d'Arenberg The Stump Jump Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2009

The nose features plum and bright red fruits with a hint of roasted meats, earth, pepper and exotic spices. The palate has some wonderful delicate fruit with blackberry joining the party. A touch of dried herbs adds a savory edge with fine, lifted tannins providing a long finish.

42% Grenache, 33% Shiraz, 25% Mourvedre. Since 1912, the Osborn family has tended the 19th-century vineyards and from 1927 made wine at d'Arenberg, their winery located near McLaren Vale, South Australia. Originally called Milton Vineyard, the estate's name was changed to d'Arenberg in 1959 by Francis d'Arenberg Osborn, universally known as "d'Arry", in honor of his mother Frances Helena d'Arenberg. Land for many of the region's old vineyards was originally cleared using the 'Stump Jump; plow, a South Australian invention which enabled the plowshare to jump over the gnarled roots of "mallee" Eucalyptus trees, saving valuable time and resources. The grapes used for this Stump Jump are from predominantly very-old bush-vine Grenache, Shiraz, and Mourvedre vines. Small parcels of grapes sourced from various vineyards were gently crushed, fermented in traditional open-tanks, basket pressed, and matured prior to bottling. It's cracking wine with sophistication—but don't worry it's still a lot of fun. In fact, the wine's label is inspired by the optometrists' eye chart, with d'Arenburg jesting that if you can read the bottom line while holding the bottle at arm's length, then you can have another glass.