A dive into the d’Arenberg range with Chester Osborn

There are now 85 different wines in the d’Arenberg range.

Compared to Treasury, Accolade et al. or even Penfolds, that’s small biccies. But for a still-family-owned McLaren Vale operation like d’Arenberg, it’s a boggling array of wines. The numbers don’t stop there – seventy artists have drawn the cartoon front labels, and a decent volume of fruit is still foot-trod every year.

As the range has grown, so has vigneron Chester Osborn’s suitcase full of trinkets, props and puppets. It sounds odd, but Chester drags this luggage around the world to help tell the weird and wonderful stories behind the label names. He’s a character of the industry, just like the labels.

What I like is that, despite all of Chester’s eccentricities (and he is genuinely excellent value), there’s an honesty that runs like a heartbeat through all the wines. The d’Arry’s Original, for instance, still tastes much the same as it did twenty years ago (and likely twenty years before that). The value that permeates through the lineup is also irrepressible – like the hearty and substantial $22 Footbolt.

What’s also unspoken when telling the d’Arenberg story is the vineyard commitment. There are now 600 acres under vine (including a huge resource of old vines), and the vineyards have been certified biodynamic since 2015. As Chester explains, it was 1997 when fertiliser was last added to the property, and sustainability is the mantra.

I often feel like d’Arenberg gets forgotten in fine wine discussions because of the playfulness. And there’s no denying the occasional rusticity (and accompanying variability) that marks the label – you can ride the wave by searching d’Arenberg on this site for evidence. Yet that is tempered by heart and soul (and a sense of humanity) that is so welcome in a world of inauthentic wine brands. I don’t know why I feel the need to defend d’Arenberg – it’s a 200,000-case winery, after all – but I often see the label underestimated.

Anyway, I’m rambling. And the whole reason for this post was that Chester (and suitcase) came to town recently, typically resplendent in a shirt from his own clothing brand. Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of wines in his bag…

Let’s take a look.

d’Arenberg Pollyanna Polly NV

Was originally named Dadd, but that caused a ruckus; now it’s Polly. Fermented with full solids and spends four years on lees, and it shows – it’s an enjoyable, leesy and complex sort of full Adelaide Hills Chard-based style. More table wine with bubbles, but quite a mouthful. 17.7/20, 92/100.

d’Arenberg The Dry Dam Riesling 2023

Sourced from low-yielding McLaren Vale vineyards and 2 Adelaide Hills vineyards. Low phenolics, even though it’s basket pressed (which is unusual for whites like this, which are more likely airbag pressed). Primary and citrus-drenched, you can see the Vale sunshine with a lime/orange/mandarin and orange cordial style. Plump and open, but clean and anything but harsh. 17.5/20, 91/100.

d’Arenberg The Dry Dam Riesling 2015

An aged release style and has plenty of silverware to its name. Yellow golden toast nose, full of yellow/golden apple citrus fruits. Low acidity (in context) and lots of flavour – the tangerine and toast. Gee, it’s a big mouthful – just a bit too much for me, but I can appreciate the intensity. 17/20, 90/100.

d’Arenberg The Sun Surfer Fiano 2023

‘Fiano is absolutely hot in McLaren Vale. Twenty-five producers, at least. The spot price for Fiano is $4k per tonne,’ says Chester. This comes from a vineyard in Blewitt Springs. that was grafted over from Merlot. D’Arenberg now has 30ha of Fiano and will be the largest grower of the variety in the Vale. ‘It’s very well suited to McLaren Vale, ’ he explains. Also, he believes that ‘everyone says that it needs a bit of skin contact for flavour’. Indeed this has a little skin contact and a small amount of barrel ferment.

Green straw. Expressive and citrussy, with a sunny, golden mandarin and lemon chalk. It’s not strictly varietal but an open sort of mandarin scented citrussy wine. 16.8/20, 89/100

d’Arenberg The Lucky Lizard Chardonnay 2020

From the coldest part of the Hills. Chester ‘looks for vineyards that look austere at full ripeness’. Chester sees passionfruit in Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, which I found interesting. Super low toast oak is part of the recipe here. Called the Lucky Lizard because the crushing is so low that the lizards fall straight through.

You can see the oak richness and a little oak weight, and the extra bottle age helps add an extra layer of width. There’s this white peach opulence and chunkiness here which is going to win friends. 17.7/20, 92/100.

d’Arenberg The Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2019

In 1992, Chester put an ad in Grapegrower & Winemaker offering $1k per tonne for small berried Grenache. Ended up with 20 grape growers offering fruit from old, neglected vineyards that survived the Vine Pull. Notably, Chester thinks that right now ‘could be the worst time in the Australian wine industry’, even compared to the dark days of Vine Pull. Also, Grenache is now the most expensive grape variety in McLaren Vale (and the Barossa).

A bit of higher tones red fruit before it gets tarry and treacly. It’s a heavy sort of red, driven by red earth and brick dust and tannin. Substantial, if just a bit drying, there is power here. 17.5/20, 91/100.

d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original 2019

In the 70s, this wine was Shiraz dominant; now it’s more like half Grenache. Earthen, brick dust and red earth, it’s so ferrous, so drying and dusty power. A bargain in context, but a formidable sort of red – I think I preferred it to the Derelict, too. 17.5/20, 91/100.

d’Arenberg d’Arry’s Original 2014

50/50 Shiraz Grenache. In a great place. It’s a black wine – leaf litter, a thick and black palate with sticky black tannins. A ridiculous bargain. Interesting to see how more complete and richer this looks compared to the more red-fruited but less full 2019 release. 17.7/20, 92/100.

d’Arenberg The Blewitt Sands District Grenache 2013

Part of a range of single vineyard Grenache wines released as ten-year-olds. This is in a great place. Coffee grinds, dark berries and leather, with a certain silk to the palate and powdery tannins. There’s this coppery dustiness but also a caramel varietal sweetness that is fruit, not oak. Lovely aged Grenache. 18/20, 93/100.

d’Arenberg The Beautiful View District Grenache 2013

Chester sees a silage character and more tannins in this wine. More limestone in the soil and picked at a lower Baume. A much more dense and less high-toned Grenache mode. Chewy, with that bitter black d’Arenberg tannins. Drying, but there’s a certain sort of cocoa powder thickness. Interesting, but I’d love to have seen this a bit younger, as it looks a little dusty now. Big powdery tannins aren’t going anywhere. 17.7/20, 92/100.

d’Arenberg The McLaren Sandhills District Grenache 2013

The most youthful nose of the line. Red fruit and violets. This is such a purple wine – chunky purple and less ironstone. Has a sort of black density to it, but this has this classic medium-bodied, aged, robust Australian red effortless earthen charm and silken profile. Great tannic presence for a Vale Grenache – it’s a real wine. 18.5/20, 94/100.

d’Arenberg The Old Bloke & The Three Young Blondes Shiraz Viognier Roussanne Marsanne 2018

15% white juice. Includes some of the best barrels of Dead Arm. A big, plump, plum essence style with darkness and plenty of alcohol. Has such a mouthful of wine to it. Dark, bitter and alcoholic, I can appreciate the depth, but this isn’t my wine – it’s just a bit overt. 17.7/20, 92/100

d’Arenberg Burgundy 1973

You can see the d’Arenberg DNA from the younger d’Arry’s Original releases. Old leather, treacle, horsehair, caramel. Still, that dark earth bitterness tannins. Caramel chews, dark leaf, black bitter edge. Man, the house style is strong! It’s more curio than grand drink, but wow. 17.5/20, 91/100.

d’Arenberg Red Burgundy 1989

Fascinating. Carries that red earth grappa thing forward. Caramel, leather. Less tannic rawness than the 73, more silk and less bitter. Entirely drinkable. Lovely! 17.7/20, 92/100.

THE VERDICT

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