I hate to kick a brand, but tasting through the d’Arenberg lineup is a frustrating exercise. I love Chester Osborn’s endless enthusiasm (you can get a taste of that here), the fun labels, the interesting blends and the quiet attention to vineyards. But I also curse the up-and-down ride through the range. As an example, this d’Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings GSM 2019 is a head-scratcher – a red released with bottle age but already tastes tired. It’s thick, soupy and hard, with the ferrous tannins and ironstone grip overwhelming the charm of the dark, molasses and black tea fruit (Mrs Ozwinereview eloquently called this is a ‘chewable’ wine). Yes, I know this has always been big, unashamedly tannic, and it is long. But it also shows every bit of its 15% alcohol and tastes like a ten-year-old wine rather than a five-year-old, and ultimately it underwhelms given the ambition and pricetag.
- Best drinking: now
- Score (out of 20): 16.5
- Score (out of 100): 88
- Alcohol %: 15
- RRP (in $AUD): 75
- Winery website: https://www.darenberg.com.au/
- Would I buy it?: no
THE VERDICT
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3 Comments
That’s a very generous score for this wine
I gave up bothering with dÁrenburg some time ago for exactly your reasoning – never sure of what you were going to get – and certainly price was no indication
I’ve not had a whole lot of experience with d’Arenberg wines and certainly with none of the plethora of new offerings. However, I have had lovely older bottles of their early core range like the Custodian Grenache and d’Arry’s Original. The 1992 d’Arry’s was famous in my circle for a batch of 1992 bottles that the local importer found in a small rural town. I heard all about this glorious wine long before I finally got to taste it when it was about two decades old. Then there was the 1996 Custodian that I picked up in London. At about 15 years of age it was absolutely delightful.
I have no experience with the Ironstone Pressings but do have a 2000 vintage somewhere in the collection but don’t feel a pressing need to open it anytime soon (pardon the pun). Of course one can’t flirt with d’Arenberg without putting away a Dead Arm Shiraz and indeed I have a pair of 2004s tucked away.