d'Arenberg The Galvo Garage 2016 (McLaren Vale)

‘Garage wines’ is a term used to describe wines that are produced in the back sheds of French winemakers, who make small batch wines of the highest quality. Our galvanised, corrugated ‘garage’ was built in 1927 and still houses the traditional equipment used in the handcrafting of this wine.

The 2016 season began well with average winter rainfall, Summer conditions were significantly warmer than average with two heatwaves through January testing the limits of the vines. Following the heatwave was rain and cool weather, which helped slow down ripening, and allowed flavour development to catch up to sugar ripeness. White wines from this vintage are fruity and very flavoursome, as are reds with ample tannin to match.

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to open fermenters. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation, the wine is basket pressed and transferred to a mixture of new and old French oak to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, there is no racking until final blending and no fining or filtration.