#260 Red Stripes

OK, secret time.  The first wine that I bought to cellar was a d’Arenberg Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was in 2001 and my late friend, and then assistant manager, Duncan said that I’d ‘get’ this wine as it was new world, easy to understand and was big and sweet.  Then I discovered Bordeaux and returned that bottle and bought a bottle of Ducru Beaucaillou with the credit and a bit more cash.  And so my love affair with the orange labeled St Julien was born, simply because I liked the orange label and had £20 credit to put to the price of a £50 bottle of wine.

And that is where my relationship with d’Arenberg pretty much ended.  Sure, there were a few tastings where our paths crossed, and I remember that the Red and White Ochre that d’Arenberg made getting reasonable Parker points once, but most of the time I just ignored the wines with the red stripe on the label.

So I decided to take a look at a few of d’Arenberg’s stranger wines.  I didn’t need to try their Shiraz or Cabernets as there are hundreds of similar wines at similar price points.  But I thought I’d take a look at what this large producer is doing with Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Mourvedre.  These wines are the harder sells, the wines that only specialists can really sell, and if it was some unknown small producer, even the best specialist might struggle with these grapes from Oz.  But by having the distinctive red stripe down the label makes the selling of these wines a bit easier as it is a recognized brand.  I popped the corks…. Wait, no I didn’t, I unscrewed them as they are under Stelvin.  And that was my first problem.

These wines were all SO dumb when you opened and poured them.  I know that any serious wine person will let them breathe, but a lot of people who will buy these won’t.  And maybe this is a problem with screwcaps.  They may keep them fresh and ‘as the winemaker wants them’ but the first sniff of this wine just totally numbed and dull.  I obviously then started sloshing the wines around in the glass like a madman, giving these freshly trapped wines some air, and they improved dramatically.  This is what I found.

2005 d’Arenberg The Sticks & Stones Tempranillo Grenache Shiraz (McLaren Vale) £15

Rich aroma of cherry fruit, a lot of mint and herbs, with a little black pepper and chocolate.  A little fruit pie on the finish.  Palate is restrained, a bit of fresh fruit, but a lot of burnt meat juice, black pepper, rubber and some dried leaves.  Very woody.  OK, but a bit too much bang, and not enough bucks.  6.5/10

2006 d’Arenberg The Galvo Garage Cab Sauv Merlot Petit Verdot Cab Franc (McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills) £15

Rich, perfumey aroma, lots and lots of sweet fruit, brambles, some cassis and a little bit of violets.  Kinda reminds me of every sodding overly sweet Australian wine I’ve ever tried, but with just a little bit of sophistication.  Palate is ok, a bit sweet, a bit oaky, but with a bit of depth and veg coming through.  Some nice leathery tannins, a bit of cocoa and not a horrific alcohol burn that you’d expect from an Aussie at 14.5% (and the rest) alcohol.  Not bad for a Bordeaux blend.  7.5/10

2007 d’Arenberg The Twenty Eight Road Mourvedre (McLaren Vale) £17

Perfumed.  Nice floral aromas, some red berries and just a hint of cinnamon coming off the nose.  Very gentle all the way through.  Palate is soft, gentle spice, crunchy red fruits and with some savoury notes.  Quite a light wine, with stoney elements, nice cherry stone and plum skin flavours.  Finish is quite long, and tasty enough.  I just wish it had a bit of character.  It feels as though the winemaker is just being a little too safe with this wine, and not allowing himself to make a really interesting wine.  7.5/10

They are good wines, well made, just not particularly inspiring products.  I just wish that they had grabbed me a bit more.