The UnCorker

Monsters!!!!!!!

Monsters!!!!!! Huge Teeth Staining Monsters!!!!!

Some wines are like love notes, delivered from across the seas, others like post-it notes on the fridge- still others are like like gruesome horror films, powerful in their ability to hold our attention, yet monstrous in conception, overwhelming and bloody.  We at The UnCorker were struck this week by the similarity of two wholly disparate wines that, like a horror film, repelled and held us bound in equal measure. Like a Hollywood film, these wines have glossy production values, lots of style and no substance.

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2005 d’Arenberg Grenache The Derelict Vineyard McLaren Vale

From one of Australia’s most venerable producers, this Grenache comes from a a vineyard that had been planted in the 1960’s, but had fallen into disuse; neglected and used as a horse paddock for over two decades, d’Arenberg has slowly reclaimed the vineyard, and the result is this lovely Grenache. The 2005 jumps out of the glass with a lifted aroma of juicy berries and vanilla and follows with a concentrated blast of dark voluptuous fruit and savory spices- this is juicy and beguiling stuff, at once fresh and young, but also dense and chewy-really shows what a bit of age can do for the vines. Spends time in 1-3 year old American oak barriques. Drinking well right now, it would be great to cellar a case and drink it over the next few years just to see how it unfolds- a tremendous value.