2001 Darremburg Dead Arm

Dead Arm- 2001
Darremburg, Mclaren Vale
Shiraz
cork seal
Chester osbourne / WM
Tasted 19-11-2010
rated - 0/5

Caths birthday at Santorini Restuarant in Hawthorn.
   I chose a wine that i thought would be traveling really well, not cellared to the best of its performance but something where I figured that the structure should have developed well across the middle pallet, thus creating a wine of balance that on a night where not too many drinks are too be had then it would really stand up well to the high quality cuisine we had come to expect from 'Santorini'. Wasn't I surprised, when with rapid pace the fruit vanished with the aromatics,  then the obvious 'cork taint' took over the senses.
   Usually cork taint is present quite strongly from the moment the wine is open as it is often present in the wine from back as early as the bottling day, so over time the wine becomes spoilt as the taint develops within. This is because in Portugal and Spain where the cork originates from the cork material soon after harvest is bathed in chlorine to sterilise it pre being made into the smooth texture product we see today. This chlorine bonds with the cork material and cannot be removed, once bottling of the wine occurs, our precise product is then given the opportunity to come into contact with the cork and so we then experience a chemical reaction between the cork, chlorine and the wine, this reaction sends the wine volatile and we lose all fruit characters relating to smell and taste.
   For this Dead Arm it took some time for the taint to fully take over and it was like the oxygen contact was causing this fruit texture to disappear, which was probably true. but too me it was as though we were experiencing a very young taint effect. The wine itself had a seal over its top explaining that the wine had been quality tested prior to my purchasing, this meant that the wine had been opened the liquid tasted and checked for taint and then delivered to me. I had purchased a vertical selection some years ago, again another reason for choosing this particular wine, it was to be my fail safe and I did not take a back up! So I will be notifying the cellar door directly that I believe that the cork that they resealed the Dead Arm with gave the wine its terminal disease. Thankfully the  94 and 98 already enjoyed were great if not a little young.