|
NOTES
For the story behind this wine we have to go back to d’Arry’s grandfather, Joseph Rowe Osborn. Born in 1852 he was a colourful character with a multitude of talents. Joe was a lay preacher, mining speculator, public servant, teetotaler and local politician. Although not a drinker, Joe joined the Thomas Hardy & Sons wine company in 1881, eventually becoming a partner and director.
Joe was an enthusiastic patron of the turf and became a well- respected racing identity under the nom-de-plume of Mr. J. Rowen. ‘Footbolt’ was a chestnut colt foaled in 1898 and bought for 400 guineas, a sum quickly recouped after only 6 races. These and other wins enabled Joe to purchase the already established Milton Vineyards for his son, Frank, d’Arry’s father, in 1912.
This wine is still made from some of the grapes from the vines purchased by Joe almost a century ago.
As with all of our red wines, the Footbolt Shiraz undergoes crushing by the Demoisy crusher and gentle basket pressing by the 19th century ‘Coq’ and ‘Bromley & Tregoning’ presses into new but mainly older American and French oak barriques for up to 18 months maturation. The Footbolt Shiraz undergoes minimal processing and as such may throw a deposit in the bottle. This is a wine which will benefit from further bottle age, as will most of d’Arenberg’s reds.
TASTING NOTES
The wine has a deep red-purple, then the immediate hallmarks of spicy, lifted ripe peppery mulberry and blackberry fruit aromas. Richer chocolate, stewed plum mint and spicy, cedary pepper smells and often cinnamon follow the initial attack of primary fruit characters. It leads to a palate is consistently well structured with terrific fruit and totally integrated oak tannin providing great texture to support plum, blackcurrant and rolling blackberry flavours especially on the mid-palate. Often dark chocolate characters are quite evident too. This is followed by a traditional, long, velvety, fine grained tannin finish.
The Footbolt Shiraz will gain complexity with age, as with all d’Arenberg red wines. The aromas slowly incorporate developed cedar, coffee and developed dark chocolate smells with leather, tobacco and earthy aromas while always maintaining great fruit characters from spicy through to very ripe, depending on the vintage.. More often than not distinctive peppery-spicy characters come to the fore after a little time in bottle.
On the tongue, the Footbolt Shiraz maintains a wonderfully textured palate with significant bottle age. Gentle, grainy black olive flavours balance the sweeter coffee, chocolate and occasional mint characters. The hallmarks of McLaren Vale, d'Arenberg, and The Footbolt Shiraz; a soft, rich middle palate, terrific texture and a long rolling finish, can reside with this wine for a number of years, even decades, as more than four decades of previous vintages have shown.
OTHER REVIEWS
"This is a wine that I use in my OneDayWineSchool course in the UK to demonstrate McLaren Vale, Shiraz and great winemaking all in the same glass. But most of all Footbolt is a stunning drink and one that doesn’t cost a bomb. Great work guys!" -Mathew Jukes. "Scents of black currants, licorice, roasted meats, and spicy herbs in its well-made style!" -Robert Parker. "Sweet meaty and forest berries on the nose, plump forest fruits in the mouth, chewy and dusty, building to a tangy loganberry pip finish. Bargain Buy!" -Tim White, The Australian
Previously known as the Old Vines Shiraz, a portion of the fruit comes off vines purchased by Joseph Rowe Osborn almost a century ago. Traditionally winecraft and maturation in a combination of American and French oak barriques for up to eighteen months. The soft rich middle palate, terrific texture and long rolling finish, can reside with this wine for decades, as more than four decades of previous vintages have shown. Always decant the Footbolt. "The modestly priced Shiraz from the vast range of Arenberg, intense tamarillo and raspberry flavours, chewy texture and a dry finish with a mild grip. Must try!" -Peter Forrestal
‘The 2005 The Footbolt Shiraz was aged for 12-18 months in a mix of new and used French and American oak. Purple-colored, it exhibits an aromatic array of fresh herbs, plum, cranberry, and black cherry. Medium-to full-bodied, on the palate spicy blueberry and licorice notes emerge. The wine has very good depth and concentration, ripe tannin, and a medium-long finish. It will evolve for 2-3 years and drink well through 2015.’ 89 Points, Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, October 2007
|
|
