Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2009 The Fruit Bat Shiraz has intense notes of warm plums, mulberries, dark chocolate and game plus a hint of baking spices and a whiff of prunes. Full bodied with a medium to firm level of chewy tannins, it has very good fruit concentration in the mid-palate and a long finish with the spice notes pleasantly seasoning the dried fruits. Drink it 2013 to 2022+. 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

Very firm, with a biting edge to the tannins, but also lovely blackberry and floral flavors that flow into the finish. Best from 2014 through 2019. 200 cases imported.??–HS??Region: Australia / McLaren Vale Select to Add