I have a massive work week with one of my deals having very high stakes on a number of levels. So it's only proper that I match the timing with a massive wine to wind down with the family on what is likely to be the only night I will make it home at a sensible hour this week. I open the Langtons 10 Year Reflection pack I have just acquired (see above), and instinctively grabbed the
D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz 2005. What a wine in its prime:
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On Vivino I have just reported:
http://www.vivino.com/wines/1161826
"An Aussie icon, and 4.4 from me. I snagged one of 40 limited edition 10 Year Reflection - Best of 2005 Classified Mixed Variety packs from Langtons. And this was in it. It has an austere, aged premium nose: it's sweet, bright, meaty and slightly leathery. The palate is just right, balancing powerful plum and red berry fruit flavours with some well defined secondary meaty, lavender, leather and peppery ageing characteristics. At 10 yrs, it still packs a power punch, but with such finesse. Perfect right now."
That's
4.4 stars out of 5 from me.
It's not everyday you get to experience such a prestigious, limited run, handmade wine. And I am very thankful that I did.
Wozza, nothing quite like treating yourself to something special. Now mate, the rest of us luddites would be perfectly happy to have gone out and purchased one, yes a single bottle of your exemplary mix, to satisfy our indulgences but not you Wozza. Go hard or go home. Good luck to you as these wines are not just good, they are amazingly good.
But now you are feeling a little sad that the essential six are gone. Nil desperandum. Put some plastic fantastic to great use and get the team back together, albeit with a younger brother. Cheers, catch up soon.
[h=1]2006 d'Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz Museum Release[/h]McLaren Vale, South Australia, AUSTRALIA
98
Cellar: 4 - 5 years (2019-2020) ABV: 14.50% Closure: Stelvin
[h=2]More Views[/h]
Winemaker Chester Osborn has a clear winemaking philosophy that's expressed in the Dead Arm Shiraz:
'I aim to make loudest, most flowery fragrant and most fruit-flavoured wines that have great palate texture and are free of excess oak. I look for tannins that are long, lively, gritty and youthful with fragrant fruit-mineral notes… One other focus is to make a wine that is not going to go too earthy or bitumen - tarry with age. Some producers make wines that have oodles of fruit; they’re ripe, rich and gutsy, but in a few years these wines may show inherent problems from their production. That is fat, blousy, and chocolate and tar with short palate life.(sounds like my mum in law after a night of the dunhills and a couple blocks of Cadbury dairy milk) This is also the opposite of what we aim to produce.'
A magnificent Dead Arm!
Re-tasted 20/05/2015:
Totally opaque impenetrable inky black core with a deep very dark red black tinged hue. The nose offers up an intense aromatic profile of ripe dark plums, liquorice and dark chocolate over some vanillin oak, light leather and spicy pepper end notes. Powerful, opulently fruited and plushly textured the palate possesses a rich flavour profile of ripe blackberries, dark plum and liquorice followed by a trace of dark chocolate, vanillin oak, a touch of leather and spice. Superb depth and concentration with very polished, silky smooth tannins. Exceptionally long aftertaste of ripe blackberries, liquorice, subtle dark chocolate, vanillin oak, a touch of leather and spice. A very impressive Dead Arm that is maturing beautifully.
Drink over the next 4-5 years.
Alc 14.5%
First Tasted August 2008:
Opaque black purple colour with black purple hue, showing excellent cling to the glass. Superb nose of violets, confectionary, blackberry, vanilla and cedar followed by end notes of liquorice and toasted oak. Mouthfilling palate, displaying classic McLaren Vale 'joosy' character. Flavours of liquorice, black pepper and spice supported by fine grained tannins. Excellent balance. Exceptionally long aftertaste of vanilla, confectionary, spice and black pepper.
99 points
Cellar 5-8 years (2013-2016)
Alc/Vol: 14.5%
Stelvin
Other Reviews......
D’Arenberg’s flagship is the 2006 The Dead Arm Shiraz. Opaque purple-colored, the nose is reticent but gives up aromas of meat, bacon, game, truffles, blueberry, and blackberry. Firm, layered, and complex, this beautifully rendered Shiraz demands a decade of cellaring. It will be superb from 2018 to 2036.
95+ points
Dr Jay Miller - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
The Pink Panther theme song just resonates in me, Deadarm, deadarm , deadarm deadarm deadarm deadarm deadarrrrrrrrrrr
The last drop disappeared about 4 hours after opening.
