2016 d'Arenberg "The Dead Arm" Shiraz McLaren Vale South Australia
SKU #1431189
95 points
Decanter
Cascading chocolate and plum and a herbal bitters note. Serious depth, rigorous tannins and acidity. (MJ)
(9/2019)
94 points
James Suckling
Impressive richness and depth from the outset here. The nose has rich dark-plum, chocolate and earth aromas with such poise and richness. The palate is full-bodied with saturated plums and blackberries. Long, ribbony tannins. Drink or hold. Screw cap.
(6/2019)
94 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deeply colored, intensely extracted 2016 The Dead Arm Shiraz boasts gentle cedary aromas underlain by brooding dark berries. Rich, concentrated and full-bodied, it's densely textured and packed with notes of blackberries, asphalt, black olives and dried spices. The oak is always in the background and actually adds an element of freshness to a wine that might otherwise seem heavy. The wine's considerable tannins are fine-grained and should soften nicely with age, as they already turn almost silky on the finish. Cellar this outstanding effort for 3-4 years and drink it over the next couple of decades.
(5/2020)
94 points
Wine & Spirits
The Dead Arm is Chester Osborn’s paean to his old vines struggling with eutypa, a fungus that kills one of the canes, leaving the vine to produce a more limited and concentrated crop than its siblings of similar age. He makes this in small, open-top vats, foot-treading the fermenting must, then using a basket press and a mix of new and old French and American oak barrels to finish it. Bottled without fining or filtering, it’s a potent red that tastes like McLaren—ripe with sunbaked-strawberry and fresh purple fruit flavors, bold and intense yet floral, cool and friendly. The wine’s rich tannins feel supple and gentle, the structure firmed up by acidity. This is built to age for a decade or more.
(2/2020)