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.
Winter was quite dry, with sporadic light showers that didn’t penetrate the soil very deeply. This impacted bud-burst 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.
d'Arenberg's 2019 vintage of The Dead Arm Shiraz saw small batches of grapes 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.
While enjoyable in youth, this wine will reach its full potential with bottle age up to at least 20 years. The considerable structure and depth will ensure that the fruit characters will develop over time revealing more complexity and providing immense interest. This wine is best stored in an environment free of direct sunlight and with consistent temperatures between 10°C and 15°C.
