d’ARENBERG THE FOOTBOLT SHIRAZ 2021

Named after a racehorse and from a thoroughbred winery, the 2021 Footbolt Shiraz should gallop out the door. It's just one of those great drinking, come home to kind of wines that offers plenty of happy drinking and even more bang for your buck. 2021 was an exceptional vintage in the McLaren Vale.

The Footbolt is a consistently great McLaren Vale Shiraz. Generously rich with amazing fruit weight and balanced, chewy tanins. Brimming with ripe red fruits and an underlying layer of subtle oak, as well as a hint of pepper. This wine represents great value, and has a long life ahead of it… If you can resist!

Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"Joseph Osborn was a successful racehorse owner and Footbolt was the pride of his stable. In 1912 he made the hard decision to sell his horses to purchase the d'Arenberg property.

Throughout the years Footbolt is becoming the synonym of classic and consistent McLaren Vale Shiraz. Pour in your glass and you will see a crimson-purple colour with a subtle ruby halo. A swirl in the glass and fragrant aromas of dark plum, blackberry fruits, boysenberries, subtle black pepper and a touch of liquorice will come straight up. On the palate is where the wine becomes fascinating. Rich and opulent black fruits, plums, blackberries and boysenberries are intertwined with cured meat, mocha, peppery spices and a plush coat of red cherries. Tannins are ripe and velvety. Acidity, alcohol and oak balance are impeccable, the length ditto. Great drinking now but will cellar well too.

Small batches of grapes are crushed gently and then transferred to five tonne headed down open fermenters. These batches remain separate until final blending. Foot treading is undertaken two thirds of the way through fermentation. The wine is then basket pressed and then transferred to a mixture of new and used French oak barriques to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, and there is no racking until final blending. This wine does not undertake f ining or filtration prior to bottling."

5 Stars & 93/100 Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, November 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"Richly fruited and enticing, the bouquet shows black/blueberry, rich floral, toasty oak and dark cocoa aromas, followed by a wonderfully weighted palate offering fleshy texture and finely pitched tannins. Rich yet balanced with a sustained, succulent finish. At its best: now to 2033."

92/100 Cameron Douglas MS, November 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"Opaque appearance with dark purples and ruby rim lead to a bouquet of ripe dark berry fruits, black currant and roasted plums, chocolate and licorice. The palate delivers a concentrated fruit core with flavours that reflect the bouquet are enhanced by moderate to firm tannins and medium+ acidity, flavours of baking spices and chocolate, red and black licorice, brown sugar ans nutmeg. Best drinking from day of purchase through 2029+."

91/100 Wine Enthusiast (2021 Vintage)
"Savoury notes of sage and bay leaf are as forward on the nose as the plum and cherry notes. There’s a lick of vanillin oak showing, too. The abundance of tangy fruit continues its journey in the mouth, lingering on the finish amidst a powerful, well-placed frame of tannins."

90/100 JamesSuckling.com (2021 Vintage)
"Good shiraz, strongly regional, aromatic and attractive. While I query the dryness of the tannins here, there is ample pleasure to be found behind a veneer of violets, purple pastilles, blue fruit, iodine and licorice. A little reduction creates tension without ever becoming too hard."

5 Stars & 18.5/20 (93) Candice Chow, Raymod Chan Reviews, December 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"Full, deep purple, even colour throughout. This has a robust bouquet packed with plum, black cherry, boysenberry chorizo, black pepper, herbs and liquorice. Full-bodied, aromas of boysenberry, black cherry and plum entwined with black pepper, liquorice, dried herbs and chorizo. The mouthfeel is dense and voluminous, packed with dark fruit and fine-grained tannins. Balanced acidity provides vitality and a lengthy, bold finish. A generous, well-structured McLaren Vale Shiraz. Small batches of grapes are crushed gently and then transferred to five-tonne headed-down open fermenters. Batches kept separated. Foot treading is undertaken two-thirds of the way through fermentation. Then basket-pressed and transferred to a mixture of new and used French oak barriques to complete fermentation. The barrel ferments are aged on lees, and there is no racking until final blending. Unfined or unfiltered."

90/100 Stephen Wong MW, The Real Review, December 2024 (2021 Vintage)
"Ripe plum, prune and violets, this has a vibrantly fruity, spicy and aromatic expression, giving way to bright acidity and woody, sharp tannins which build towards the finish. Mid-weight and sustained, this is quite attractive despite its youth and is likely best enjoyed now for its exuberant flavours."