d'Arenberg "the Dead Arm" shiraz '16 + Laughing Magpie shiraz-viognier '14

2 superb wines from one of Australia's best wine mysteries: the cult wine Dead Arm + Magpie, the first Cote Rotie clone from the New World.
Dead Arm: Outstanding / Langton's Classification, Ratings for 2016: 94p / Parker, 94p + Best of the Year McLaren Vale / Wine & Spirits, 5 Stars / Winestate, Mainfreight World's Greatest Shiraz / Syrah XIV Wine Show, Equal Top In Category / Eligible for Wine of the Year. 95p / Decanter. , 94p / Nick Stock + jamessuckling, ***** / Thomas Rydberg in Ekstrabladet etc.
2014 Laughing Magpie: 18p / Oldenburg, 92p / WineReview, 91p / JamesSuckling, 91p / AustralianWneAnnual, 91p / WineFront mv.
DEAD ARM is a real cult from the ingenious Chester Osborn (photo). Powerful, but in perfect balance with depth in aroma and taste - much more and much more than a juice bomb! Vines hit by Eutypus Lata, which kills one arm so that only one arm carries grapes. Guigal's Mouline. 2016 is great already, but can be saved for 15-20 years. RobertParker.com:
"The deeply colored, intensely extracted 2016 boasts gentle cedary aromas underlain by brooding dark berries. Rich, concentrated and full-bodied, it's densely textured and packed with notes of blackberries, asphalt, black olives and dried spices. The oak is always in the background and actually adds an element of freshness ... The wine's considerable tannins are fine-grained and should soften nicely with age, as they already turn almost silky on the finish. Cellar this outstanding effort for 3-4 years and drink it over the next couple of decades. " (14 / 5-20).
LAUGHING MAGPIE 2014 is more accessible today, but will benefit from being saved. The wine was the first "Cote Rotie clone" in the New World, where the black shiraz and the white viognier are harvested and fermented together - of course with foot threading and fermentation in large and small oak barrels. Parker called older years an "Australian Cote Rotie la Mouline copy". Despite 8% viognier, the color is extremely dark, but viognier makes the scent more open and inviting. The wine has since received many imitations.
Perfect condition. Can be picked up (Copenhagen) or sent, possibly with other wines.
The methods:. Sustainable operation without irrigation, insecticides, etc. Footing during fermentation, which ends in small oak barrels, no clearance, no filtration ... "Small batches of grapes are gently crushed and then transferred to five tons 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 and old American oak barriques to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, there is no racking until final blending and no fining or filtration. ". The offer is for both bottles. New price 650-700 NOK (also reasonable price, actually).