Thursday 16 May 2013

A Big Chunk of Meat & a Bottle of Shiraz

I can´t help it. It has to be primal. A big piece of juicy meat, a bottle of hearty Shiraz - and my mouth just salivate. Lots of saliva. Lots of it. I just want to take a big bite of that prime meat and swallow it down with a big mouthful of Shiraz. Sometimes, life is easy...
Info here.

2008 The Dead Arm Shiraz, d´Arenberg
The first vintage I tasted of the Dead Arm was the 1998 in 2002 and I just loved it! I have tried to follow this wine through the vintages, but I guess I have missed some during the years.
But with a grilled slice of meat I thought I would open a bottle.
The nose is deep, tight and concentrated with gorgeous notes of blackberries, blueberries, hyacinths, smoked meat and what a former German chancellor would have called "blood & iron". Very, very good. Still very young.
The taste is upfront, massive and sweet with loads of ripe blueberries, sweet flowers, dark chocolate and some peppery, meaty notes. The finish goes on for long and are filled with soft, juicy tannins. This should evolve nicely with some years in the cellar, but with a mouthful of beef, this is impossible to resist today. The Viking heritage comes to life... Again, sometimes life is easy...
92p   (tasted 2013/05)


6 comments:

  1. That is an opaque wine if I ever saw one!

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  2. I've saved three bottles from 2005-2007. What do you think? Tunnel warning or possible to open the oldest one this summer?

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    1. I remembered the 2006 as very good although tough - would wait with that one. The 2005 is probably the "lightest" of those three and I would pick that one for drinking in near time. I can´t remember tasting the 2007,I have to check.

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  3. Since when the glass is bigger than the steak ?

    I use to sell Dead Arm Shiraz more than 10 years ago when I was working in dining room......never blow me away.....as many other Shiraz did

    2 glasses and you are ready to take a nap......

    Have a good weekend

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    1. Its called photography...:-)
      Well, different strokes I guess. There is lot of over-the-top Aussie Shiraz wine, but I have never pegged The Dead Arm in that category. No problem finishing the bottle...:-)

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