Deep garnet-brick colored, the 2002 The Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier gives notes of prunes and dried mulberry over tobacco, sandalwood, spice box and pencil lead. Open, expressive and drinking beautifully right now, the palate is very spicy with pleasant chocolate and savory flavors textured by firm velvety tannins. It finishes long with just enough freshness. Drink it now to 2016+. The d’Arenberg winery is 100 years old with a fourth generation Osbourne in charge today of this now considerable operation. Graduated from Roseworthy College in 1983, Chester was expected by his father to change things when he took over the family business. Instead he went back to tradition rather than modernizing. In the d’Arenberg vineyards there is no cultivating, fertilizing or herbicides used – Chester compares these artificial means to growing plants hydroponically. Looking to continually improve the root systems of his vines, he rarely irrigates. Average yields are 1.7 tons per acre. “2011 was actually a great year for us,” Chester informed me. “We didn’t have any problems with rot.”Importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA, www.oldbridgecellars.com

The wine’s scant 7% Viognier is really noticeable, particularly on the nose, where feminine, floral aromas pretty up black-as-night oak and plum; this reviewer found violets among the wine’s similarly dark flavors. The feel is chewy and substantial at midpalate, though a little too woody on the finish.——D.T.(5/1/2004)—— 88