Winery & Vintage Info
Dead Arm is a vine disease caused by the fungus Eutypa Lata that randomly affects vineyards all over the world. Often affected vines are severely pruned or replanted. One half, or an 'arm' of the vine slowly becomes reduced to dead wood. That side may be lifeless and brittle, but the grapes on the other side, while low yielding, display amazing intensity.
Quite a wet winter with July, August and September being way above average in rainfall. October, November and December were a little below average and January, February and March were more or less bone dry. Temperatures were mild until late January, so vines seemed to be delayed and harvest appeared like it was again going to be late. However, a few hot days and nights brought the ripening forward with slight sacrifice of acidity. The above average temperatures of February and March and the dryness made everything ripen relatively quickly. Yields appeared on the lighter side, because the heat and dry conditions did reduce them significantly, however they were still quite respectable across all varieties.
d'Arenberg's 2018 vintage of The Dead Arm Shiraz 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, there is no racking until final blending and no fining or filtration.
