d'Arenberg Dud

Tonight's  wine is a 2005 d'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Shiraz (50%) Grenache (50%) blend from the McLaren Vale of Australia.  From LA Wine Company for $12.  Now, d'Arenberg is a major Australian wine maker, making plenty of wines in a wide range of prices.  Their most famous (and pricey) is The Dead Arm, which we've never had, but have two bottles sitting in our wine closet.  Some day...

Well, I guess we disagree with the critics on this one because this wine got 88-89 points from major reviewers, pretty good scores.  Nothing is essentially wrong with this wine, but the fruit is just too fruit-juicy for our palates.  Nose is pleasant - nice dark fruit, oak and vanilla.  But the taste is very bright fruit, so much so, that it feels a bit overdone.  I've heard of people calling some wines "fake" when talking about the fruit; I don't think this wine is doing that, but I can't think of quite the right description.  It's not quite a fruit bomb, but it's pretty darn strong.  If you like big wines, you will like this wine.  Balance is good - smooth, no strangeness on the finish, short to medium finish.  But wine is about what you like, and we just aren't fans of this style.