Chester Osborn, the remarkable person behind this enormous array of both impeccably high quality and value-priced wines, deserves considerable accolades for what he is able to achieve at all price ranges. If you love Australian wines, d’Arenberg is a winery to seek out as these offerings all possess abundant soul as well as character. In short, the accolades that proprietor/winemaker Chester Osborn receives not only from The Wine Advocate, but virtually everybody in the wine world, are all well deserved.

 

With time the full spice, strawberry and liquorice and blackcurrants will develop with fresh pepper tails; at this stage, it is a mean monster with fragrant, gritty, fruit tannins that go on forever.

 

Eventually, the Grenache and Shiraz blossom as rich, sweet, violet-like scents, with spicy based aroma, before malty, sweet, dark chocolate flavours and crunchy, chewy textured black olive, spicy ginger and long fleshy textures. The Mourvedre adds dried herbs and iodine characters that are very persistent, matched with slightly chalky tannins.

 

The hallmark of vigorous, fine piquant tannin and acidity continue to reside with ‘The Ironstone Pressings’ after some considerable time, as have previous vintages since the late 1950’s.

 

The fruit is 100% McLaren Vale Grenache hand-picked from two very small 1910's planting's at Blewett Springs. The 2004 mild season really suited these hardy old vines with their deep roots. Medium red purple in colour.

 

The wine displays complex leather & spice bouquet with notes of cherry and prune. An elegant multi-layered palate wich has savoury herb notes with subtle berry flavours gracefully balanced with lively acidity and powder dry tannin. The seamless smooth palate finishes refreshingly dry with lingering warmth.. Shows finesse.

 

The fruit is 100% McLaren Vale Grenache hand-picked from two very small 1910's planting's at Blewett Springs. The 2004 mild season really suited these hardy old vines with their deep roots. Medium red purple in colour.

 

The wine displays complex leather & spice bouquet with notes of cherry and prune. An elegant multi-layered palate wich has savoury herb notes with subtle berry flavours gracefully balanced with lively acidity and powder dry tannin. The seamless smooth palate finishes refreshingly dry with lingering warmth.. Shows finesse.

 

Gibson's Wines is a small family owned winery nestled at the high northern end of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. A specialist producer of limited quantities of premium table wines, it is fast garnering a reputation as a reliable producer of richly flavoured and complex wine.

The Juveniles is a bold and seductive unoaked blend that represents a youthful wine made from old vines. Fruit from dry grown, low yielding vines is fermented, bottled and released early not dissimilar to a Nuevo style wine. It is fragrant, intense and concentrated in flavour with blackberry, earth and Asian spices. Sensuous palate feel and tremendous length make this wine frighteningly drinkable now, yet with a constitution to mature in the cellar for many years.

Sourced from the devigorated soils of western Seppeltsfield, Les Amis is a testament to what only the most fastidious farming can achieve - purity, intensity and finesse.

This unique parcel of Grenache, sourced from a single, old vineyard (128 years) in the hamlet of Greenock, has successfully endured eighteen months maturation in new French barriques.

The 2004 Les Amis is a direct and distinctive reflection of the 2004 Vintage – flamboyant, rich and elegant. The nose flows from lavender, violets, black cherries and squashed raspberries to liquorice and spice.

The overtly opulent palate is silky smooth, persistent and spicy, with a hint of refreshing, juicy fruit just to remind you that this is actually Grenache.

 

This unique parcel of Grenache, sourced from a single, old vineyard (128 years) in the hamlet of Greenock, has successfully endured eighteen months maturation in new French barriques.

The 2004 Les Amis is a direct and distinctive reflection of the 2004 Vintage – flamboyant, rich and elegant. The nose flows from lavender, violets, black cherries and squashed raspberries to liquorice and spice. The overtly opulent palate is silky smooth, persistent and spicy, with a hint of refreshing, juicy fruit just to remind you that this is actually Grenache.

 

The melding of the three traditional Barossa varieties creates a tremendously complex and rewarding wine. The Grenache and Mataro are from old bush vines that are pruned in the traditional ‘goblet’ style to a limited number of buds, reducing yields and promoting flavour and colour concentration. Only the free run component of the Shiraz is used in the blend to allow the Grenache identity to shine through.