WineLife365

It’s not very often that a little ‘ole bottle of red wine can make the hair on the back of my neck stand up – but this red wine sent shivers down both my back and throat, and stamped a purple “toof” grin  on my face for 4 straight nights – count’em 1,2,3,4.

This unruly Aussie red smacked my chops around the room on nights 1 & 2, then said, “Come to Papa” on night 3, and finally surrendered on night 4 saying, “Let’s you and me be friends.” 

This wine is one of four red wines in the d’Arenberg wine portfolio that they playfully named “The Four Musketeers Red”.

The Musketeer red that I had the pleasure of wrastlin’ around with over a four night span was their 2006 “The Footbolt” Shiraz from McLaren Vale, Australia.  This humungous Fruit Bomb, compliments of The Land of Oz has received a lot of attention and accolades from industry big shots like Parker, Wine Spectator and the International Wine Cellar.  After tasting this wine for the first time, I can now see why they all made such a big deal about it.

Here’s the skinny on this wine straight from the winemaker’s mouth:

 “Aromas of dark red fruits, black olive and beef stock open into notes of blueberries and licorice with a savory dried herb edge. The palate shows great balance with blueberry and mulberry fruits, spices and a hint of white pepper on the finish. As always The Footbolt is a very approachable wine in its youth but has the capacity to age for many years”

I’m not so sure if I’d agree with the “a very approachable wine in its youth” part, but…

Here’s my take on the 2006 d’Arenberg Footbolt Shiraz:

• Night #1:  “Holy Cow!… How in the world can anyone just crack the lid off of this sucker and live to talk about it the next morning.”  This wine was breathing fire and told me to come back tomorrow.
• Night #2:  “Hmmm, Excuse Me Sir?? May I please drink you tonight?”  The 2006 Footbolt’s response:  “Man Up partner and we can talk about it.”
• Night #3:  “Are you ready now for us to be friends?”  The 2006 Footbolt’s response:  “Sure, lets get to know one another a little bit better tonight.”
• Night #4:  “You’re actually not the tough little S.O.B. that I thought you were on night #1.  I’m actually starting to like you a whole lot Mr. Footbolt!”  The 2006 Footbolt’s response – “I’m glad you like me kid.  Now you and I can be BFFs.”

If you’d like to learn more about this wine and the rich tradition of winemaking at d’ Arenberg, check out their website.