d’Arenberg The Love Grass Shiraz – Big, Fruity And Savory With a Touch of Bacon

85% Shiraz, 5% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Viognier and 2% Tempranillo from McLaren Vale, Australia.

This wine has an SRP of $19 but is available for as low as $15. Sample received courtesy Old Bridge Cellars for review purposes.

From the bottle:

“Since 1912, four generations of the Osborn family have tended the 19th century vineyards surrounding d’Arenberg, their winery in McLaren Vale, South Australia. A wild grass, the Lovegrass, often grows in the vineyards surrounding the winery. During vintage, the sticky, Velcro-like, long stemmed flowers of the Lovegrass affectionately attach themselves to the vineyards workers’ socks. They even get caught in Coco, the winery dog’s coat and have yet to be brushed out by chief winemaker, Chester Osborn. This Shiraz will linger with you in much the same way as the sticky flowers do and, as such, the family thought it fitting to name this wine ‘The Lovegrass’. Concentrated Shiraz grapes were gently crushed followed by fermentation in d’Arenberg’s headed down open fermenters (where the traditional foot treading in water clad feet takes place). The juice and skins were then basket pressed using our 19th century presses into American and French oak for twelve months maturation. Natural minimum processing ensures maximum flavour which may result in a harmless deposit in, and adhering to, the bottle.

14.5% Alcohol”

Everybody loves bacon, right? It seems like just about everything has been “baconized” nowadays…Bacon Soap, Bacon Band-aids, Bacon Toothpaste, Bacon Salt…so why not wine? (Actually I’m genuinely surprised this hasn’t been done.) This is definitely not a “bacon” wine; however, but it does have just a touch of bacon flavor to it. Read on…

When I started to jot down my tasting notes for the 2008 d’Arenberg The Love Grass Shiraz I found myself writing things like: Big. Fruity. Savory. Smooth. I could go on, but let’s just say this wine is darn good. It begins with aromas of red fruit, spice, cinnamon, and believe it or not, a touch of bacon or smoked meat. Tasting the wine, it starts fruity with flavors of plum, blackberry and raspberry. After that black pepper and spice take over, which then resolve into some lasting berry flavors and finally even some chocolate notes that linger in the mouth. Excellent. Give this one a bit of time to open up and you will be rewarded for it.

See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.

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