At a time when Grenache was considered un-fashionable Chester Osborn maintained a vigilant search for old vine McLaren Vale Grenache vineyards, showing faith in a variety that has been central to d’Arenberg since the very beginning. His search unveiled a number of old bush vine and poorly maintained trellised vineyards in various states of disrepair. Many of these ‘derelict’ vineyards were overgrown with native grasses and bracken ferns and weren’t being used for grape production - one was even being used to graze horses! Restoring these vineyards has been a time consuming labour of love, and while they still have a slightly dishevelled appearance they are back producing very low yields of exceptional fruit.

The nose, as would be expected in a cooler year, is teeming with red fruits and florals. Raspberry and cherry with a hint rose and violet. The true giveaways to the vintage however, lie in the distinct white pepper and spice notes .

The palate follows suit with bright red fruit and spice. This is not a particularly fleshy Grenache but the flavours remain concentrated and are driven along by a wave of vibrant acidity and minerally tannins. Different subtleties of flavour become apparent on the lengthy finish. This all leads to a wine that is pretty and refined but with an underlying sense of muscle. This is an intense, structured Grenache worthy of ageing to build upon its already complex character. Decanting prior to serving will allow this wine to open, cellaring over the next 10 to 15 years will reward the patient.

There was ample winter and spring rain which provided good sub soil moisture and resulted in healthy canopies and good vigour. Summer conditions were very mild. Grapes ripened gracefully with only a few small rain episodes, enough to keep the vines fresh and vibrant. Rainfall was only a little over average for the first months of the year.