96 points,

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, January 2000

Year in and year out d'Arenberg's finest cuvee is their spectacular Shiraz made from 100+ year old, head-pruned vines. It is an exquisite, multi-dimensional wine that is sure to make a formidable impression with readers. It is aged in 100% new oak, tipping the scales at a whopping 14.9% alcohol, yet has a glorious level of fruit and extract. The full-bodied, port-like 1996 Dead Arm Shiraz displays scents of black fruits, prunes, licorice, and pepper. Thick, rich, and unctuously-textured, this is a dazzling old vine Shiraz that can be drunk now, or cellared for 15-20 years. Importer: Old Bridge Cellars (Rob McDonald), San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 863-9463

92 points,

Stephen Tanzer's IWC, July 1998

Very good dark ruby. Perfumed aromas of black raspberry, cherry, cassis, iron, minerals and spices. Sweet, dense and fat, with outstanding concentration; has a creamy old-viney texture and powerful underlying structure. Finishes subtly spicy and very long, with the ripe tannins buried under fruit. Very impressive shiraz.

92 points,

Wine Spectator, August 1998

Jammed with flavor; a jazzy mouthful of black cherry, blackberry, beet and anise, nicely wrapped in a light veil of tannin. Flavors burst from this wine, exploding with richness and depth.

About Winery

One of the undisputed kings of Australian Shiraz and Rhone varietals. With vineyards over 100 years old and utilizing minimal handling techniques that include the use of 19th century basket presses (for both white and red wines), foot treading and small batch fermentations, the range displays incredible depth, from the flagship Icon's right through to the entry level "The Stump Jump's". Owned by the same family since its founding in 1912 - four generations of learning have provided current Chief Winemaker, Chester Osborn, with an intimate knowledge of his vineyards (now totaling over 270 acres). One of Australia's greatest producers of old vine shiraz and grenache - one of the few wineries to boast vineyards that are over 100 years old - provides the estate with fruit of incredible intensity. A pioneer of McLaren Vale - over the decades d'Arenberg has introduced many wines that have become defining styles for the region and today remains an industry innovator, championing such varieties as viognier, marsanne and roussanne. Unique fruit handling procedures - d'Arenberg is perhaps the only Australian winery to utilize nineteenth century basket presses in making all of its wines (both white and red) - this provides extremely gentle pressing and avoids excessive extraction. Their crushing techniques are so gentle that the odd lizard that gets caught up in the receival bins actually survive! Foot treading (in rubber waders!) of the red varieties is a time honored practice at d'Arenberg.

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