Source: May 2020 Week 2, The Wine Advocate; Issue Date: 15th May 2020 (RP-90)

D'Arenberg's 2016 The Wild Pixie Shiraz is co-fermented with a dollop of Roussanne. It's a dark, saturated purple wine, with toasty notes of cedar on the nose, backed by mixed berries. Medium to full-bodied, it's firmly structured, but the tannins are ripe and fine, finishing on a silky note.
Drink Date: 2020 - 2030

Source: Winemaker,

The Name
In 2006, Chester added a small parcel of Roussanne to The Stump Jump White. A wine journalist described him as a 'wild pixie' for concocting such a crazy blend. Taking that as a compliment, Chester went on to make an even more audacious blend with Roussanne, this time combining it with Shiraz.

The Vintage
The season began well with average winter rainfall, Summer conditions were significantly warmer than average with two heatwaves through January testing the limits of the vines. Following the heatwave was rain and cool weather, which helped slow down ripening, and allowed flavour development to catch up to sugar ripeness. White wines from this vintage are fruity and very flavoursome, as are reds with ample tannin to match.

The Winemaking
Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to open fermenters, where the Roussanne and Shiraz are co-fermented. Foot treading is undertakentwo thirds of the way through fermentation, the wine is basket pressed and transferred to old French oak to complete fermentation and mature. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, there is no racking until final blending and no fining or filtration.

The Characteristics
This intensely-coloured wine is big in flavour, and personality. The nose is quite closed initially, but slowly evolves to reveal white pepper, cloves and five-spice. There's masses of dark plums and mulberries, with some pretty serious tannin (thanks to the Roussanne). The finish is mouth-watering and long, with lots of spice, and lots of acidity. This wine has the depth, and structure, to age for quite some time.

Harvest dates: 13 Feb - 30 Mareb - 30 Mar
Alcohol: 14.5%
Residual sugar: 1.3 g/L
Titratable acid: 7.2
pH: 3.44
Oak maturation: 18 months
Chief Winemaker: Chester Osbornter
Senior Winemaker: Jack Walton