredible colour and flavour. Dark, brooding wines with great volumes of fruit and layers of chewy, velvety tannin structure. Big, concentrated wines but beautifully balanced.

The grapes used in this wine are mostly from very old bush vines, and underwent gentle crushing, traditional open tank fermentation, basket pressing and oak maturation prior to bottling.

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/darenberg/

For more information on the winery go to https://www.darenberg.com.au/

Stump Jump GSM – Another great wine from this great first family of winemakers in Maclaren Vale. Enjoy now or in the next 5 years

The Custodian Grenache by d’Arenberg produced in McLaren Vale.

During the vine pull scheme in the 80’s, d’Arry Osborn refused to remove his old grenache vineyards. Today d’Arenberg is the keeper of nearly one third of McLaren Vale’s old bush vine grenache, earning the title of ‘Custodian’ of the variety

d’Arenberg see themselves as the champions of this variety in the McLaren Vale. They continue to reap the benefits from their block of old vines (the oldest approaching their 120th season) producing modest quantities of small, highly flavoured grapes. The resultant wines being full and intense of great fruit flavours and finely grained fruit and oak tannins. These old vines continue to produce this full and intense wine.

When Grenache is good you know it straight away. This Custodian shows its class from the very first glimpse of bright crimson in the glass. The nose is packed with enticing fresh red fruit characters of raspberry, cherry, and even pomegranate. This wine punches well above its price class with fresh fruit dominating. Let it sit and breath though and complex notes of sooty black earth, coal dust, and cracked fennel seed begin to reveal themselves. With time the palate also evolves from those initial fresh red fruit characters into a darker brooding blackberry and Kalamata olive skin spectrum. The wine maintains its focus and drive on a long lingering palate held poised by a tight rhubarb-like acid line. The fine line is further supported by structured powdery lively tannin. This is really good Grenache, from first sight to final si

The 2014 Custodian is a jewel of a wine that is perfectly balanced and harmonious. The first look suggests an enticing simplicity displaying primary fruit characters of mulberry, blueberry and plum. Deeper inspection however starts to reveal more complex layers, conjuring images of aniseed, fennel and coriander seed. The palate is warm and juicy. The sweet and savoury fruits are laced by fine silken tannins which lead to a super persistent finish, again displaying a delightful fruitiness, accompanied by more savoury, cedary, baking spice like notes. Simply put, The Custodian Grenache is liquid velvet.

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/darenberg/

For more information on the winery go to https://www.darenberg.com.au/

d’Arenberg Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne, a white blend from this great winery.

Many of McLaren Vale’s vineyards are on free-draining soils underlain with limestone, formed by the calcareous remains of the local marine fauna. One such creature was the Hermit Crab, a reclusive little crustacean that inhabits the cast-off shells of others. The Osborn family thought the name appropriate for this, McLaren Vale’s first ever blend of Viognier and Marsanne. “Hermit” is also an abbreviation for the French appellation of Hermitage, where the Marsanne grape variety dominates.

Wonderfully aromatic and covers a broad spectrum of characters from white stone fruits and citrus through to ginger, spice and raw nuts. The palate is equally as giving with good fruit generosity, well etched, crisp acidity and a super fine grapefruit pith like phenolic tail. The overall combination of these features deliver a fruit driven wine that tails off to a long, savoury and mouth-watering finish. 

d’Arenberg Hermit Crab Viognier Marsanne is 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.

This is a wine that really does offer something for a large array of individuals, from someone purely interested in a nice drink to those seeking to explore the nuances of these “alternate” varieties. The Viognier certainly takes centre stage on the nose in the guise of stone fruits, candied ginger and florals. In the background for those keen on honing their senses, Marsanne adds slightly more exotic notes of green mango, hay and almond. The palate has a lovely medium bodied weight to it, without any of that oiliness that over ripe Viognier can deliver. Precise acid throughout and a mild pithy texture on the finish ensure freshness and spice to keep the sweetness of the fruit in check. Fruity and spicy yet dry make this an all occasions wine.

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/darenberg/

For more information on the winery go to https://www.darenberg.com.au/

Olive Grove Chardonnay by d’Arenberg

Olive Grove Chardonnay ticks so many boxes. Richness and generosity of fruit from the McLaren Vale component. Think ripe yellow peach, quince and melons. The Adelaide Hills fruit offers up crisp Granny Smith apples and oyster shell notes whilst delivering finesse and length to the mouthfeel. Deftly handled French oak ties it all in together, adding texture and complexity along with subtle hints of spice, roasted nuts and brioche. The complete package, drinking well in youth but with the promise of more to come.

The wine’s name comes from the many olive trees around the vineyard. Since European settlement in the 1840’s, olive trees have thrived in McLaren Vale. They are alongside roads, in gardens and occasionally, in the middle of our Chardonnay vineyards blocking our harvester!

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed, chilled, and then basket pressed. To add complexity and mouthfeel the wine is fermented and matured in a mixture of French and American oak for seven months.

A healthy winter and plenty of spring rains set the vines up very well. Bud burst was on time, but very cool for the first part of spring. Shoots grew to 5 or 6 inches long and then stopped for a month. Flowering was quite late, by three weeks, which meant a late start to harvest, and long, slow ripening periods. The summer rains stopped in mid-January, so disease pressure was low. It was very dry from February to April, with only a few millimetres of rain. Days were mild with a lot of cool nights, the first few weeks of April was around two degrees hotter than usual, which help that last bits of fruit to ripen. Overall, a great vintage with minimal disease pressure and above average crop levels.

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/darenberg/

For more information on the winery go to https://www.darenberg.com.au/