Friday, December 17, 2004

I picked up a bottle of d’Arenberg’s 2003 "The Laughing Magpie" over the weekend. I was quite excited, actually, because I thought the combination of Shiraz and Viognier held great promise.  However, I was disappointed.  Do not buy this wine unless you have a cellar and lots of patience.  It is undrinkable right now. Although there is highly extracted fruit hidden in the wine, it is completely obscured by woody and bitter tannins.  D’Arenberg themselves say to drink the wine in 3 to 15 years, which means that the bottle I tried should have been left until 2006 / 2007.