2016 d’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz

2016 is shaping as a great year for McLaren Vale Shiraz with the iconic release of the Dead Arm from d’Arenberg yet another reference point. The Dead Arm is consistently a brooding number in its youth with tightly bound dark fruits that soften and evolve with time.

An inky but youthful dark red in the glass, the nose shows tightly held blackberry and dark cherry alongside bramble and clay; sweeter oak adds richness.

The wine is defined by its taut but drying backbone of tannin and juicy acidity that has graphite and earth on full show. Fruit has a savouriness but above all concentration with blackberry and plum shining through with prodigious length to finish.

Bury this in your cellar for decades.