D’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz 2018 is a powerhouse McLaren Vale red with serious pedigree. Bold and brooding, it delivers layers of plum, blackberry, fennel seed, and balsamic-glazed meats, all wrapped in velvety tannins and deep earthiness. With a 96-point nod from James Suckling and a legacy of old vines, this vintage is rich, structured, and built to cellar—one of Australia’s benchmark Shiraz wines.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 96
Published: Mar 28, 2022

Quite expressive and exotic, with red plums, blackberries and iodine, as well as dried herbs and nori, quite fragrant spices and currants. The palate has a sleek, dense and long feel, with impressive fruit intensity, delivered in such contained and impressively composed style. This has such length and intensity with a silky texture. Old vines underpin the style here. Drink over the next decade or more. Screw cap.

Darenberg.com.au

Brooding and alluring, plum, blackberry, liquorice and spice entwine with a raft of dark, earthy notes.

Tasting Notes
Let’s get serious. Selected parcels of premium fruit from across over a century of d’Arenberg’s top vineyards are artfully blended to create this stunning Shiraz. More savoury than previous Dead Arms, the 2018 begins with dark fruits, damson plum, and lovely fennel seed twists. Rich balsamic glazed beets, roasted meats and jus give layers of complexity unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Superb balance. Slaty, persistent, mineral like tannins bring a generous framework for decades of cellaring. This is a wine of history and provenance. Highly collectable, The Dead Arm is considered by many to be one of the top Shiraz in Australia.

Winemaking
Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to five tonne headed down open fermenters. These batches remain separate until final blending. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation. The wine is then basket pressed and transferred to a mixture of new and used French oak barriques to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, there is no racking until final blending and no fining or filtration.

Behind the name
Dead Arm is a vine disease caused by the fungus Eutypa Lata that randomly affects vineyards all over the world. Often affected vines are severely pruned or replanted. One half, or an 'arm' of the vine slowly becomes reduced to dead wood. That side may be lifeless and brittle, but the grapes on the other side, while low yielding, display amazing intensity.

Points & Awards

Outstanding, Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine

96, Nick Stick, jamessuckling.com

94 Points, Winestate Magazine, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek, KI, Fleurieu & Surrounds Wine Show

93+ Points, Angus Hughson, Vinous 

92, Halliday points

92, Wine Enthusiast 

Gold Medal, The New Zealand International Wine Show 2023

92, London Wine Competition 2023

91, MaryAnn Worobiec, Wine Spectator