Blended of 47% Tempranillo, 23% Shiraz, 15% Souzao and 15% Tinta Cao, the 2008 The Sticks and Stones displays a deep garnet color and notes of raspberry and blackberry preserves, dried plums, espresso and black olives with hints of tree bark and truffles. Medium to full bodied, it has a good amount of earthy / savory flavors propped-up by crisp acid a medium level of chewy tannins, finishing long. Drink it now through 2015. The d’Arenberg winery is 100 years old with a fourth generation Osbourne in charge today of this now considerable operation. Graduated from Roseworthy College in 1983, Chester was expected by his father to change things when he took over the family business. Instead he went back to tradition rather than modernizing. In the d’Arenberg vineyards there is no cultivating, fertilizing or herbicides used – Chester compares these artificial means to growing plants hydroponically. Looking to continually improve the root systems of his vines, he rarely irrigates. Average yields are 1.7 tons per acre. “2011 was actually a great year for us,” Chester informed me. “We didn’t have any problems with rot.”Importer: Old Bridge Cellars, Napa, CA, www.oldbridgecellars.com