The red wines are all exuberantly fruity, cleanly made rich wines. Among the more limited edition offerings are several wines that represent some of d'Arenberg's finest parcels, all of which are basket-pressed. The Dead-Arm Shiraz is an old vine Shiraz cuvee that is fermented in oak barrels and raised in mostly new American oak. It is a sexy, flashy, flamboyant Shiraz that is short on restraint, but big on screaming fruit. The 1994 Dead-Arm Shiraz is similar in style to the 1995 and is just beginning to reveal licorice and tar-like scents from the additional year of bottle age. It should last for a decade.
Importer: Old Bridge Cellars (Rob McDonald), San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 863-9463