It is often joked that a dog cannot pass a fire hydrant without stopping. A similar analogy can be made that an Australian winemaker cannot pass two wines without blending them together.
It seems almost all of the new wines coming from Down Under are blends - not just blends of the familiar varieties, but blends of wines that have never been blended together before. Strangely enough, the Aussies have put together some really delightful and interesting blends.
One of the big-time blenders is the d’Arenberg wine company located in the famous wine growing district of McLaren Vale in south central Australia. Not only do they produce new and interesting blends, they produce some of them by utilizing various wild - as well as cultivated - yeast strains for fermentation. These vintners are taking one heck of a chance. If the yeast they use does not work well, the blend is poor, or if the resultant wine is just plain rotten, there is a significant loss in investment.
Fortunately for us, the recently released d’Arenberg blends not only work, but are terrific, a giant step away from the same old standbys and an introduction to the new wine styles of the 21st century.
d’Arenberg McLaren Vale 2012 The Hermit Crab Viognier-Marsanne ($17)Once the word viognier shows up, we are very interested. We believe the viognier is one of the unsung heroes of the white wines. Combining that variety with the rarely seen marsanne was a stroke of genius. The wines were not vinified together, but fermented separately and blended just before bottling. A small portion of the viognier was fermented with the wild yeast that naturally forms on grapes and is usually killed prior to adding a known cultivated yeast variety.
We do not know if it was the wild yeast or the blend, but this wine is a knockout, an adventure into new and delightful wine flavors. Nectarines and ginger dominate the aroma, with a hint of pepper, pistachio and honey in the background. The flavor is a melding of peaches and apricot, the gift of the marsanne. For a white wine, the finish is long and about as fruity as one could wish for. As far as pairing it with food, this wine will go with almost everything, even red meats.
d’Arenberg 2009 The Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier ($29)Well, what’s in a name? The Californians have Smoking Loon, so what’s wrong with an Australian Laughing Magpie? We’ll tell you what is wrong: A red wine blended with a white wine usually results in a rose. However, in this case only 8 percent of the wine is viognier, so the color remains the deep dark garnet of a typical shiraz. Still, that little bit of viognier adds a whole new spectrum to the wine. For this wine, the shiraz and viognier were fermented together to produce a wine of character and distinction.
The aroma and flavor stress the raspberry, plum, blueberry and oak of the shiraz, but there is also a touch of elegance the viognier contributes. The flavors continue on to the finish where they rest comfortably on the palate for a long time. While this is not inexpensive, we feel it is worth every penny of its price.
d’Arenberg 2009 The Derelict Vineyard Grenache ($29) Unheard of, we have found an Australian wine they forgot to blend with another variety. Not only unblended, but the name, The Derelict, conjures up a vision of someone standing on the road side begging for money. With that slight “poke in the eye” about the wine's name, this is a fine example of a wine from this often overlooked variety.
The aroma features flowers, spice, strawberries and blueberries and a positive mineral note, which continue on to the long and beautiful finish. We believe that, despite the name, this wine is worthy of your interest.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.
