d'Arenberg The Originals Footbolt Shiraz 2021 x 12
The footbolt Shiraz 2022
McLaren Vale, Shiraz (100%)
The Name
Joseph Osborn was a successful racehorse
owner and Footbolt was the pride of his
stable. In 1912 he made the hard decision to
sell his horses to purchase the d’Arenberg
property.
The Vintage
It has been a good winter, the early Spring
rains set the vines up very well. November
was about 3 degrees colder than average and
so the set was variable, especially Mauvedre
which suffered the worst. Luckily, many
varieties still had quite a large potential
crop, so yields ended about 15% down from
2021 (which was a big crop year). December
was bone dry, but January saw 33mm
compared to 20mm average. This too set
the vines up very well. There was almost no
rain and very mild conditions in February,
March and April, free of hot or cold spells
which resulted in very good leaf retention
and ripening. All varieties resulted in
outstanding wines. At this stage, It is early
to call the vintage but I believe the reds from
this vintage are the best I have seen in years.
They show great colour fruit, fruit fragrance,
richness, acidity, tannins and style. The Red
skins were very thick and crunchy and no
shrivel was seen, resulting in high tannin
content, causing us to pull juice off the skins
sweeter than usual, to achieve the desired
results.
Harvest dates
Residual sugar
25 Feb – 29 Apr
1.4 g/l
The Winemaking
Small batches of grapes are crushed gently
and then transferred to five tonne 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
then transferred to a mixture of new and
used French oak barriques to complete
fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged
on lees, and there is no racking until final
blending. This wine does not undertake
fining or filtration prior to bottling.
The Characteristics
Bright Medium purple.
Lifted aromas of dark cherries, black plum,
and a hint of Dutch liquorice.
Rich flavours of black plums, cherries, and
blackberries. Integrated mocha and Dutch
liquorice and black pepper fill out the palate.
Tannins are ripe, rich, and juicy with a
beautifully balanced acid line, which makes
the wine approachable now but will also
cellar for years.
A rich and balanced example of a McLaren
vale classic
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