WTN: 2002 d'Arenberg Shiraz-Viognier

[Jean Brislance]

2002 d'Arenberg Shiraz-Viognier McLaren Vale "The Laughing Magpie" - A dark color, sort of a reddish-purple. Nose shows plenty of dark berry fruit, peppery spice, and vanilla. Flavors are very juicy, with raspberry jam, blackberry liqueur, plum, spice, black pepper, and floral notes. There is a bit of tightness initially, as the tannins are a little firm, but it is still very approachable. The finish is juicy and long. This is really delicious and fun. It is a fairly substantial wine, but it is also balanced. Overall, I liked this much better than the 2001 version. A blend of 95% Shiraz and 5% Viognier.

All the best,

Jean

[KatieLoeb]

I recently tried one of these Australian Shiraz-Viognier blends (definitely NOT this one, but my notes are at my office right now) and it was just heinous! Really tight, the little bit of floral and softening influence that should have come from the Viognier was completely overwhelmed by the big New World fruitiness of the Shiraz. It ended up smelling (and I'd imagine tasting) a bit like stale floral scented nail polish remover. Blech!

In my notes that evening I recall calling the wine "Faux Rotie".