Tuesday, September 2, 2008

2006 D'Arenberg The Laughing Magpie

Over the past few years, one of my favorite wines year in and year out has been The Laughing Magpie Shiraz-Viogner from D'Arenberg. This wine has become a very affordable one in the Atlanta market, selling for about $22 a bottle, much less than it used to and much less than I see in other markets. What makes it special is that to me it is one of the few wines that is more true to the roots of great Syrah/Shiraz - a Rhone-styled wine as opposed to the huge Aussie fruit bombs we have been inundated with. Perhaps it is the addition of a bit of Viogner, a sort of homage to Cote-Rotie, but this wine offers more depth and elegance than I get from most Aussie Shiraz today.

This was my first taste of the 2006 vintage, and once again I was not disappointed. The wine was very good now, but to be once again has the stuffing to last for a few years. I am saving a bottle or two each year to test how it ages, but based on tasting over multiple nights I think the potential is there. At this price, I love to drink this wine frequently with a nice steak. If you can't tell, I highly recommend this wine.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Lee. When will you be reviewing the latest Merlot offering from YellowTail? Been dying to try it. It has the orange label.