1997 Shiraz The Dead Arm

Year in and year out d'Arenberg's finest cuvee is their spectacular Shiraz made from 100+ year old, head-pruned vines. It is an exquisite, multi-dimensional wine that is sure to make a formidable impression with readers. It is aged in 100% new oak, tipping the scales at a whopping 14.9% alcohol, yet has a glorious level of fruit and extract. The 1997 Dead Arm Shiraz exhibits an opaque purple color as well as a sweet nose of vanillin, blackberries, and licorice. The wood frames this enormously concentrated, rich, chewy wine. Multi-layered, with phenomenal concentration and length as well as moderately high tannin levels, it will be at its finest after 2-5 years of cellaring, and will keep for two decades. Importer: Old Bridge Cellars (Rob McDonald), San Francisco, CA; tel. (415) 863-9463

Deep ruby-red. Sappy aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, licorice, roast coffee and smoky oak; hints of exotic fruits. Roasted dark berries complicated by notes of coffee, mocha and chocolate; fat and creamy but rather backward today. Finishes with slightly gritty tannins that will require patience.