The 2006 The Sticks and Stones is an unusual blend of Tempranillo, Grenache, and Souzao. Purple-colored, it exhibits a brooding bouquet of spice box, earth, and black fruits. Lean with elevated acidity and considerable tannin, how it might evolve is anyone’s guess. D’Arenberg has been owned and operated by the Osborn family since its inception in 1912. The portfolio, with a focus on the Rhone varieties, is wide ranging and value-oriented from top to bottom. The winery produces a bevy of value priced reds and whites that were reviewed in Issue 178. They should not be overlooked. At the higher end of the portfolio there is one white wine on which to report.Importer: Gavin Speight, Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA; www.darenberg.com.au

The blend in this wine is as whimsical as the name, with Tempranillo and Grenache alongside Portugal’s Tinta Cao and Souzao grapes. The result is an aggressive, powerful wine with a broad palette of aromas and flavors, ranging from vanilla, forest floor and animal sweat to cigar, flint, blackberry jam and coffee. Big, bold tannins. Better after 2011. ——W.E.(6/1/2010)—— 89