Ben says
★★ Great Wine “This deeply coloured red has a strong nose of black cherry, cocoa, clove and vanilla. Then, behind the jammy brashness, are ripe blueberry and mint aromas. It’s fruit-first but the oak is firmly there adding structure. This character follows through on the palate, which mixes berries, chocolate and toast together into a surprisingly juicy palate with a peppery finish. The wine’s well balanced and good quality – it probably has a few years left in it as well.“
KEY POINTS
Grenache and Syrah blend with 14.5% abv. Crushed into open fermenters and foot-trodden during fermentation. It is then basket-pressed and transferred to oak barrels, both French and American, to finish fermentation before ageing on lees. The wine is then bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Grown in: McLaren Vale, AUSTRALIA.
Food Pairing
Anything with gravy! Steak and kidney pie and mash, or sausages and mash for a classic, would be an ideal pairing. The wine will pair very well with BBQ grub as well, especially with a good smoky char on it. You could also go for a board of pongy, mature cheese and it’ll stand up nicely.
Disclosure & Price
Tasted blind during an MW study club. Find in the UK for circa £17.00 from N D John Wine Merchants.
Reviewed and tasted: 06/08/2024
About the Producer
d’Arry’s Original, released four decades ago, is named after the principal Francis ‘d’Arry’ d’Arenberg Osborn and is still made with the original Grenache-Shiraz blend. d’Arenberg was founded in Australia’s McLaren Vale wine growing region in 1912 and is known for its basket-pressed wines, a traditional pressing method the winery still uses today.
