While I want to keep individual wine reviews at the centre of this blog, it might be interesting to occasionally get a thread going on more general NB wine related topics. If anyone wants to write a comment on a general topic, please send it to me at "NBwines /at/ gmail /dot/ com." (I'm told I should spell out my e-mail address to avoid robots etc.)
To start with, here's a comment from Ted on the d'Arenberg winery. Ted lived in Australia for a few years and is a dedicated fan of Aussie Shiraz and Aussie wine generally.
"I've had a decade of experience with d’Arenberg reds across the spectrum from their entry level wines like d'Arry's Original and the Stump Jump to their flagship, the Dead Arm Shiraz. Up until the last few years d’Arenberg made universally dependable, often exciting and sometimes superb wines. Classically Australian fruit forward but very well structured and balanced, and with layers of flavours on the nose and palate. And the d’Arenberg entry level wines (priced at the $10-$15 range in Australia) were far better value for money than similarly priced wines from the big winemakers like Lindemans, Penfolds, Rosemount and Wolf Blass. Over the last few years I think the value end of the spectrum for Australian wines has become more of a crapshoot – including d’Arenberg. That was due in large part to an expansion of new plantings on more marginal land that was in response to the boom in Australian wine exports. But I think this was even more of a problem for the other, larger, Australian winemakers through the mid 2000s – the curious mid- 80s scores for Little Penguin and Yellow Tail from WS notwithstanding. (The resulting Australian wine glut saw cleanskins from top wineries going for $3-4 a bottle. This, combined with stiffening competition from South Africa, Chile and Argentina in export markets, has hopefully brought about a market correction.) The bottom line is that given the Australian selection we have here in NB, d’Arenberg is as close to a sure thing as there is among Australian winemakers. There may well be better value from other new world wines on the shelves, and there may be occasional missteps (such as the 2003 High Trellis), but d’Arenberg remains for me a winemaker that I can count on."
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Big fan of the Galvo Garage. I hope ANBL gets a new vintage in the near future - I'm down to 2 bottles.
ReplyDeleteTed you are right about D'Arenberg being a winemaker to count on. While the Feral Fox pinot may have been another misstep, value-wise at least, other recent releases have been very impressive.
The Sticks and Stones and Twenty-Eight Road were particularily good, and always come in handy when I`m in the mood for a big wine for dessert. Unfortunately these have also gone the way of the Galvo... for now.
interesting what you say about the feral fox - i hadn't heard of it before but came across it on the north side a couple of months ago. we enjoyed it quite a lot actually, but i would like to try one of the bottles we have in the cellar in a blind tasting against some other pinots.
ReplyDeleteI agree the line-up is very good. I used to like the The Custodian which was a great Grenache, but not available at ANBL right now. I do have a couple of Dead Arms that I like alot as well.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't really about d'Arenberg, but I'm not sure where else to post this: what about Aussie Shiraz (Generally, not just d'Arenberg). I don't have any on my top 10 list, but it's not because I don't like the style. I love most vinatges of the Jacob's Creek Reserve (see my post 17 Sept). I've been exploring Italian wines lately, and a few South American Shiraz have made their appearance on this list. But what about a good Aus Shiraz? What is currently in ANBL?
ReplyDeletePepper Tree Wrattonbully Shiraz is the most remarkable Aus Shiraz I can remember having in the last few months. The only bottles left are at the Prospect Street store.
ReplyDeletespeaking of australian shiraz, a clarendon hills shiraz by oliverhills has appeared at the liquor store - priced over $50. but once again, WS savages it with a rating of 78 for the 2005, which is on the shelf. i have some experience not to take WS as gospel but yet again it appears that the dud year of what might be a promising wine is what we get the option of buying.
ReplyDeletetancred,
ReplyDeleteDon't get too outraged. Parker gave this a 94, which was better than he rated the '04 (92) or the '06(90). Readers at Cellar Tracker gave it around 92 - again better than the CT ratings for the '04 or '06. I think Harvey Steiman was just cranky that day. That's the problem with putting too much weight on one reviewer. The price isn't too exciting though, since it's available in the US for around $30-$35.
I recall very much enjoying the Feral Fox, although I can't lay my hands on a vintage or note at the moment. I like pinot a lot and would be keen to try it again.
ReplyDeleteFrom d'Arenberg, I also really enjoyed the Twentyeight Road 2005, Derelict Vineyard 2004, and Coppermine Road 2005. I wasn't nearly as keen on the High Trellis 2005 and Original 2005, which I thought were solid but not exciting. We've had other d'Arenberg wines, and my general impression is that they're almost always good, and often enough excellent to keep me buying. I don't think I've tried the Stump Jump 2006.