d'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Shiraz Grenache 2019 (McLaren Vale)

This wine was known as 'Burgundy' until 1993, when it was renamed d'Arry's Original in honour of third generation family member Francis d'Arenberg Osborn, universally known as d'Arry, in honour of his lifelong services to the wine industry.

d'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Shiraz Grenache 2019 is made with 64% Grenache & 36% Shiraz from McLaren Vale.

Winter was quite dry, with sporadic light showers that didn’t penetrate the soil very deeply. This impacted budburst but was managed with some irrigation. During spring there was quite a strong wind event around the time of flowering, which upset some of the growth, especially in Shiraz. Summer was hot, with an extreme heat wave and a record high temperature of 46.6C, which burnt some varieties like Petit Verdot. Most other varies managed to escape unscathed, which was surprising.

Yields were down on most varieties. The quality, however, was excellent, exhibiting very varietal characteristics. Ferments had to be taken off a little earlier with higher sugar levels because of these strong tannins.

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to five tonne headed down open fermenters. These batches remain separate until final blending. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation. The wine is then basket pressed and transferred to a mixture of new and used French oak barriques to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, and there is no racking until final blending. This wine does not undertake fining or filtration prior to bottling.